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A bill that would place a 7% cap on annual rent and fee increases is among the bills some state lawmakers are trying to get across the finish line. They have about a month left until the legislative session ends.
House Bill 1217 is scheduled for an executive session 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 26, in the Senate Housing Committee. Those interested can watch it online here.
This and a couple of other bills look to address housing and homelessness in the state. The sponsor of HB 1217 is 34th District Sen. Emily Alvarado (D-West Seattle).
Other legislators co-sponsoring the bill include 32nd District Rep. Lauren Davis (D-Shoreline) and two 21st District Democrats: Reps. Strom Peterson (Edmonds) and Lillian Ortiz-Self (Mukilteo).
Some organizations in Snohomish County also expressed support for the bill.
Rachel Downes, strategic initiatives and collaborations senior director for Housing Hope, said the bill is a preventive measure as the need for affordable housing continues. It helps “turn off the tap” of people becoming homeless for the first time, she said.
“Our phones ring off the hook all day long,” Downes said. “What’s really concerning is we’re seeing a trend of people who have never experienced housing instability before.”
Housing Hope, a nonprofit that owns and operates affordable housing, would be exempt from the rent increase limit outlined in the bill. But Downes said the organization already operates under a lot of different affordability covenants and restrictions.
According to a bill report, those in opposition say the state’s housing supply would decrease if the bill passed. Developers and builders may divest from the state due to “increased regulation” and “declining returns,” the report said.
Builders, property owners and organizations such as the Association of Washington Business (AWB) testified against the bill Jan. 13 during a House Housing Committee hearing.
“We need to encourage people into Washington state to invest,” AWB Government Affairs Director Morgan Irwin said at the hearing. “We think this bill will have the opposite effect.”
AWB works with several companies in industries such as retail, agriculture and construction. The mission statement on its website reads: “AWB is the catalytic leader and unifying voice for economic prosperity throughout Washington state.”
Cocoon House CEO Joe Alonzo said landlords can still adjust their rent under the proposed bill. The bill provides a middle ground, he said.
“It provides folks that are in rental positions some reassurance that their rents are not going to increase astronomically out of the blue,” Alonzo said about the bill.
Cocoon House, also a nonprofit, works with several landlords to get young people into their own apartments. Alonzo said the bill can help with the state’s housing supply-and- demand problem.
“We have a ton of young people that are awaiting housing and simply cannot afford to even get it,” Alonzo said. “There’s a backlog of young people needing housing all the time.”
Mary Anne Dillon, vice president of permanent housing for YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, said the bill prevents rent hikes for its clientele – families, women with children and communities of color.
The organization typically serves those at risk of homelessness or who have previously experienced homelessness. When they have stable housing, it results in better job retention and educational continuity, Dillon said.
“This aligns with our mission,” Dillon said about the bill.
Bobby Thompson, executive director of Housing Consortium of Everett & Snohomish County, said 2023 Census data showed that the county had 104,621 renters total. Of the total renters, about 25% were severely cost-burdened (defined as those who spent more than 50% of their monthly income for housing costs).
“That’s a problem,” Thompson said. “What we’re looking for with this legislation is a common-sense rent cap.”
Will Rice, regional chief of operations for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, said the organization is in favor of any type of help that can stop the flow of people from being housed to homelessness.
Pam Townsend, communications manager for the Housing Authority of Snohomish County, wrote in an email: “While we do not have a position on the bill, we understand the motivation to curb rent increases … HASCO has a long-standing mission to balance keeping rents low, while also addressing ever-increasing operating and replacement expenses.”
The legislative session ends April 27.
Angelica Relente is a Murrow News Fellow covering housing and related issues in South Snohomish County for the My Neighborhood News Network. Contact her at angelica@myedmondsnews.com.
If this bill was fair, their should also be a cap on landlord expenses. Cap property tax increases, insurance rates, what contractors can charge, utilities, ect. As a small landlord, the rent I receive is my income. Limiting my income is what communist/Marxist countries do. Which in all of recorded history, never turns out good for the people that these lawmakers claim to be helping.