Washington State Rent Control
The 2024 state legislature is about to convene and action has started on bills previously mentioned here: Reconsider Tenant Protections
Specifically, there is a hearing on SB 5961 on Friday, Jan 12 and any comments are due the day before. Citizens can register as Pro or Con using the form found here: Committee Sign In – Legislative Record The form appears to be registration to testify but at the top says: “Complete the fields below and press submit to state your position on a bill without testifying.”
Key Provisions of SB 5961
The primary provision of SB 5961 is the limitation on rent increases for residences, including manufactured home spaces, more than 10 years old to no more than 5% annually. But the official summary also includes: “limiting fees and deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement.”
The full bill can read here:Â SB 5961 and tracked here: SB 5961 here: Tracking
Jan 13 Update: The bill is now in the Senate Housing Committee.
Rationale Behind Rent Control
The primary motivation behind rent control legislation, such as SB 5961, is to address the affordability crisis faced by many tenants. Rising rental prices have outpaced wage growth in many areas, making it increasingly difficult for individuals and families to secure affordable housing. Rent control measures aim to provide stability, prevent excessive rent increases, and protect vulnerable tenants from being priced out of their homes.
Proponents of rent control argue that it helps to create more predictable housing costs, allowing tenants to budget and plan for their future. It also serves as a tool to combat gentrification and displacement, helping long-term residents continue to reside in their communities despite rising property values.
Concerns and Criticisms
While rent control may seem like a straightforward solution to the affordable housing crisis, it is not without its critics. Opponents argue that rent control can have unintended consequences, such as discouraging new construction and reducing the overall housing supply. They argue that limiting rent increases may disincentivize landlords from maintaining and improving their properties, leading to a decline in rental housing quality.
Another concern is the potential administrative burden that comes with implementing rent control measures. Critics of SB 5961 express reservations about the creation of additional bureaucracy and the potential for increased costs that could ultimately be passed on to tenants.
Alternatives
Alternative solutions, such as increasing the supply of affordable housing through incentives for developers or providing rental assistance programs, should also be explored. These approaches can help alleviate the affordability crisis without the potential negative impacts associated with rent control.
I have been here 13 months and have experienced two rent increases since I made my offer. $1050 to $1200! I’m on social security and will soon be priced out of my new home which I paid cash for. I’m a seriously and chronically ill person and require in home care weekly. My husband is recovering from chemo and cancer surgery. We moved here thinking it would be our forever home. I pray it will be. But rent increases of $100 to $200 every year will put that in jeopardy for sure! Something must be done to protect affordable housing for all but particularly for the vulnerable. Not to much to ask.
I am a single person with only 1 income with a limited income. I am not in the best of health already having faced cancer twice. I have no money for food by the time I pay increased rent of over $400 in my residence time in this manufactured home 55 and older park. I do not believe that senior citizens should face increased rent at all. Our income does not keep up with inflation at all.
Eugenia, If you haven’t already, I suggest you look into the property tax reduction program. Links are here: https://cascadeparkestates.com/index.php/2023/05/15/property-tax-exemption-program/
Michael
We have lived here about 5 years. Our rent started at $650.00 now it’s $1200.00 -er month. We are on a fixed income and struggling every month. Additionally we had a water leak in our driveway that after talking to the landlord that stated it was their responsibility they made us pay for it. We now have another leak in our driveway. We need an attorney. Rent increases are ridiculously high.
We have lived in the same mobile home park for 13 years. Our park was purchased by Urban Lifestyle10 LLC 3 years ago. Our rent was increased by 72%. We are now charged $50 mo thly for well water. Our manager lives in another state. She lies continually.
They will not up keep the road or empty trailers. It is so unkept. The account our deposit money is supposed to be kept in and availabke for tenants to verfy our funds are dtill ther is denied to us. Upon an extenant who recieved a partial payment for refund of deposit, the check bounced snd the ma ager stated that it bounced because the owners were in the middle of refinancing the park and all of their money was tied up in the refinancing process. Thats illegal. We can not get an owner to answer a phone call let alone return one. Our leases were written ip according to Colorado state lawnot Washington state law. We are just tossed to the bottom as the rich get richer off the backs of the poor. Zero accountability for lanlords and their management.
Does this apply to trailer courts where you own the home the rent is going up 200.00 a month and my son is disabled and only has his social security check he owns the single wide this is in the state of washington the place is over 20 years old
I moved into Carnation Mobile Haven in Feb. of 2018. It was a low income, 55 and older park. I purchased my 1964 single wide and thought I’d found my forever home. The lot rent was $550.00 per month and that included water sewer and garbage. In 2024 the park was sold. We tenants tried to buy it as a Co-op but were unable to secure financing. The new owners, an LLC, gave us a lease which separated out the water, sewer and garbage charges and raised the lot rent to $700.00. The lots in this park don’t each have their own water meter. It is one amount for the whole park. So the landlords have told us that units with I person resident will pay $x and units with 2 persons will pay $xx and with 3– and so on. That is unfair as my neighbor is at home everyday all day and waters her lawn all day every summer. Whereas I work 3 days a week so am not home using water and never water my lawn. Why should I pay for her water? Also the park owners hired a company called Conservice, in Utah, to do the rent and utility billing for the park and they have made a mess of it. It’s now mid-September and I have only received 2 utility bills since the new owners took over in June 2024. I have paid $570.00 in utilities. It’s totally impossible for me to know or project what my total monthly expense will be. We are a community of people from 55 up to 85 years old. Many of us are trying to survive on only social security or if we are able a few hours of work a week. Most of us are just semi-healthy, heart, lung, arthritis, all the problems of old age. We are fragile. The stress of not knowing whether we will be able to afford to stay here compounded by the fact that most of us have no place else to go is making the perfect storm that is affecting our health. It’s a nightmare of how old people are discarded and trampled on in our country. It’s shameful. We are good people. We have contributed. We deserve respect. The laws can help us to get some deserved respect by disallowing landlords to exploit us without restraint.