Landlords fined for first time under WA’s new law capping rent increases

Landlords fined for first time under WA’s new law capping rent increases

Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard

August 07, 2025 / 11:36 am

For the first time, Washington’s attorney general has enforced the state’s new cap on rent hikes, fining eight landlords $2,000 each for violating the law.

House Bill 1217 took effect in early May. The landlords told tenants before that time about rent increases that would exceed the new maximums. But these increases were tied to leases that renewed after the law took effect, according to the attorney general’s office. For example, one rent increase for a tenant in Lakewood would have begun June 22.

In each case, the attorney general notified the landlords that their rent hikes were illegal. All the landlords rescinded them and refund