As Alaska Democrats in the Legislature attempt to limit the amount that landlords can charge for deposits, their counterparts in Washington State are capping rent increases in the state to 5% per year. They are also going to place limits on deposit fees, just like a bill offered in Juneau by Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson-D, of Anchorage.
Alaska Democrats have at least three bills that limit the rights of property owners: Gray-Jackson’s Senate Bill 169 puts the most restrictions on landlords that any state has currently, although Washington’s latest Democrat bill may compete for that spot.
House Bill 184, by Rep. Andrew Gray, would limit Alaskans to being able to own just one short-term rental unit. Sen. Forrest Dunbar also has a bill that would force short-term rental owners to rent to Alaskans; currently some do not rent to Alaskans because of the problem with partiers destroying property.
Sen. Dunbar bears down on short-term rentals: Alaska partiers are a protected class?
Washington’s push to cap rents will receive pushback from Evergreen State Republicans, but there are not enough of them to stop the bill from reaching the desk of Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee.