Members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee during a meeting on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, where the panel indicated it would not move ahead with legislation to cap residential rent increases at 7%. The move effectively killed the bill for the 2024 legislative session. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Odds that Washington will cap rent increases this year fell sharply on Monday as a bill that would limit hikes to 7% a year for many tenants hit a dead end in a state Senate committee.
The proposal’s failure marks a blow for housing advocates, who argued that the policy was one of the most significant steps lawmakers could take in this year’s 60-day legislative session to improve affordability for renters and alleviate homelessness.
But supporters of the legislation face an uphill battle in Olympia. Monday was the second time this year – and the second year in a row – efforts to provide this type of certainty to Washington renters stalled in the Legislature, where Democrats hold majorities in both chambers.