For the first time, Washington state’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 All the landlords rescinded them and refunded any payments tenants made under the unlawful increases, according to court filings.
Only $2,000 fines? Fine them even more than that cmon
That would be per unit per month. It’s not small
A year’s rent at the illegal rate as a fine ought to get landlords in line. Tenant’s payments won’t even cover it, and they take a loss on the unit for the year beyond other costs.
I definitely agree that there should be more consequences (or at least higher fines,) but I’m glad they’re doing SOMETHING! I wish we had something like that here in awful Oklahoma. (I know, it’d never happen, but I can dream!)
Know what would do even more? Punish companies that own and rent massive amounts of real estate. For example, limit rent increases for companies that own a real percentage of the homes in a market to no greater than some percentage of inflation. Make it so they are incentivized to invest in literally anything that isn’t buying a home to rent. Maybe they can get a break if they build the home on undeveloped land first, but do something at least.
For single-family homes, there’s a really easy solution: only allow individuals to own them. This doesn’t kill the rental market; it’s just common sense. You personally want to build a rental empire? Fine. But no hiding behind an LLC or other corporate structure – if you want to rent-seek, you shouldn’t have the protections of a business.
Multifamily is of course a different beast, as individual ownership rarely occurs above very small complexes. Still, capping rent increases at inflation plus minimum-wage increase (we’re talking Washington here; it goes up annually) would go a long way toward stabilizing budgeting for renters.
It astounds me how many homeowners who locked in mortgages at $800 at 3% simply refuse to believe there’s an affordability crisis in the rental market. “Just make 15% more next year” isn’t particularly useful advice in a deteriorating job market.
Hey my mortgage is 2.75%. For every dollar I save to move somewhere nicer though, the homes I’m looking at go up by $2-3. I don’t know how I’m supposed to ever move into a nicer home than what I have now when I’m constantly chasing the price of those homes and getting further and further. It’s not even like I make too little money either, just that I didn’t have enough money 5 years ago to even be in the race to begin with.
Leeching bastards. Should have been $100,000 per dwelling per month. Fuck landlords.
Hey, it’s a start.
How kind of them … a 10% cap. As though renters paying 50% of their income on housing get 5% raises every year – never laid off – and there’s zero inflation elsewhere.
H.B. 1217: Slightly less usury for tenants permanently priced out of owning
