Raising rent in Washington isn't as simple as sending a notice anymore. There's a statewide cap, specific notice requirements, and city-level differences that catch owners off guard. Here's the plain version for 2026.
The statewide cap
Washington limits how much you can raise rent in a 12-month period. Each year the state Department of Commerce publishes the maximum — 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower. The 2025 cap was 10%; the 2026 cap is 9.683%. The cap applies regardless of how much the market has moved, so pushing a rent to "market" in one jump often isn't allowed.
Notice periods — and why the city matters
Notice requirements aren't uniform. The City of Spokane requires 120 days' notice for increases of 3% or less and 180 days for increases above 3%. Spokane Valley follows the standard Washington rule of 90 days. Same county, different clocks — which is exactly the kind of detail that turns a routine increase into a compliance problem. (We break the city-by-city differences down here.)
Getting it wrong is expensive
An improperly-noticed or over-cap increase can be unenforceable — and can expose you to penalties. That's a big part of what we handle: tracking the current cap, applying the right notice period for each property's jurisdiction, and documenting it. Compliance is one of our six service areas for exactly this reason.
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