Owner Insights
Washington’s maximum rent increase for 2027 is 10 percent. The Department of Commerce set the figure in July 2026 under the state’s rent stabilization law, and it applies to increases between January 1 and December 31, 2027. Under Washington rent increase law, that is the most any covered tenancy can rise in a 12-month period, and you still cannot raise rent at all during a tenant’s first year.
For Seattle owners, the number is only half the plan. The city requires 180 days of written notice, so many 2027 renewal dates are already close, and a few have passed. This guide is about planning: which dates you can still hit, how to choose a number that holds up against vacancy costs, and how to write a notice that will not have to be reissued. For the full rules explainer, see our Seattle rent increase rules guide.
The short version
The maximum rent increase for 2027 is 10 percent in any 12-month period for tenancies covered by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Commerce lists the cap for January 1 through December 31, 2027. No increase is allowed in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and exempt properties follow different rules.
Commerce announced the figure in mid-July 2026, shortly after the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics released June inflation data.
The jump from 9.683 percent is small. The bigger change is that in 2027 the formula ran past the ceiling, so the 10 percent limit took over.
| Rule | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide cap (RCW 59.18.700) | 9.683% | 10% |
| How the cap was set | 7% plus 2.683% Seattle-area CPI | 7% plus 4.53% CPI is 11.53%, so the 10% ceiling applies |
| State notice (RCW 59.18.140) | At least 90 days, in writing | At least 90 days, in writing |
| Seattle notice | At least 180 days, in writing | At least 180 days, in writing |
| Increase in first 12 months | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Seattle EDRA notice (10% or more in 12 months) | Only reachable by exempt properties | Reachable by any capped tenancy taking the full 10% |
| New construction exemption | Certificate of occupancy 12 or fewer years before the notice | Same rule |
The statute sets the limit at 7 percent plus the Consumer Price Index, or 10 percent, whichever is less. Commerce uses the June 12-month change in the CPI for all urban consumers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area, the same index every year, even for properties in Spokane or Yakima.
For 2027, the index rose from 364.344 in June 2025 to 380.849 in June 2026. That is a 4.53 percent change. Add 7 percent and the formula gives 11.53 percent, which is more than 10, so the cap is 10 percent. For 2026, the index moved 2.683 percent, which produced 9.683 percent.
What this means for 2028
The 10 percent ceiling only binds when Seattle-area inflation runs above 3 percent. If inflation cools before June 2027, the 2028 cap will drop below 10 percent. Do not build a multi-year pro forma on 10 percent a year. Recheck the figure each July, when Commerce posts the new one on its HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center.
Rent stabilization in Washington state runs until July 1, 2040, when the cap and exemption sections expire.
The cap covers any increase in rent during a 12-month period of a tenancy, after the first 12 months. Rent includes recurring and periodic charges in the rental agreement, so a new monthly parking or storage charge counts toward the 10 percent. Late fees, damages and deposits do not.
The definition matters more than most owners expect. State law defines rent as recurring and periodic charges identified in the rental agreement for use and occupancy, which can include utility charges. Seattle’s own guidance lists rent, parking, storage and other periodic fees paid to the landlord as housing costs.
So if you raise base rent 8 percent and add a new $50 monthly pet or amenity charge in the same year, add the two together before you check the cap. The combined change is what counts.
Three other rules shape every 2027 increase:
Most Seattle rentals are covered. The exemptions are narrow, and the owner has to prove them in the notice itself. If you claim one, the notice must say which exemption applies and include the facts or documents that support it.
Newer buildings
Units whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the date of the rent increase notice. The clock runs to the notice date, so a building can age out mid-year.
Owner shares the home
The tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with an owner who lives on the property as a principal residence.
Owner-occupied single-family
A single-family home the owner lives in, renting no more than two units or bedrooms, such as an accessory dwelling unit.
Owner-occupied 2 to 4 units
A duplex, triplex or fourplex where the owner lived in one unit when the tenancy began and still lives there.
Regulated affordable housing
Units owned by housing authorities, public development authorities or qualifying nonprofits with rents set by other programs, and tax credit properties under a regulatory agreement.
Entity ownership can cancel an owner-occupied exemption
The three owner-occupied exemptions do not apply if the owner is a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member. A non-owner-occupied single-family rental is not exempt at all. If you hold a home in a family LLC, check the member structure before you rely on an exemption.
Seattle's Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance program applies to housing cost increases totaling 10 percent or more within 12 months. In 2026 the cap was 9.683 percent, so covered tenancies could not reach that line. In 2027 a full 10 percent increase does, and the EDRA notice must be attached.
Here is how EDRA works. If the increase reaches 10 percent, you attach the city’s EDRA notice to the rent increase notice. A household at or below 80 percent of area median income that gives notice to vacate can apply. If approved, the City advances three times the current monthly housing cost to the tenant, and the landlord must reimburse the City.
On a $2,400 apartment, that is $7,200. It is not owed on every unit, only when an eligible household applies and moves out. But it changes the math on taking the maximum. An increase of 9.9 percent does not trigger the program. An increase of exactly 10 percent does.
Seattle notices need city language too
Seattle requires its own text in every increase notice directing tenants to the Renting in Seattle Helpline at 206-684-5700 or seattle.gov/rentinginseattle. A notice without it is unenforceable, and you may have to reissue it and restart the 180 days.
For an increase in Seattle, the renter must receive your notice at least 180 days before the new rent starts. Outside Seattle, the state minimum is 90 days. Count back from the effective date: the City’s own example says a June 1 increase needs notice in hand by December 2.
Treat the dates below as last-chance dates, not targets. Serve two weeks earlier if you can, especially around holidays, and start increases on the first day of a rental period.
One open question: the law does not say whether the notice date or the effective date decides which year’s cap applies. If you serve a notice in 2026 for a 2027 date, staying at or under 9.683 percent avoids the issue.
Jan 1 to Apr 1, 2027
Seattle window closed
Seattle notices for these dates had to arrive by July 4, August 4, September 1 and October 2, 2026. Outside Seattle, February 1 still works if notice arrives by November 2, and March 1 if it arrives by November 30, 2026.
May 1, 2027
Seattle: Nov 1, 2026. State: Jan 30, 2027
November 1 is a Sunday. If you want a May increase in Seattle, serve this month.
Jun 1, 2027
Seattle: Dec 2, 2026. State: Mar 2, 2027
Serve before Thanksgiving week to leave room.
Jul 1, 2027
Seattle: Jan 1, 2027. State: Apr 1, 2027
New Year's Day is a holiday, so plan to serve Seattle notices in mid-December.
Aug 1, 2027
Seattle: Feb 1, 2027. State: May 2, 2027
Batch summer renewals into one notice run.
Sep 1, 2027
Seattle: Mar 4, 2027. State: Jun 2, 2027
Fall move-in anniversaries need their Seattle notice before spring arrives.
Oct 1, 2027
Seattle: Apr 3, 2027. State: Jul 2, 2027
Seattle notices go out before the 2028 cap is known, so the 2027 cap is your ceiling.
Nov 1, 2027
Seattle: May 4, 2027. State: Aug 2, 2027
Still a 2027 increase, still capped at 10 percent.
Dec 1, 2027
Seattle: Jun 3, 2027. State: Sep 1, 2027
The last first-of-the-month date that falls under the 2027 cap.
Mid-July 2027
Commerce publishes the 2028 cap
Recheck before you serve any notice for an increase that takes effect in 2028.
Use the calculator below to check a specific unit. Enter the current rent, the increase you are considering and the effective date, and it shows the new rent alongside the Seattle and state notice dates.
2027 rent increase and notice date calculator
Check the new rent against the 10 percent cap and see when notice must reach the tenant.
Dates are the latest receipt dates and do not count the day of service. Serve earlier to allow for delivery, weekends and holidays. Exempt properties and subsidized tenancies follow different rules.
If the calculator shows a receipt date that has already passed, move the effective date to the next rental period. The 180 and 90 days are minimums, and there is no way to shorten them.
Renewal planning
Pacific Crest Real Estate runs structured renewal timelines and standardized notices for 4,800+ units across Seattle, the Eastside and Snohomish County.
Treat 10 percent as a ceiling, not a target. Start with what comparable units in your neighborhood lease for today, then weigh the extra rent against what a move-out would cost you in vacant days, turnover work and leasing. In Seattle, also price in the EDRA trigger at 10 percent.
A renewal increase is a bet on whether the tenant stays. Push too close to the ceiling on a unit that is already at market, and you invite a move-out that can cost more than the increase earns. Hold far below market for years, and the cap makes the gap slow to close.
A simple example, using round numbers. On a $2,400 unit, a 10 percent increase adds $240 a month. A 6 percent increase adds $144. The difference is $96 a month, or $1,152 over a year. One month of vacancy at the new rent wipes out more than two years of that difference, before cleaning, paint and leasing costs.
Taking the full 10 percent
A moderate, market-based increase
Decide unit by unit, not by portfolio average. Our guide to reducing tenant turnover in Seattle covers the retention side of that trade-off.
Pro tip: set the lease-up rent carefully
Because rent is frozen for the first 12 months and then capped, the rent you sign a new tenant at is effectively a two-year decision. A unit leased well below market this winter can only climb by the annual cap from that base. Price new leases from current comps, not from what last year’s tenant paid.
A Washington rent increase notice has to be in a form substantially the same as the one written into state law, and Commerce publishes a fill-in version. The form states the cap, then shows the increase as a percentage and as a dollar amount, the new monthly total, and the effective date.
If a Seattle unit does not meet the city’s rental inspection standards, the tenant can notify you in writing after receiving the notice, and the increase cannot take effect until the problem is fixed. Winter is when leaks, mold and heat failures surface, so clear open work orders before you serve. Routine inspections and maintenance before renewal season keep these from stalling an increase.
Most problems are about dates, missing language and uncounted charges, not the percentage.
The state minimum is 90 days, but Seattle requires 180. A 90-day notice in the city has to be reissued and the clock restarted.
A new recurring parking or amenity charge counts toward the 10 percent alongside the rent increase.
Seattle notices without the helpline text are unenforceable. At 10 percent, a missing EDRA notice is a second problem.
Claimed exemptions need supporting facts in the notice. Entity ownership can cancel owner-occupied exemptions.
The cost of getting it wrong is real. A tenant can recover excess rent and fees paid, plus damages of up to three months of the unlawful charges and attorney fees. The Attorney General can seek civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation. If an increase exceeds the cap without a valid exemption, the tenant can also end the lease before the increase takes effect, with 20 days of written notice and no fees.
The rent you can charge in 2027 depends less on the cap than on the date your notice reaches the tenant.
Run every notice through the same list. It is also the core of how our multifamily management team handles renewal season.
Before you send a 2027 rent increase notice
0 of 18 done
Eligibility
The number
The notice
Timing and service
Late October is the turning point. Pull your rent roll, list every 2027 lease end date, and work back 180 days for each Seattle unit. If you are weighing whether to keep doing this yourself, our guide for Seattle rental owners and our overview of property management services lay out what a manager handles on renewals and compliance.
The cap is 10 percent for increases in calendar year 2027. The formula is 7 percent plus Seattle-area inflation, or 10 percent, whichever is less. June 2026 inflation was 4.53 percent, so the formula reached 11.53 percent and the 10 percent ceiling applies. It covers tenancies under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act unless a specific exemption applies.
Seattle requires at least 180 days of written notice for any increase in housing costs, of any size. The state minimum is 90 days, but Seattle's longer rule applies inside the city. Using the City's own counting example, a June 1, 2027 increase needs notice in the tenant's hands by December 2, 2026.
Yes, if the tenancy is past its first 12 months and no other increase falls in the same 12-month window. But an increase of 10 percent or more triggers Seattle's EDRA notice. An eligible household that moves out can receive three months of housing costs, which the landlord reimburses to the City.
Yes, when they are recurring charges in the rental agreement. State law defines rent as recurring and periodic charges for use and occupancy, and Seattle lists parking, storage and other periodic fees as housing costs. One-time charges such as late fees, damage charges and deposits are not part of rent.
Only if the owner lives there. The exemption covers an owner-occupied single-family home renting no more than two units or bedrooms, such as an ADU. A single-family home rented out while the owner lives elsewhere is covered by the cap. The exemption also does not apply to REITs, corporations or LLCs with a corporate member.
Commerce lists the 10 percent cap for January 1 through December 31, 2027, and the 9.683 percent cap for 2026. The law does not spell out whether the notice date or effective date controls. The safe approach for a 2027 effective date served in 2026 is to stay within 9.683 percent, or confirm with an attorney first.
Plan your 2027 renewals with Pacific Crest Real Estate
We build renewal calendars, set increases from local leasing data and serve compliant notices for owners across Seattle and the Puget Sound region. Call (206) 812-9150 or request a quote.
Sources
Verified as of October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Rent increase rules change, and how they apply depends on your property, ownership structure and lease terms. Confirm details with the Department of Commerce, the City of Seattle or a Washington landlord-tenant attorney before serving a notice.
