HB 1388 - Residential Rent Practice (7% Cap)

Protecting tenants by prohibiting predatory residential rent practices and by applying the consumer protection act to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant act.

Bill Information

Sponsors:  Macri, Ramel, Peterson, Thai, Gregerson, Hackney, Ormsby, Alvarado, Doglio, Cortes, Riccelli, Mena, Kloba, Bateman, Fitzgibbon, Street, Taylor, Lekanoff, Simmons, Farivar, Pollet, Stonier, Berry, Reed, Bergquist, Morgan, Davis, Santos, Chopp, Stearns, Fosse

Status: (H) Appropriations

What the bill does:

• Applies to both residential housing and manufactured home communities.

• Prohibits a landlord from increasing rent more than the rate of inflation (CPI-U) or 3%, whichever is greater, up to a maximum or 7% above existing rent if the rent increase:
  Is not justified by costs necessary to maintain the dwelling unit
  Is substantially likely to lead to the displacement of the tenant, or
  Is used to avoid other tenant protections.

• Creates a private cause of action for a tenant to recover actual damages, punitive damages equal to 3 months' rent and fees, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

• Provides that a violation of the RLTA or MHLTA is a violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

• Prohibits charging a higher rent or including terms of payment or other material conditions in a rental agreement that are more burdensome to a tenant for a month-to-month rental agreement than for a longer-term rental agreement.

• Rent increase provisions do not apply to:
  Dwelling units that are less than 10 years old.
  Tenancies for which the landlord is required to reduce rent to 30% or less of the tenant's income because of a federal, state, or local program or subsidy.

Latest Action Alert: View

Talking Points: N/A

Notes:

HB 1388 was scheduled for Executive Session in (H) Housing on Thursday, Feb 2, but has since been removed probably becasue members believe it needs more work.