This bill (Substitute Senate Bill 5222) adds new sections to chapter 59.18 RCW and chapter 59.20 RCW and amends several existing landlord-tenant provisions. It limits increases to “rent and fees combined” by prohibiting any increase during the first 12 months of a tenancy and by capping increases at seven percent in any 12-month period unless an enumerated exemption applies. Landlords who claim an exemption must include supporting facts and certify under penalty of perjury in the written notice. If a landlord imposes an unlawful increase, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement with short written notice (the general tenancy provision allows termination with at least 20 days’ written notice; the manufactured/mobile home provisions allow 30 days’ notice) and owes only prorated rent through the vacate date. The bill also bars landlords from imposing more burdensome terms on month-to-month versus fixed-term tenancies and prohibits reporting tenants to screening services for nonpayment tied to unlawfully increased rent or fees. The bill imposes new procedural requirements, limits, and remedies: it requires annual and specified rent-increase notices, prescribes notice periods (generally 60 days, 30 days for certain subsidized tenancies, and 180 days where combined rent/fees increase by 3% or more in some cases), and directs the Department of Commerce to create an online landlord resource center. It caps combined move-in fees and security deposits at one month’s rent (with specified exceptions for certain subsidized tenancies), requires prompt deposit of security deposits into Washington trust accounts, and imposes notice and transfer rules when ownership changes or property is foreclosed. Late fee rules are limited (no late fee for payments within five days; thereafter fees may not exceed 1.5% per month). The attorney general must publish model lease provisions by January 1, 2026. Violations of the new and listed existing provisions are declared unfair or deceptive acts under the consumer protection act and expose landlords to damages equal to excess charges, mandatory damages equal to three months of unlawful charges, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. These are procedural and substantive regulatory changes rather than creation of a new crime; they create new tenant protections and landlord obligations, add civil penalties and remedies, and designate certain violations as violations of the consumer protection statute. The act takes effect immediately, includes a severability clause, and requires the Department of Commerce to commission a social vulnerability assessment due to the legislature by June 30, 2028. Important text is missing from the extracted material: key definitions (for example, an explicit statutory definition of “rent and fees combined” and full definitions of “subsidized tenancy”), the complete rent-increase notice form, some parts of the manufactured/mobile home provisions (including complete military termination criteria), and other cross-referenced amendments, so some implementation details and exact scope of exemptions are unclear from the provided excerpts.

If enacted, the act would limit combined rent and fees for most Washington rentals so there can be no increase during the first 12 months of a tenancy and no increase greater than 7% in any 12‑month period for typical chapter 59.18 tenancies (short‑term and vacation rentals included), with parallel limits and timing rules for manufactured/mobile home lots under chapter 59.20. Tenants would gain the right to end a tenancy without penalty if a landlord announces an unlawful increase (20 days’ written notice for chapter 59.18 tenancies and 30 days for manufactured/mobile home lot tenancies), and landlords who exceed the limits without an allowed exemption that they must certify under penalty of perjury would face liability for refunding excess charges, mandatory damages equal to three months of the unlawful amounts, attorneys’ fees, and consumer‑protection enforcement; landlords also must follow new notice timing (including up to 180 days’ notice for increases of 3% or more), limits on move‑in fees/deposits (generally no more than one month’s rent), trust‑account handling of deposits, and late‑fee caps. The practical impact falls heaviest on landlords and owners, who will need to change rent‑increase practices, document and certify any claimed exemptions, hold and transfer deposits in specified trust accounts, provide new notices, and face higher compliance and litigation risk and potential financial penalties; tenants and tenant organizations should see more predictable costs and stronger defenses against eviction for nonpayment tied to unlawful increases, and tenant screening reporting for such nonpayment would be barred. The Department of Commerce must stand up a landlord resource center and the Attorney General must publish model lease provisions by January 1, 2026, and a social vulnerability assessment is required by June 30, 2028; however, key implementation details in the excerpts—most importantly an explicit statutory definition of “rent and fees combined,” the full notice form, and some cross‑referenced provisions and exemptions—are not included here, leaving some operational questions unresolved.