By Representatives Alvarado, Macri, Ramel, Peterson, Berry, Mena, Thai, Reed, Obras, Farivar, Parshley, Ortiz-Self, Cortes, Duerr, Street, Berg, Taylor, Fitzgibbon, Doglio, Timmons, Tharinger, Fosse, Gregerson, Simmons, Wylie, Pollet, Kloba, Nance, Davis, Ormsby, Lekanoff, Bergquist, Scott, Stonier, and Hill
Prefiled 01/09/25. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee on Housing.
1 AN ACT Relating to improving housing stability for tenants 2 subject to the residential landlord-tenant act and the manufactured/
requiring notice of rent and fee increases, limiting fees and 5 deposits, establishing a landlord resource center and associated 6 services, authorizing tenant lease termination, creating parity 7 between lease types, and providing for attorney general enforcement; 8 amending RCW 59.18.140, 59.20.170, 59.20.060, and 59.20.030; adding
9 new sections to chapter 59.18 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 10 59.20 RCW; creating new sections; prescribing penalties; providing an 11 expiration date; and declaring an emergency.
12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
15 NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 16 RCW to read as follows:
17 (1)(a) Except as authorized by an exemption under section 102 of 18 this act, a landlord may not increase the rent for any type of 19 tenancy, regardless of whether the tenancy is month-to-month or for a 20 term greater or lesser than month-to-month:
(i) During the first 12 months after the tenancy begins; and (ii) During any 12-month period of the tenancy, in an amount 3 greater than seven percent.
4 (b) This subsection (1) does not prohibit a landlord from 5 adjusting the rent by any amount after a tenant vacates the dwelling 6 unit and the tenancy ends.
7 (2) If a landlord increases the rent above the amount allowed in 8 subsection (1) of this section as authorized by an exemption under
9 section 102 of this act, the landlord must include facts supporting 10 any claimed exemptions in the written notice of the rent increase. 11 Notice must comply with this section, section 103 of this act, RCW 12 59.18.140, and be served in accordance with RCW 59.12.040.
13 (3) If a landlord increases rent above the amount allowed in 14 subsection (1) of this section and the increase is not authorized by 15 an exemption under section 102 of this act, the tenant must offer the 16 landlord an opportunity to cure the unauthorized increase by 17 providing the landlord with a written demand to reduce the increase 18 to an amount that complies with the limit created in this section. In 19 addition to any other remedies or relief available under this chapter
20 or other law, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement at any 21 time prior to the effective date of the increase by providing the 22 landlord with written notice at least 20 days before terminating the 23 rental agreement. If a tenant terminates a rental agreement under 24 this subsection, the tenant owes rent for the full month in which the 25 tenant vacates the dwelling unit. A landlord may not charge a tenant 26 any fines or fees for terminating a rental agreement under this 27 subsection.
28 (4)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a landlord 29 may not include terms of payment or other material conditions in a 30 rental agreement that are more burdensome to a tenant for a month-to31 month rental agreement than for a rental agreement where the term is 32 greater or lesser than month-to-month, or vice versa.
33 (b) A landlord must provide parity between lease types with 34 respect to the amount of rent charged for a specific dwelling unit. 35 For the purposes of this subsection, "parity between lease types" 36 means that, for leases or rental agreements that a landlord offers 37 for a specific dwelling unit, the landlord may not charge a tenant 38 more than a five percent difference in rent depending on the type of 39 lease or rental agreement offered, regardless of whether the type of
40 lease or rental agreement offered is on a month-to-month or other periodic basis or for a specified period. This five percent difference may not cause the rent charged for a specific dwelling 3 unit to exceed the rent increase limit in subsection (1) of this 4 section.
5 (5) A tenant or the attorney general may bring an action in a 6 court of competent jurisdiction to enforce compliance with this 7 section or section 102 of this act, section 103 of this act, or RCW 8 59.18.140. If the court finds that a landlord violated any of the
9 laws listed in this subsection, the court shall award the following 10 damages and attorneys' fees and costs to the tenant:
11 (a) Damages in the amount of any excess rent, fees, or other 12 costs paid by the tenant;
13 (b) Damages in an amount of up to three months of any unlawful 14 rent, fees, or other costs charged by the landlord; and
15 (c) Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in bringing the 16 action.
17 (6) The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any 18 other remedies provided by law.
19 (7) A landlord may not report the tenant to a tenant screening 20 service provider for failure to pay the portion of the tenant's rent 21 that was unlawfully increased in violation of this section.
22 NEW SECTION. Sec. 102. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 23 RCW to read as follows:
24 (1) A landlord may increase rent in an amount greater than 25 allowed under section 101 of this act only as authorized by the 26 exemptions described in this section. Rent increases are not limited 27 by section 101 of this act for any of the following types of 28 tenancies:
29 (a) A tenancy in a dwelling unit for which the first certificate 30 of occupancy was issued 12 or less years before the date of the 31 notice of the rent increase.
38 (iv) Nonprofit entity, as defined in RCW 84.36.560, where a 39 nonprofit organization, housing authority, or public development
authority has the majority decision-making power on behalf of the general partner, and where maximum rents are regulated by other laws or local, state, or federal affordable housing program requirements.
(c) A tenancy in a qualified low-income housing development as 5 defined in RCW 82.45.010, where the property is owned by any of the 6 organizations described in (b)(i) through (iv) of this subsection.
7 (d) A tenancy in a dwelling unit in which the tenant shares a 8 bathroom or kitchen facility with the owner who maintains a principal 9 residence at the residential real property.
10 (e) A tenancy in a single-family owner-occupied residence, 11 including a residence in which the owner-occupant rents or leases no 12 more than two units or bedrooms including, but not limited to, an 13 attached or detached accessory dwelling unit.
14 (f) A tenancy in a duplex, triplex, or fourplex in which the 15 owner occupied one of the units as the owner's principal place of 16 residence at the beginning of the tenancy, so long as the owner 17 continues the occupancy.
18 (2) Subsection (1)(d) through (f) of this section only apply 19 where the owner is not any of the following:
25 NEW SECTION. Sec. 103. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 26 RCW to read as follows:
27 (1) A landlord must provide a tenant with notice of rent 28 increases in substantially the following form. Notice under this 29 section must comply with the requirements in RCW 59.18.140 and be 30 served in accordance with RCW 59.12.040.
31 (2) The notice of rent increase requirement in this section does 32 not apply if the rental agreement governs a subsidized tenancy where 33 the amount of rent is based on, in whole or in part, a percentage of 34 the income of the tenant or other circumstances specific to the 35 subsidized household. However, for purposes of this section, a 36 subsidized tenancy does not include tenancies where some or all of 37 the rent paid to the landlord comes from a portable tenant-based 38 voucher or similar portable assistance administered through a housing 39 authority or other state or local agency, or tenancies in other types of affordable housing where maximum unit rents are limited by area median income levels and a tenant's base rent does not change as the 3 tenant's income does.
7 This notice is required by Washington state law to inform you of 8 your rights regarding rent and fee increases. Your rent or rental 9 amount includes all recurring and periodic charges, sometimes 10 referred to as rent and fees, identified in your rental agreement for 11 the use and occupancy of your rental unit. Washington state limits 12 how much your landlord can raise your rent and any other recurring or 13 periodic charges for the use and occupancy of your rental unit.
14 (1) Your landlord can raise your rent and any other recurring or 15 periodic charges identified in the rental agreement for use and 16 occupancy of your rental unit once every 12 months by up to seven 17 percent, as allowed by section 101 of this act. Your landlord is not 18 required to raise the rent or other recurring or periodic charges by 19 any amount.
20 (2) Your landlord may be exempt from the seven percent limit on 21 increases for rent and other recurring or periodic charges for the 22 reasons described in section 102 of this act. If your landlord claims 23 an exemption, your landlord is required to include supporting facts 24 with this notice.
25 (3) Your landlord must properly and fully complete the form below 26 to notify you of any increases in rent and other recurring or 27 periodic charges and any exemptions claimed.
34 This increase for rent and/or other recurring or periodic charges 35 is allowed by state law and is (check one of the following):
Under penalty of perjury, I (landlord name) certify that I am allowed under Washington state law to raise your rent and other recurring or periodic charges by (percent), which is more than the 5 maximum increase otherwise allowed by state law, because I am 6 claiming the following exemption under section 102 of this act (check 7 one of the following):
13 __ You live in a dwelling unit owned by a public housing 14 authority, public development authority, or nonprofit organization 15 where maximum rents are regulated by other laws or local, state, or 16 federal affordable housing program requirements, or a qualified low17 income housing development as defined in RCW 82.45.010, where the 18 property is owned by a public housing authority, public development 19 authority, or nonprofit organization. (The landlord must include 20 facts or attach documents supporting the exemption.)
21 __ You live in a dwelling unit in which you share a bathroom or 22 kitchen facility with the owner, and the owner maintains a principal 23 residence at the residential real property. (The landlord must 24 include facts or attach documents supporting the exemption.)
25 __ You live in a single-family owner-occupied residence in which 26 the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two units or bedrooms 27 including, but not limited to, an attached or detached accessory 28 dwelling unit. (The landlord must include facts or attach documents 29 supporting the exemption.)
30 __ You live in a duplex, triplex, or fourplex in which the owner 31 occupied one of the units as the owner's principal place of residence 32 at the beginning of the tenancy, and the owner continues in 33 occupancy. (The landlord must include facts or attach documents 34 supporting the exemption.)"
35 Sec. 104. RCW 59.18.140 and 2019 c 105 s 1 are each amended to 36 read as follows:
37 (1) The tenant shall conform to all reasonable obligations or 38 restrictions, whether denominated by the landlord as rules, rental
39 agreement, rent, or otherwise, concerning the use, occupation, and
maintenance of his or her dwelling unit, appurtenances thereto, and the property of which the dwelling unit is a part if such obligations and restrictions are not in violation of any of the terms of this chapter and are not otherwise contrary to law, and if such 5 obligations and restrictions are brought to the attention of the 6 tenant at the time of his or her initial occupancy of the dwelling 7 unit and thus become part of the rental agreement.
8 (2) Except for termination of tenancy and an increase in the 9 amount of rent, after ((thirty)) 30 days written notice to each 10 affected tenant, a new rule of tenancy may become effective upon 11 completion of the term of the rental agreement or sooner upon mutual 12 consent.
13 (3)(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this subsection, a 14 landlord shall provide a minimum of ((sixty)) 90 days' prior written 15 notice of an increase in the amount of rent to each affected tenant, 16 and any increase in the amount of rent may not become effective prior 17 to the completion of the term of the rental agreement.
18 (b) If the rental agreement governs a subsidized tenancy where 19 the amount of rent is based on the income of the tenant or 20 circumstances specific to the subsidized household, a landlord shall 21 provide a minimum of ((thirty)) 30 days' prior written notice of an 22 increase in the amount of rent to each affected tenant. An increase 23 in the amount of rent may become effective upon completion of the 24 term of the rental agreement or sooner upon mutual consent.
25 (c) For a tenant whose lease or rental agreement was entered into 26 or renewed before the effective date of this section and whose 27 tenancy is for a specified time, if the lease or rental agreement has 28 more than 60 days but less than 90 days left before the end of the 29 specified time as of the effective date of this section, the landlord 30 must provide written notice to the affected tenant a minimum of 60 31 days before the effective date of an increase in the amount of rent.
34 NEW SECTION. Sec. 201. A new section is added to chapter 59.20 35 RCW to read as follows:
36 (1) Except as authorized by an exemption under section 202 of 37 this act and as provided in RCW 59.20.060(2)(c), a landlord may not increase the rent for any type of tenancy, regardless of whether the tenancy is month-to-month or for a term greater than month-to-month:
(a) During the first 12 months after the tenancy begins; and (b) During any 12-month period of the tenancy, in an amount 5 greater than seven percent.
6 (2) If a landlord increases the rent above the amount allowed in 7 subsection (1) of this section as authorized by an exemption under 8 section 202 of this act, the landlord must include facts supporting 9 any claimed exemptions in the written notice of the rent increase. 10 Notice must comply with this section, section 203 of this act, RCW 11 59.20.090(2), and be served in accordance with RCW 59.12.040.
12 (3) If a landlord increases rent above the amount allowed in 13 subsection (1) of this section and the increase is not authorized by 14 an exemption under section 202 of this act, the tenant must offer the 15 landlord an opportunity to cure the unauthorized increase by 16 providing the landlord with a written demand to reduce the increase 17 to an amount that complies with the limit created in this section. In 18 addition to any other remedies or relief available under this chapter
19 or other law, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement at any 20 time prior to the effective date of the increase by providing the 21 landlord with written notice at least 30 days before terminating the 22 rental agreement. If a tenant terminates a rental agreement under 23 this subsection, the tenant owes rent for the full month in which the 24 tenant vacates the manufactured/mobile home lot. A landlord may not 25 charge a tenant any fines or fees for terminating a rental agreement 26 under this subsection.
27 (4) A tenant or the attorney general may bring an action in a 28 court of competent jurisdiction to enforce compliance with this 29 section or section 202 of this act, section 203 of this act, RCW 30 59.20.060, or 59.20.170. If the court finds that a landlord violated 31 any of the laws listed in this subsection, the court shall award the 32 following damages and attorneys' fees and costs to the tenant:
33 (a) Damages in the amount of any excess rent, fees, or other 34 costs paid by the tenant;
35 (b) Damages in an amount of up to three months of any unlawful 36 rent, fees, or other costs charged by the landlord; and
37 (c) Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in bringing the 38 action.
39 (5) The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any 40 other remedies provided by law.
(6) A landlord may not report a tenant to a tenant screening service provider for failure to pay the portion of the tenant's rent that was unlawfully increased in violation of this section.
4 NEW SECTION. Sec. 202. A new section is added to chapter 59.20 5 RCW to read as follows:
6 A landlord may increase rent in an amount greater than allowed 7 under section 201 of this act only as authorized by the exemptions 8 described in this section or as provided in RCW 59.20.060(2)(c). 9 (1) Rent increases are not limited by section 201 of this act for 10 any of the following types of tenancies:
17 (b) A tenancy in a qualified low-income housing development as 18 defined in RCW 82.45.010, where the property is owned by any of the 19 organizations described in (a)(i) through (iii) of this subsection.
20 (2) During the first 12 months after the qualified sale of a 21 manufactured/mobile home community to an eligible organization as 22 defined in RCW 59.20.030 whose mission aligns with the long-term 23 preservation and affordability of the manufactured/mobile home 24 community, the eligible organization may increase the rent for the 25 manufactured/mobile home community in an amount greater than allowed 26 under section 201 of this act as needed to cover the cost of 27 purchasing the manufactured/mobile home community if the increase is
28 approved by vote or agreement with the majority of the manufactured/ 29 mobile home owners in the manufactured/mobile home community.
30 (3) If a rental agreement is transferred under RCW 59.20.073 due 31 to a former tenant's sale of a manufactured/mobile home, the landlord 32 has the option to make a one-time increase of no more than 10 percent 33 to the rent for the manufactured/mobile home lot at the time of the 34 first renewal of the rental agreement after the transfer. A landlord
included along with the notice required under section 203 of this
5 (1) A landlord must provide a tenant with notice of rent 6 increases in substantially the following form. Notice under this 7 section must comply with the requirements in RCW 59.20.090(2) and be 8 served in accordance with RCW 59.12.040.
9 (2) The notice of rent increase requirement in this section does 10 not apply if the rental agreement governs a subsidized tenancy where 11 the amount of rent is based on, in whole or in part, a percentage of 12 the income of the tenant or other circumstances specific to the 13 subsidized household. However, for purposes of this section, a 14 subsidized tenancy does not include tenancies where some or all of 15 the rent paid to the landlord comes from a portable tenant-based 16 voucher or similar portable assistance administered through a housing 17 authority or other state or local agency, or tenancies in other types 18 of affordable housing where maximum unit rents are limited by area 19 median income levels and a tenant's base rent does not change as the 20 tenant's income does.
24 This notice is required by Washington state law to inform you of 25 your rights regarding rent and fee increases. Your rent or rental 26 amount includes all recurring and periodic charges, sometimes 27 referred to as rent and fees, identified in your rental agreement for 28 the use and occupancy of your manufactured/mobile home lot. 29 Washington state limits how much your landlord can raise your rent 30 and any other recurring or periodic charges for the use and occupancy 31 of your manufactured/mobile home lot.
32 (1) Your landlord can raise your rent and other recurring or 33 periodic charges once every 12 months by up to seven percent, as 34 allowed by section 201 of this act. Your landlord is not required to 35 raise the rent or other recurring or periodic charges by any amount.
36 (2) Your landlord may be exempt from the seven percent limit on 37 increases for rent and other recurring or periodic charges for the 38 reasons described in section 202 of this act. If your landlord claims an exemption, your landlord is required to include supporting facts 2 with this notice.
3 (3) Your landlord must properly and fully complete the form below 4 to notify you of any increases in rent and other recurring or 5 periodic charges and any exemptions claimed.
12 This increase in rent and/or other recurring and periodic charges 13 is allowed by state law and is (check one of the following):
20 Under penalty of perjury, I (landlord name) certify that I am 21 allowed under Washington state law to raise your rent and other 22 recurring or periodic charges by (percent), which is more than the 23 maximum increase otherwise allowed by state law, because I am 24 claiming the following exemption under section 202 of this act (check 25 one of the following):
26 __ You live on a manufactured/mobile home lot owned by a public 27 housing authority, public development authority, or nonprofit 28 organization where maximum rents are regulated by other laws or 29 local, state, or federal affordable housing program requirements, or 30 a qualified low-income housing development as defined in RCW 31 82.45.010, where the property is owned by a public housing authority,
32 public development authority, or nonprofit organization. (The 33 landlord must include facts or attach documents supporting the 34 exemption.)
7 __ Your manufactured/mobile home lot rental agreement is up for 8 first renewal after it was transferred to you under RCW 59.20.073, so
9 your landlord is allowed to make a one-time increase of no more than 10 10 percent to your rent and other recurring or periodic charges. In 11 order to exercise this one-time increase option, the landlord must 12 have provided you with notice of this option prior to the final 13 transfer of the rental agreement to you. (The landlord must include 14 facts or attach documents supporting the exemption, including 15 evidence that proper notice of this one-time increase option was 16 provided to you prior to the final transfer of the rental 17 agreement.)"
18 Sec. 204. RCW 59.20.170 and 2004 c 136 s 2 are each amended to 19 read as follows:
20 (1) For leases or rental agreements entered into on or after the 21 effective date of this section, if a landlord charges a tenant any 22 move-in fees or security deposits, the move-in fees and security 23 deposits combined may not exceed one month's rent, unless the tenant 24 brings any pets into the tenancy, in which case the move-in fees and 25 security deposits combined may not exceed two months' rent. This 26 subsection (1) does not apply to leases or rental agreements entered 27 into before the effective date of this section even if such leases or 28 rental agreements are renewed on or after the effective date of this 29 section.
30 (2) All moneys paid to the landlord by the tenant as a deposit as 31 security for performance of the tenant's obligations in a rental 32 agreement shall promptly be deposited by the landlord in a trust 33 account, maintained by the landlord for the purpose of holding such
34 security deposits for tenants of the landlord, in a financial 35 institution as defined by RCW ((30.22.041)) 30A.22.041 or licensed 36 escrow agent located in Washington. ((Except as provided in 37 subsection (2) of this section, unless)) Unless otherwise agreed in 38 writing, the landlord shall be entitled to receipt of interest paid
39 on such trust account deposits. The landlord shall provide the tenant with a written receipt for the deposit and shall provide written 2 notice of the name and address and location of the depository and any 3 subsequent change thereof. If during a tenancy the status of landlord
4 is transferred to another, any sums in the deposit trust account 5 affected by such transfer shall simultaneously be transferred to an 6 equivalent trust account of the successor landlord, and the successor 7 landlord shall promptly notify the tenant of the transfer and of the 8 name, address and location of the new depository. The tenant's claim
9 to any moneys paid under this section shall be prior to that of any 10 creditor of the landlord, including a trustee in bankruptcy or 11 receiver, even if such moneys are commingled.
12 (((2) All moneys paid, in excess of two months' rent on the 13 mobile home lot, to the landlord by the tenant as a deposit as 14 security for performance of the tenant's obligations in a rental 15 agreement shall be deposited into an interest-bearing trust account 16 for the particular tenant. The interest accruing on the deposit in 17 the account, minus fees charged to administer the account, shall be 18 paid to the tenant on an annual basis. All other provisions of 19 subsection (1) of this section shall apply to deposits under this 20 subsection.))
21 Sec. 205. RCW 59.20.060 and 2023 c 40 s 3 are each amended to 22 read as follows:
23 (1) Any mobile home space tenancy regardless of the term, shall 24 be based upon a written rental agreement, signed by the parties, 25 which shall contain:
26 (a) The terms for the payment of rent, including time and place, 27 and any additional charges to be paid by the tenant. Additional 28 charges that occur less frequently than monthly shall be itemized in 29 a billing to the tenant;
39 whom rental payments are to be made shall be considered the agent;
7 (g) A statement that: "The park may be sold or otherwise 8 transferred at any time with the result that subsequent owners may
9 close the mobile home park, or that the landlord may close the park 10 at any time after the required closure notice as provided in RCW 11 59.20.080." The statement required by this subsection must: (i) 12 Appear in print that is in boldface and is larger than the other text 13 of the rental agreement; (ii) be set off by means of a box, blank 14 space, or comparable visual device; and (iii) be located directly 15 above the tenant's signature on the rental agreement;
16 (h) A copy of a closure notice, as required in RCW 59.20.080, if 17 such notice is in effect;
23 (j) A listing of the utilities, services, and facilities which 24 will be available to the tenant during the tenancy and the nature of 25 the fees, if any, to be charged together with a statement that, in 26 the event any utilities are changed to be charged independent of the
27 rent during the term of the rental agreement, the landlord agrees to 28 decrease the amount of the rent charged proportionately;
29 (k) A written description, picture, plan, or map of the 30 boundaries of a mobile home space sufficient to inform the tenant of 31 the exact location of the tenant's space in relation to other 32 tenants' spaces;
33 (l) A written description, picture, plan, or map of the location 34 of the tenant's responsibility for utility hook-ups, consistent with 35 RCW 59.20.130(6);
36 (m) A statement of the current zoning of the land on which the 37 mobile home park is located;
38 (n) A statement of the expiration date of any conditional use, 39 temporary use, or other land use permit subject to a fixed expiration
date that is necessary for the continued use of the land as a mobile 2 home park; and
6 (2) Any rental agreement executed between the landlord and tenant 7 shall not contain any provision:
12 (b) Which authorizes the towing or impounding of a vehicle except 13 upon notice to the owner thereof or the tenant whose guest is the 14 owner of the vehicle;
15 (c) Which allows the landlord to alter the due date for rent 16 payment or increase the rent: (i) During the term of the rental 17 agreement if the term is less than two years, or (ii) more frequently 18 than annually if the initial term is for two years or more: PROVIDED, 19 That a rental agreement may include an escalation clause for a pro 20 rata share of any increase in the mobile home park's real property 21 taxes or utility assessments or charges, over the base taxes or 22 utility assessments or charges of the year in which the rental 23 agreement took effect, if the clause also provides for a pro rata 24 reduction in rent or other charges in the event of a reduction in 25 real property taxes or utility assessments or charges, below the base
36 (d) By which the tenant agrees to waive or forego rights or 37 remedies under this chapter;
9 terminate the tenancy for a period of time specified in the waiver if 10 the landlord would be otherwise entitled to terminate the tenancy 11 under this chapter;
12 (h) By which, at the time the rental agreement is entered into, 13 the landlord and tenant agree to the selection of a particular 14 arbitrator; ((or))
15 (i) By which the tenant agrees to make rent payments through 16 electronic means only; or
17 (j) Allowing the landlord to charge a late fee for rent that is 18 paid within five days following its due date for leases or rental 19 agreements entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of 20 this section. If rent is more than five days past due, the landlord 21 may charge late fees commencing from the first day after the due date 22 until paid. During the first month that rent is past due, late fees 23 may not exceed two percent of the tenant's total rent per month. 24 During the second consecutive month that rent is past due, late fees 25 may not exceed three percent of the tenant's total rent per month. 26 During the third consecutive month and all subsequent consecutive 27 months that rent is past due, late fees may not exceed five percent 28 of the tenant's total rent per month. Nothing in this subsection 29 prohibits a landlord from serving a notice to pay or vacate at any 30 time after the rent becomes due.
31 (3) Any provision prohibited under this section that is included 32 in a rental agreement is unenforceable.
33 Sec. 206. RCW 59.20.030 and 2024 c 325 s 1 are each amended to 34 read as follows:
3 (2) "Active duty" means service authorized by the president of 4 the United States, the secretary of defense, or the governor for a
22 (5) "Housing and low-income assistance organization" means an 23 organization that provides tenants living in mobile home parks, 24 manufactured housing communities, and manufactured/mobile home 25 communities with information about their rights and other pertinent 26 information;
27 (6) "Housing authority" or "authority" means any of the public 28 body corporate and politic created in RCW 35.82.030;
29 (7) "Landlord" or "owner" means the owner of a mobile home park 30 and includes the agents of the owner;
31 (8) "Local government" means a town government, city government, 32 code city government, or county government in the state of 33 Washington;
34 (9) "Manufactured home" means a single-family dwelling built 35 according to the United States department of housing and urban 36 development manufactured home construction and safety standards act,
37 which is a national preemptive building code. A manufactured home also: (a) Includes plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems; (b) is built on a permanent chassis; and (c) can be transported in one or more sections with each section at least
eight feet wide and 40 feet long when transported, or when installed on the site is three hundred twenty square feet or greater;
(10) "Manufactured/mobile home" means either a manufactured home 4 or a mobile home;
5 (11) "Mobile home" means a factory-built dwelling built prior to 6 June 15, 1976, to standards other than the United States department 7 of housing and urban development code, and acceptable under 8 applicable state codes in effect at the time of construction or
9 introduction of the home into the state. Mobile homes have not been 10 built since the introduction of the United States department of 11 housing and urban development manufactured home construction and 12 safety act;
13 (12) "Mobile home lot" means a portion of a mobile home park or 14 manufactured housing community designated as the location of one 15 mobile home, manufactured home, or park model and its accessory 16 buildings, and intended for the exclusive use as a primary residence
17 by the occupants of that mobile home, manufactured home, or park 18 model;
19 (13) "Mobile home park cooperative" or "manufactured housing 20 cooperative" means real property consisting of common areas and two 21 or more lots held out for placement of mobile homes, manufactured 22 homes, or park models in which both the individual lots and the 23 common areas are owned by an association of shareholders which leases 24 or otherwise extends the right to occupy individual lots to its own 25 members;
26 (14) "Mobile home park subdivision" or "manufactured housing 27 subdivision" means real property, whether it is called a subdivision, 28 condominium, or planned unit development, consisting of common areas 29 and two or more lots held for placement of mobile homes, manufactured 30 homes, or park models in which there is private ownership of the 31 individual lots and common, undivided ownership of the common areas 32 by owners of the individual lots;
33 (15) "Mobile home park," "manufactured housing community," or 34 "manufactured/mobile home community" means any real property which is 35 rented or held out for rent to others for the placement of two or 36 more mobile homes, manufactured homes, or park models for the primary
6 on which any advertisement, listing, or public or private notice is 7 first made advertising that a manufactured/mobile home community or 8 the property on which it sits is for sale or lease. A delivered 9 notice of opportunity to compete to purchase acts as a notice of 10 sale;
11 (18) "Occupant" means any person, including a live-in care 12 provider, other than a tenant, who occupies a mobile home, 13 manufactured home, or park model and mobile home lot;
14 (19) "Orders" means written official military orders, or any 15 written notification, certification, or verification from the service 16 member's commanding officer, with respect to the service member's 17 current or future military status;
18 (20) "Park model" means a recreational vehicle intended for 19 permanent or semi-permanent installation and is used as a primary 20 residence;
21 (21) "Permanent change of station" means: (a) Transfer to a unit 22 located at another port or duty station; (b) change of a unit's home 23 port or permanent duty station; (c) call to active duty for a period 24 not less than 90 days; (d) separation; or (e) retirement;
25 (22) "Qualified sale of manufactured/mobile home community" means 26 the sale, as defined in RCW 82.45.010, of land and improvements 27 comprising a manufactured/mobile home community that is transferred 28 in a single purchase to a qualified tenant organization or to an 29 eligible organization for the purpose of preserving the property as a 30 manufactured/mobile home community;
31 (23) "Qualified tenant organization" means a formal organization 32 of tenants within a manufactured/mobile home community, with the only 33 requirement for membership consisting of being a tenant. If a 34 majority of the tenants, based on home sites within the manufactured/
35 mobile home community, agree that they want to preserve the 36 manufactured/mobile home community then they will appoint a
37 spokesperson to represent the wishes of the qualified tenant organization to the landlord and the landlord's representative;
(24) "Recreational vehicle" means a travel trailer, motor home, truck camper, or camping trailer that is primarily designed and used as temporary living quarters, is either self-propelled or mounted on or drawn by another vehicle, is transient, is not occupied as a primary residence, and is not immobilized or permanently affixed to a 4 mobile home lot;
5 (25) "Rent" or "rental amount" means recurring and periodic 6 charges identified in the rental agreement for the use and occupancy 7 of the manufactured/mobile home lot, which may include charges for 8 utilities as provided in RCW 59.20.060. These terms do not include
9 nonrecurring charges for costs incurred due to late payment, damages, 10 deposits, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys' fees;
11 (26) "Resident nonprofit cooperative" means a nonprofit 12 cooperative corporation formed by a group of manufactured/mobile home 13 community residents for the purpose of acquiring the manufactured/
14 mobile home community in which they reside and converting the 15 manufactured/mobile home community to a mobile home park cooperative 16 or manufactured housing cooperative;
17 (((26))) (27) "Service member" means an active member of the 18 United States armed forces, a member of a military reserve component, 19 or a member of the national guard who is either stationed in or a 20 resident of Washington state;
21 (((27))) (28) "Tenant" means any person, except a transient, who 22 rents a mobile home lot;
23 (((28))) (29) "Transient" means a person who rents a mobile home 24 lot for a period of less than one month for purposes other than as a 25 primary residence.
28 NEW SECTION. Sec. 301. This act is necessary for the immediate 29 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of 30 the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes 31 effect immediately.
32 NEW SECTION. Sec. 302. If any provision of this act or its 33 application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 34 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 35 persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 303. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department of commerce must contract with an independent third party, which may 4 include educational institutions or private entities with subject 5 matter expertise, to carry out a social vulnerability assessment of 6 the impacts of this act. At a minimum, the assessment must consider 7 the following:
8 (a) The impact of rent stabilization on extending tenancies due 9 to rent capping.
10 (b) Whether there are social vulnerability impacts on cost 11 burdened, immutable characteristic communities, or rural communities.
12 (c) Whether rent stabilization creates a disproportionate burden 13 on new or transitioning renters as a result of current tenants' rent 14 being capped.
15 (d) The impacts of rent stabilization on alternative rental 16 markets such as short-term rentals.
17 (e) The impacts of rent stabilization on state-owned or state-run 18 housing units.
19 (2) The assessment is due to the legislature no later than June 20 30, 2028, and shall be provided in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.
