Begin With the Renter's Handbook
When you sign your first rental agreement, Seattle requires your landlord to give you a paper copy of the city's Renter's Handbook. A digital version is fine for lease renewals, for annual delivery to month-to-month tenants, and whenever the city revises the handbook.
Flip through it and you will find the whole renting cycle laid out, from the search all the way to move-out, with an index for looking up specific terms. Download a printer-friendly version from the city, or order published copies from the Rental Housing Association, which sells them to members and nonmembers alike.
Translations come in 13 languages, including Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Amharic and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
Applying and Screening
Walk into any application knowing that Seattle bars landlords from treating applicants differently based on a long list of protected classes. These include race, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental and marital status, veteran or military status, political ideology and use of a service or assistive animal.
Source of income protections
How you pay rent cannot be a reason to turn you away. Federal, state, local, private and nonprofit subsidies are all covered, along with government-provided income. When figuring an income-to-rent ratio, a landlord must first subtract your subsidy and count only your share of the rent.
If a subsidy program requires an inspection and the unit fails over repairs under $1,500, the landlord must make those repairs and offer you the home.
Reusable screening reports
Save yourself from paying application fees again and again with a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report, which Washington lets you use as many times as you like during a 30-day window. Landlords must state in their screening criteria and on any property website whether they accept one. Within Seattle, criminal history information cannot be used in these reports.
Employer discounts
A landlord cannot offer a discount to workers at one company or trade unless every qualified applicant gets the same deal. Discounts for public employees, such as military discounts, are the exception.
Rent Increases and Notice
Washington's rent stabilization law, HB 1217, reshaped how and when your rent can go up once it took effect on May 7, 2025.
The first-year freeze and the annual cap
Settle in with confidence: rent cannot be raised during the first 12 months of a tenancy, whether your lease is fixed-term or month-to-month. After that, increases are capped at the lesser of 7% plus inflation or 10% in any 12-month period, with the state updating the figure each year and setting the cap at 10% for 2027.
Some homes sit outside the cap, including buildings that received a certificate of occupancy within the last 12 years, government-restricted affordable units and homes owned by qualifying nonprofits. Ask the landlord directly whether your building is covered.
Seattle's 180-day notice
State law calls for 90 days of written notice before a rent increase, but Seattle doubles that to 180 days. If an increase arrives that breaks the rules, state law lets you end your lease before it takes effect by giving 20 days of written notice.
Landlords also cannot charge a different base rent for the same unit depending on whether you pick a fixed-term or month-to-month lease.
No algorithmic rent setting
Since July 31, 2025, Seattle has banned pricing software that recommends rents using data pulled from other, unaffiliated rental properties. The city's concern was that these tools push rents up based on broad market data instead of the actual unit you are renting.
New Caps on Rental Fees
Seattle's City Council passed a rental fee ordinance on August 11, 2026. It applies to leases signed or renewed after July 1, 2027, so current leases are not yet covered.
Clearer listings
Picture browsing ads, listings and applications that show the monthly rent, every mandatory and optional fee, utilities, any discounts or concessions, and an estimated average total monthly cost. That should make comparing apartments in Seattle far easier.
Which fees are allowed
Any fee not specifically permitted will be banned. The ordinance sets these limits, which could be adjusted later:
- Security deposit plus move-in fees: no more than one month's rent
- Move-in fees alone: no more than 10% of one month's rent
- Pet damage deposit: no more than 25% of one month's rent
- Late fees: no more than $10 a month
- Bounced payment fees: the bank's fee or $31
- Lockouts: up to $50 on weekdays and $150 outside business hours
- Replacement keys: actual cost or $50, whichever is less
Landlords may also charge for utilities, parking, air conditioning units and documented tenant-caused damage.
Optional services and insurance
Any optional service will require you to opt in, in writing, with clear instructions for canceling without penalty. Bundled services like cable and internet must also be sold separately. Landlord-offered renters insurance stays legal, but automatic enrollment ends.
Utilities in Multi-Unit Buildings
Apartment utility billing has followed Seattle's Third Party Billing Ordinance since 2003. In some units you have your own meters and pay the utility directly. Others use submeters, and landlords cannot bill you more than the building's actual cost.
Some buildings split a total bill by formula, often based on unit size or number of occupants, which Seattle allows for water but not for electricity. Ask how utilities are billed before you sign, since the answer can change your monthly total.
Registration and Safety Inspections
Nearly every rental unit in Seattle must be registered with the city's Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance program before anyone can legally live there. Registered properties receive periodic health and safety inspections. An unregistered unit can leave a landlord facing enforcement and may even block an eviction.
