180 Day Notice and Tenant Protection Bill Fails to Pass

HB 1124, which would have required 180 notice was placed on the House Floor Calendar for a vote, but eventually failed to pass when it wasn’t brought up prior the “origin of house” cutoff. In addition to highlighting concerns during committee hearings, WMFHA staff and a broad coalition of stakeholders worked with House Housing Chair and prime sponsor Strom Petersen to discuss possible compromises including a shorter notification window, or a much higher increase threshold.  As part of that discussion, a preemption on local tenant protections was also discussed.

The bill:

• Requires landlords to provide at least 180 days' and no more than 220 days' notice for rent increases over 5 percent.
• Allows a tenant to terminate a tenancy without penalty for any rent increase over 5 percent.
• Limits late rental payment fees to the lesser of 10 percent of the rental amount or $75 total.

Although the bill didn’t move this year, it will likely be up for consideration next legislative session, so WMFHA will continue discussions with the prime sponsor throughout the interim.