City of Issaquah – Notice of “Tenant Protections”: Changes Effective October 5

On Tuesday, September 6, the Issaquah City Council passed a new “Tenant Protection” Ordinance with a rent increase notice requirement. Thankfully, due to WMFHA GA and member efforts, the council chose to apply an effective date of October 5 as well as protections for renewal notices provided prior to that date.

We want to make you aware so you can update your processes to comply and ensure renewal notices are sent prior to the date of the law change. 

The new requirement:

Notice of Rent Increase

Any rental agreement or renewal of a rental agreement shall state the dollar amount of the rent or rent increase and require:

• 120 days’ written notice for rent increases greater than (3%)

If the rental agreement governs subsidized housing where the amount of rent is based on the income of the tenant or circumstances specific to the subsidized household, the landlord shall provide a minimum of 30 days' prior written notice of an increase in the amount of rent to each affected tenant.

Impact on Existing Lease Provisions

Any notice of rent increases lawfully given to an existing tenant prior to the effective date of this ordinance shall be deemed valid. Otherwise, the notice provisions of this law apply to all rental agreements as of the effective date of this ordinance.

What This Means for Members:

• Any rent increase notice given to existing tenants prior to October is considered valid
• If you will be increasing rent by more than 3 percent in the next 120 days, you need to notice your tenants prior to October 5

NOTE: As always, these are a general interpretations of the changes adopted and do not constitute legal advice;  always consult the ordinance and your legal counsel for compliance requirements.

Please feel free to contact Ryan Makinster with any questions.