Could Seattle see rent control? Only if the state allows it

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant introduced a rent control bill on Friday that would regulate how much landlords can raise rents. The proposal would limit rental price increases to the regional inflation rate.

"Seattle's housing affordability and cost-of-living crisis is the worst it's been in decades," Sawant said. "And it's only getting worse."

But there is a major hitch.

Washington state has had a ban on rent control since 1981. Sawant's rental control proposal is a “trigger” law that would only go into effect if the state ban is ever lifted.

That didn’t stop dozens of people from turning up for a public hearing before the council committee meeting to voice their support for the idea.

“Corporate landlords jack up rents because they have the power to do so, not because they need to,” said resident and rent control supporter Ken Ohlendorf.

In most other places with some form of rent control, newly constructed units are exempt. But in Sawant’s proposal, future housing units would all be covered by rent control. The idea is to avoid the two-tiered rental markets that have emerged in other cities with rent control, like New York City, where there’s a huge gap between rent-controlled and market-rate prices.

Landlords and members of the public who testified against the bill at the hearing raised concerns that Sawant’s proposal could lead to unintended consequences. Some owners said if there were fewer incentives to build because of rent control, then fewer new units would come online to meet the soaring demand. The new law could also provoke more rental property owners into selling their buildings to condos developers, further squeezing the supply of rental units.

“Rent control is the ultimate NIMBY policy, and Sawant's proposal is the worst possible version. It shuts Seattle's door to newcomers and makes no room for them,” said Marilyn Yim, who described herself as a small landlord and union member.

If it ever does take effect, the measure would also create a rent control commission to advise on policy. And it would include some exemptions to the rent control law such as Airbnbs.