Metro file
The state cap applies (9.683% for 2026) — and Seattle adds the longest big-city notice rule in America: 180 days for any housing-cost increase, of any size (SMC 7.24). At 10% or more in a year, the EDRA relocation-assistance notice must ride along.
Seattle’s rule (SMC 7.24) is the longest big-city notice in America: 180 days’ written notice for any housing-cost increase, of any size — rent, parking, storage, utilities, all of it. The notice must carry the city’s renter-rights language and be served the city’s way; a notice missing the required information cannot be enforced in Seattle. At a cumulative 10% or more within 12 months, the EDRA relocation-assistance notice must ride along, and a qualifying tenant who moves can claim up to three months of housing costs.
On top of the city rule sits the state one: Washington’s cap (9.683% for increases taking effect in 2026) and the first-12-months ban. Seattle tenants hold both hands of cards.
Rules checked October 2026