An Effort to Slow Rent Increases

A Bellingham tenant and a housing advocate explain how steep rent increases are hurting state residents, and how HB 2114 could help.

For many tenants across Washington, rent is too high – and it keeps climbing. Right now, landlords face no limit on when or how much they can raise rents.  

HB 2114 would cap rent and fee increases to 7 percent in a 12-month period and prevent landlords from raising rent at all in the first year of a resident’s tenancy. In certain cases, it would also require landlords to give six months’ notice of rent increases.  

In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Maleeha Syed speaks with Kerri Burnside, a Bellingham resident and supporter of HB 2114, about how sudden and severe rent increases have affected her life and community.  

Then, Michele Thomas from the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance shares details about the bill, the hurdles it faces, and why she believes it’s needed right now. 

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Credits

Host/Producer: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Reporter: Maleeha Syed and Sara Bernard

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

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