The Washington State legislative session is just around the corner. The state Capitol in Olympia will be booming with activity soon. Local lawmakers will address a plethora of topics, including affordable housing and homelessness.  

Rep. Lauren Davis (D-Shoreline), who represents the 32nd Legislative District, said the House Democratic Caucus (HDC) has its sights set on rent stabilization. More specifically, by reintroducing a bill that limits rent increases for existing tenants to 7% in a year.

Last year, House Bill 2114 made it out of the House and died in the Senate. Rep. Emily Alvarado (D-Seattle) is the bill sponsor. Opponents said the policy could hurt landlords while supporters said it would help ensure rent spikes don’t drive tenants from their homes, the Washington State Standard reported.

Rep. Strom Peterson (D-Edmonds) said Alvarado will reintroduce the bill. In addition to the cap, the bill would allow landlords to adjust the rent after the existing tenants move out. Any new construction would also be exempt for 10 years.

“When you sit down and talk to a lot of landlords, they will reluctantly admit that 7% is actually a pretty fair return,” Peterson said. “As we were shaping the bill, we listened to them.”

Peterson represents the 21st Legislative District along with Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self (D-Mukilteo) and Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds). Both Ortiz-Self and Liias did not provide comments for this article. 

Davis’ priorities also include crafting two proposals for the capital budget: funding for recovery housing and domestic violence survivor housing.

Davis said that Oxford House, an organization that works with those in recovery, has been facing challenges with opening new homes. Many recovery residences in the state are for rent only, and the downside of that is tenants aren’t building equity.

The goal would be to allocate some capital budget money to recovery housing agencies so they can work toward owning residences. Davis said she tried to push this proposal last year but it didn’t make it out the Senate.

“Hopefully there will be more openness and willingness on the Senate’s part to agree with that this time around,” Davis said. 

The state doesn’t have a capital budget program for domestic violence survivors. Davis said the goal would be to allocate some money to agencies that could purchase single condo units, since congregate shelters are becoming less popular.

Peterson said he will reintroduce a bill similar to House Bill 2474, which died in the Senate last year. The bill deals with the siting of transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, indoor emergency shelters and indoor emergency housing.

The bill would permit the state Department of Commerce to resolve disputes between a city and a group that tries to build housing. It would also hold back state funding from a city if it doesn’t comply with state law, the Washington State Standard reported.

“Some cities are using loopholes to get away with not siting this critical piece of housing for our most vulnerable,” Peterson said. “This bill is going to reemphasize what the law is.”

Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), who represents the 32nd Legislative District, said he has been working toward deregulating permitting processes so housing or business projects can move quicker. He also plans to make expectations predictable and more clear so builders and developers are not caught off guard.

Rep. Cindy Ryu (D-Shoreline), another 32nd district legislator, did not provide a comment for this article. 

The Legislature will convene Jan. 13.

– By Angelica Relente

Angelica Relente is a Murrow News Fellow covering housing and related issues in South Snohomish County for the My Neighborhood News Network.