1 week Ago By Alexis Weisend
Sen. Annette Cleveland of Vancouver was the only Democrat to vote against a bill capping rent increases that passed through the Washington Senate on Thursday evening. “While well-intentioned, this bill won’t stop runaway housing costs for families in Southwest Washington — it will make them worse,” Cleveland said in a Thursday statement.
House Bill 1217 originally would have capped annual rent increases at 7 percent. However, senators made changes to the bill Thursday that instead cap rent increases at 10 percent, plus the consumer price index. The changes now go to the House for approval.
Cleveland spoke out against the bill on the Senate floor Thursday, saying the policy would discourage housing development and make it harder for small landlords to maintain safe, livable units. Studies show artificially controlling rents causes rents to rise, she said. “Most frustrating of all, many experts disagree with this policy.
We trust scientists on climate and doctors on health — why not economists on housing?” Cleveland said. “This is especially urgent in Southwest Washington, where growth and spillover demand are rising. Just across the river in Oregon, housing construction has slowed as shifting policies and rising costs have made the market less certain due to rent cap policies.
We risk repeating those same mistakes,” Cleveland said. Oregon was the first state to enact statewide rent control in 2019 and currently has an annual rent increase cap of 10 percent. The direct impact of the cap on housing production has yet to be widely studied in Oregon.
Cleveland introduced an amendment limiting rent increases to 7 percent plus the consumer price index per year, but more than three months’ notice is required for rent increases above that threshold. “While it wasn’t adopted, I remain hopeful we can return to the table and advance real solutions that protect renters and support long-term housing stability,” Cleveland said. Last year, Cleveland’s vote against a rent stabilization bill effectively killed it in committee .
Advocacy groups have slammed Cleveland and Senate Republicans for voting against rent stabilization, as well as Senate Democrats for voting in favor of raising the cap. “There will never be a time when vulnerable seniors, disabled people, low- and middle-income workers and families with children can withstand excessive rent increases,” Michele Thomas, director of policy and advocacy at Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, said in a statement. Cleveland said she sees families priced out of the housing market, young people locked out of homeownership, and seniors choosing between paying for medicine and rent.
But she believes the bill falls short of what Washington’s working families truly need. Southwest Washington deserves better, she said. “We don’t have to choose between doing nothing and doing harm.
We can choose solutions that work and already exist — rental assistance, income-based support and incentives to build more affordable housing,” she said. “That’s what will deliver lasting relief..
