Republicans say rent-cap 'striker' avoids price controls; warn broader state rent control would reduce investment

Republican legislators urged reporters to view a striker amendment to the state's rent-cap debate as a material difference from what they described as a true price-control bill.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun said the striker "went away from price controls" and instead would require landlords to notify renters of increases and provide a 90-day notice for substantial hikes. "So it goes from a rent control to a notification bill," Braun said, framing that change as key to preserving investment and housing development.

Other Republican speakers argued the version advancing from committee would ‘‘kill all the small operators in the state’’ and push ownership to large operators that can absorb new costs. They also noted an exemption for developers of 15 years — up from an earlier 10-year proposal — but said even 15 years would not prevent deterring construction and investment in Washington.

Braun contrasted Washington's proposed cap with those in California and Oregon, saying other states' caps account for CPI inflation while the Washington bill he described lacked that mechanism; he argued that failure to account for inflation would make it harder for owners to recoup real increases in operating costs.

The Republican leaders said they would prefer the striker as an alternative to a strict rent-control measure and that they were "interested in supporting that bill" if it moved in that direction. No formal vote or adoption took place during the press availability.

Next procedural steps for the rent-cap legislation were not announced during the availability.