How much notice does a Kirkland landlord give for a rent increase?
KMC 7.75.030 deems every Kirkland rental agreement to require not less than 120 days' written notice for a rent increase greater than 3%, and 180 days for an increase greater than 10%. The notice states the actual dollar amount of the new rent or the increase. Subsidized tenancies where rent follows the tenant's income get 30 days. An increase of 3% or less falls back to the state's 90 days (RCW 59.18.140).
Set against the state cap, the tiers simplify: in 2026 a covered Kirkland tenancy can rise at most 9.683%, so the 180-day tier applies only to exempt properties. For most Kirkland houses the working rule is 120 days on the state form (RCW 59.18.720), served under RCW 59.12.040, never inside the first 12 months of the tenancy.
What can I collect at move-in in Kirkland?
All move-in fees and security deposits charged before the tenant takes possession cannot exceed one month's rent (KMC 7.75.040(a)); the only exception is income-based subsidized housing, and that exception does not reach Housing Choice Voucher tenancies. On a lease of six months or longer the tenant may pay those amounts in six equal monthly installments; on a shorter term or a month-to-month agreement, in two (KMC 7.75.040(b)–(c)).
A lease cannot waive these rights. KMC 7.75.055 allows a written waiver only when it names the specific provisions, is not part of a standard form lease, and the tenant's attorney has approved it in writing. Washington's statewide deposit rules sit underneath: a written checklist at move-in, a trust account with the bank disclosed, and a refund or itemized statement within 30 days of move-out (RCW 59.18.260–.280).
Does Kirkland require a licence or registration to rent out a house?
A business licence, yes; a rental registry, no. The city states that it requires business licences for any commercial transaction, including all short-term and long-term rentals, and the general business licence rules sit in KMC Chapter 7.02. The base fee is $100 a year ($50 for businesses under $20,000 in annual gross receipts) plus a $130 regulatory licence fee per full-time-equivalent employee, applied for through the Washington Business Licensing Service.
Kirkland has no rental registration or inspection program like Seattle's RRIO; we found none in the Kirkland Municipal Code or on the city's business pages on 2026-10-15. Short stays are a separate matter: a short-term rental must be the operator's primary residence at least 245 days a year, with a designated manager within 15 miles and one parking stall per rental, which rules out an investor house as a nightly rental.
Which Washington rules apply on top of KMC 7.75?
The 2026 cap of 9.683% on covered tenancies and the 12-month freeze after move-in (RCW 59.18.700); the narrow exemptions in RCW 59.18.710 (first certificate of occupancy 12 or fewer years old; owner-occupied home renting no more than two units or bedrooms; owner-occupied duplex to fourplex, not available to corporate or LLC-with-corporate-member owners); just cause to end a tenancy, with 90 days for owner or family move-in or the sale of a single-family house (RCW 59.18.650); two days' notice to enter, one day for showings (RCW 59.18.150).
Where a state and a city rule both speak, the longer notice and the lower cap govern. Kirkland's 120 days beats the state's 90 for any increase over 3%; the state's cap beats any percentage the lease might name.
What was Ordinance O-4810, and when did it take effect?
The Kirkland City Council adopted Ordinance O-4810 on August 3, 2022 by a 4–3 vote and it took effect September 17, 2022, creating KMC Chapter 7.75 with the two protections above and nothing else: no local late-fee cap, no first-in-time rule, no city just-cause ordinance. Every section of the chapter still cites Ordinance 4810 (2022) as its only enactment. One caution: the city's own tenant-protections chart still shows 60 days for an increase of 3% or less, the state figure when the ordinance passed; since May 7, 2025 the state floor is 90 days (RCW 59.18.140), and the longer rule governs.