Owner's guide — Sammamish, 2026
Rent out my house in Sammamish: the 2026 owner's guide
What it rents for, why state law is the whole rulebook on the Plateau, what management costs on a real number, and the rent-or-sell call — from the team that manages and sells homes here.
Page author
Adriano Tori
Founder & Designated Broker — RexMont Real Estate · WA Lic. #27660
Designated Broker, RexMont Real Estate — the firm that manages and sells homes in Sammamish
Written with Grisel Castro, Property Manager (WA Lic. #137529), who prices, leases and serves the notices on RexMont’s Sammamish rentals. Reviewed by Adriano Tori, Designated Broker (WA Lic. #27660). Not legal or tax advice; the sections cited below are the law, and your attorney or CPA applies them to your facts.
To rent out a house in Sammamish you need a lease under RCW 59.18, a Sammamish business-licence endorsement once the rental grosses $4,000 a year ($15 through the state's licensing service), and your HOA's leasing rules. Sammamish has no tenant ordinance of its own, so state law sets the terms: 90 days' notice and the 9.683% ceiling on 2026 increases. I'm Adriano Tori, Designated Broker of RexMont Real Estate, and Grisel Castro runs our Sammamish property management. Sammamish homes rent for the highest single-family numbers of the Eastside cities we manage, and the owners are usually leaving a Plateau home they intend to keep. This page puts the rules in the order you will meet them, cited to the section, with every number dated.
RexMont Rent Read
What will your Sammamish house rent for?
Your monthly rent range in seconds, next to what the home would sell for today and the rent-vs-sell math. Estimate, not an appraisal.
Estimate, not an appraisal. Rents from RexMont’s licensed NWMLS data and licensed rental comps; the full read with the comps goes by email.
Can I rent out my house in Sammamish?
Yes, with the least local paperwork on the Eastside. Sammamish has no rental registration, no rental inspection and no tenant-protection ordinance of its own; we searched the Sammamish Municipal Code and the city's business pages in October 2026 and found none. The city's rule is the business licence: anyone engaged in business activities inside city limits who must register with the state needs a Sammamish endorsement, with a stated exemption under $4,000 a year in gross revenue from the city. A rented house passes $4,000 in the first month or two, so plan on the endorsement: $15 a year, added to your Washington state business licence through the Business Licensing Service.
Whole-house short stays are a different question. Sammamish does not run a short-term-rental licence program the way Redmond and Kirkland do, but a Plateau HOA almost always does: lease minimums and outright bans on stays under 30 days are common in the recorded covenants of Plateau associations. A year-round tenant is the lane this page is written for.
So the real pre-listing step in Sammamish is the HOA. Pull the recorded CC&Rs and the association's current rules before you list, and read the lease-minimum, tenant-registration and rental-cap clauses first; they bind you alongside state law, and the association, not the city, is who enforces them.
What will my Sammamish house rent for?
Sammamish single-family homes (3–4 bedrooms) RexMont leases run $3,800 to $6,000 and up, with the median single-family rent near $4,700 and executive homes in Trossachs and on the lakes above that (our leasing, October 2026). HUD's FY 2026 baseline for the whole metro is below; Sammamish homes clear it by the widest margin of any city we manage.
Two things set your number inside that range: the comps within a mile or two with the same bedroom count, and week one on market. Washington puts no ceiling on the starting rent of a new tenancy; the 2026 cap limits increases on a sitting tenant, not your list price. Price to the licensed comps, not to your mortgage payment, and read the week-one showing count as the market's answer; large Plateau homes have a thinner tenant pool than a Kirkland 3-bedroom, so week one tells you more here than anywhere.
| Home | Monthly rent | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Sammamish single-family home (3–4 BR) | $3,800–$6,000+ | RexMont leasing, October 2026 |
| Sammamish single-family median | about $4,700 | RexMont leasing, October 2026 |
| 3-bedroom (HUD baseline) | $3,272 | HUD FY 2026 Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA |
| 4-bedroom (HUD baseline) | $3,847 | HUD FY 2026 Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA |
| 2-bedroom (HUD baseline) | $2,501 | HUD FY 2026 Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA |
HUD's Fair Market Rents are the 40th percentile of gross rents for the whole metro, published for FY 2026; they are a floor for a planning pro forma, not a listing price. RexMont's ranges come from our own leasing in the city and from licensed NWMLS rental comps, which is what the Rent Read above uses for your address.
The Rent Read at the top of this page runs your address against active and recently leased NWMLS rentals near you, with a long-term rent model as the check, and puts the RexMont Market Signal sale value beside it. The number is free; the full read with the comps goes to your email from Grisel.
What rules apply to a rental in Sammamish?
With no city ordinance, a Sammamish single-family rental runs on Washington law plus your HOA's covenants. State law is now the stricter half: since May 2025 Washington caps rent increases on a home you do not live in, freezes rent for the first 12 months, requires 90 days' notice, and requires just cause and 90 days to take the house back for yourself or to sell it. Here is the full stack.
| Rule | What it requires | Section | In force |
|---|---|---|---|
| City rental ordinance | None. Sammamish has no rental registration, inspection or tenant-protection ordinance; state law sets the notice, cap, deposit and just-cause terms. | Sammamish Municipal Code (searched) | checked 2026-10-15 |
| City business-licence endorsement | Required for anyone engaged in business in city limits who registers with the state, once gross revenue from the city passes $4,000 a year; $15 original and $15 renewal through the state's Business Licensing Service. | City of Sammamish business FAQ; WA DOR Sammamish endorsement | 2026 |
| HOA covenants | Lease minimums, bans on stays under 30 days, tenant registration and rental caps are set by each association's recorded CC&Rs and rules. Read yours before listing; the association enforces them against the owner. | Your CC&Rs | varies |
| 2026 rent-increase ceiling | No increase in the first 12 months of a tenancy; after that, at most 7% plus the June Seattle-area CPI or 10%, whichever is less, in any 12 months — 9.683% for calendar 2026. Single-family homes the owner does not live in are covered. | RCW 59.18.700; WA Commerce HB 1217 resource center | 2025-05-07 |
| Exemptions from the ceiling | A home whose first certificate of occupancy is 12 years old or newer; a single-family home the owner lives in while renting out at most two units or bedrooms (an ADU counts); a unit sharing a kitchen or bath with the resident owner; an owner-occupied duplex to fourplex. Corporate, REIT and some LLC owners lose the owner-occupied exemptions. | RCW 59.18.710 | 2025-05-07 |
| Notice before any increase | At least 90 days' written notice, and the new rent cannot start before the lease term ends. Subsidized tenancies where rent follows income: 30 days. | RCW 59.18.140(3)(a)–(b) | 2025-05-07 |
| Ending a tenancy | Just cause is required to end a month-to-month tenancy. An owner moving in, or an immediate family member, needs 90 days' written notice; selling a single-family home needs 90 days' written notice and a good-faith listing within 30 days of the tenant leaving. A first lease of 6–12 months may end at its term with 60 days' notice. | RCW 59.18.650(2)(d)–(e), (1)(b) | 2021-05-10 |
| Security deposit handling | The deposit goes into a trust account at a Washington bank or licensed escrow agent, with a written receipt and the bank's name and address given to the tenant. Within 30 days of move-out: refund or an itemized statement with the invoices or estimates behind every deduction. | RCW 59.18.270; RCW 59.18.280(1) | in force |
| Habitability and the smoke-detector notice | Keep the home fit, weathertight and to code, with working locks and keys; give a signed written notice at lease signing that the home has the smoke detection required by RCW 43.44.110 and that the tenant maintains it. | RCW 59.18.060(1)–(12) | in force |
Every increase on a Sammamish rental runs on the state's 90 days under RCW 59.18.140 (amended May 2025). HOA covenants are a private layer on top of this table and, on the Plateau, the one that bites first.
What this means on the Plateau: every increase runs on the state's 90 days (there is no Sammamish 120- or 180-day tier), and in 2026 an increase over 9.683% is not available at all on a covered home. With the 12-month freeze, the rent you set at move-in is the rent for a year, so price right the first time. If you expect to move back in, the 90-day owner move-in notice under RCW 59.18.650(2)(d) is your exit, and a first lease of 6 to 12 months can end at its term with 60 days' notice; set the term with that calendar in mind.
The full Sammamish rule set, with the forms, is on the Sammamish landlord laws page; the state ceiling has its own calculator at Washington rent increase cap.
What does it cost to have it managed in Sammamish?
RexMont manages Sammamish single-family homes at 8% to 10% of collected rent, plus a tenant-placement fee of one month's rent when a new tenant is placed (50%–75% of a month on renewals), with six written guarantees. On a $4,700 Plateau home, the Sammamish median, the monthly fee is $376 to $470; a self-managed vacancy that runs one month longer than ours costs more than a year of it.
| Monthly management at 8% | $376 |
|---|---|
| Monthly management at 10% | $470 |
| Tenant placement (one month's rent, once per new tenant) | $4,700 |
| First year, all in, at 8% | $9,212 |
| First year, all in, at 10% | $10,340 |
| A renewal year at 8% (no placement) | $4,512 |
| A renewal year at 10% (no placement) | $5,640 |
RexMont's published Sammamish pricing: 8%–10% of collected rent, one month's rent for placement, 50%–75% of a month on renewals. Owner-paid items outside the fee: repairs, HOA dues, insurance, property tax.
What the fee buys in Sammamish specifically: pricing off licensed comps for a thin, high-end tenant pool, the HOA registration and governing-document hand-off done on time, screening with written criteria applied identically, a RCW 59.18 lease drafted to the CC&Rs, the deposit in trust, rent-increase notices on the state form inside the ceiling, and the 90-day notices when you want the house back. The fee models and a worked example are on property management cost in Seattle, which uses the same pricing.
Should I rent out or sell my Sammamish house this year?
Run both numbers before you decide, with one team: RexMont manages rentals and lists homes, so the rent read and the net-proceeds read come from the same desk. On the Plateau the sale number is large and the rent yield on it is often modest, so this is the city where selling wins most often on the math; renting still wins when the home carries a low-rate mortgage, cash-flows after the 8%–10% fee, HOA dues and a vacancy allowance, and you intend to come back.
Under 26 U.S.C. § 121 you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 filing jointly) when you have owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years before the sale, so a home you move out of today keeps that exclusion for roughly three more years as a rental and loses it after; this is not tax advice, and your CPA runs the dates on your return.
The capital-gains clock page walks the three-year window; the sell side is on sell my home in Sammamish and, if the home is already a rental, sell a rental property in Sammamish. Relocating for work? The relocation owner page covers the accidental-landlord case.
Who does what in the first 30 days?
This is the sequence we run for every Sammamish owner, whether you do it yourself or hand us the risky steps. The days are a working calendar from the day you decide; the HOA, insurance and endorsement lines are the ones owners miss.
- 1
Days 1–2: decide rent or sell with both numbers in hand
Run the Rent Read above for the rent range and the rent-vs-sell read, then the Sammamish home value for the net-proceeds side. Both are free; the full read with the comps goes to your email.
- 2
Days 2–5: pull the CC&Rs; add the Sammamish endorsement
Request the recorded CC&Rs and the association's current leasing rules the first week and read the lease minimum, registration deadline and any rental cap. File the Washington state business licence and add the Sammamish city endorsement ($15) through the Business Licensing Service; the city's $4,000 exemption runs out within the first two months of rent.
- 3
Days 3–7: switch the insurance and tell the lender
Your homeowner's policy is written for an owner-occupant. Move to a landlord (dwelling-fire) policy before a tenant has keys, and read the occupancy clause in your mortgage note before you list; your servicer needs to know the home is becoming a rental.
- 4
Days 3–10: make it safe, then make it rent-ready
Safety first under RCW 59.18.060: smoke detection per RCW 43.44.110, locks and keys, heat, water, weathertight. Then the finish items that shorten vacancy: paint, deep clean, carpets or floors, yard, lighting, a working set of appliances.
- 5
Days 8–12: price against today's licensed comps, not your mortgage
Grisel prices every RexMont home off active and recently leased NWMLS rentals within a mile or two with the same beds, not off a metro average. Overpricing in week one costs more than the overprice: the home sits, then concedes.
- 6
Days 10–14: photograph and list everywhere tenants look
Professional photography, a complete listing with every rule disclosed (pets, smoking, parking, utilities), and syndication to every portal tenants search. Reply to every inquiry the same hour; week-one showing count predicts days on market.
- 7
Days 14–24: screen with written criteria, applied identically
Publish the criteria before you show (income multiple, credit floor, rental history, the documents required), apply them in the order applications arrive, and keep the file. Source of income is protected statewide under RCW 59.18.255.
- 8
Days 20–24: sign a RCW 59.18 lease drafted to the CC&Rs, then register the tenant
A current Washington lease with the smoke-detector notice (RCW 59.18.060(12)), the HOA rules attached as an exhibit and the governing documents handed over, and a term that honors the association's minimum and your plan: 6–12 months if you may move back in or sell (60-day end-of-term notice under RCW 59.18.650(1)(b)), 12 months if you are staying a landlord. Register the tenant with the association inside its deadline.
- 9
Days 24–30: deposit into trust, move-in checklist signed, keys
Deposit to a Washington trust account with a written receipt and the bank named (RCW 59.18.270); a signed, dated move-in condition checklist with photos (this is what defends a deduction at move-out); utilities transferred; the smoke-detector notice signed.
- 10
Day 30 onward: run it like a business
Rent collection with one consistent late process, maintenance answered inside habitability timelines, a Schedule E ledger from day one, and a calendar line 100 days before every anniversary for the rent-review notice window.
Related pages
Do it yourself, or hand off the risky steps
FAQ
Renting out your Sammamish house — the questions owners ask first
Do I need a licence or registration to rent out my house in Sammamish?
No rental registration or inspection exists in Sammamish. You need a Washington state business licence with the Sammamish city endorsement once the rental grosses $4,000 a year from inside city limits; the endorsement is $15 a year through the state's Business Licensing Service.
Does Sammamish have its own rent-increase or deposit rules?
No. Unlike Kirkland, Redmond and Issaquah, Sammamish has adopted no tenant-protection ordinance, so state law governs: 90 days' written notice before any increase (RCW 59.18.140), the 2026 ceiling of 9.683% after the first 12 months (RCW 59.18.700), the deposit in a trust account with a 30-day itemized statement at move-out (RCW 59.18.270, .280), and just cause to end a tenancy (RCW 59.18.650).
How much can I charge for rent on my Sammamish house?
Whatever the licensed comps support: Washington does not cap the starting rent of a new tenancy. Sammamish 3–4 bedroom homes RexMont leases run $3,800–$6,000+ a month, with the single-family median near $4,700 (October 2026); HUD's FY 2026 metro baseline is $3,272 for a 3-bedroom and $3,847 for a 4-bedroom. The Rent Read on this page gives the range for your address.
Is there a cap on raising the rent on a Sammamish rental in 2026?
For a Sammamish home you do not live in, yes, state law caps it. RCW 59.18.700 bars any increase in the first 12 months and limits later increases to 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less: 9.683% for 2026. The exemptions in RCW 59.18.710 are new construction (first certificate of occupancy within 12 years) and owner-occupied situations; a single-family rental you moved out of is not exempt.
Can my HOA stop me from renting out my Sammamish home?
It can set the terms. Recorded CC&Rs on the Plateau commonly require a minimum lease term, ban stays under 30 days, require tenant registration, and sometimes cap the share of homes rented at one time. Those covenants bind you as an owner and the association enforces them against you, not the tenant, so read them before you list.
Should I rent out my Sammamish house or sell it?
Run both numbers. On the Plateau the sale value is large and the rent yield on it is often modest, so selling wins on the math more often here than elsewhere; renting still wins with a low-rate mortgage, positive cash flow after the 8%–10% fee, HOA dues and a vacancy allowance, and a plan to come back. The Section 121 window (two of the last five years as your residence, up to $250,000 or $500,000 of gain excluded) sets the deadline. RexMont shows you both reads side by side.
Sources and verification
Every rule and number on this page was read at its source on the date shown. Laws change; the section numbers are here so you can read them yourself before you act.
- City of Sammamish, business FAQ (who needs the city licence; $4,000 exemption)checked 2026-10-15
- WA Department of Revenue, Sammamish city endorsement ($15 original, $15 renewal)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Sammamish, business permitting and licensing (joint program with DOR)checked 2026-10-15
- WA Commerce, HB 1217 landlord resource center (2026 ceiling 9.683%)checked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.700, limit on rent increaseschecked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.710, exemptions from the limitchecked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.140, notice of rent increase (90 days)checked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.650, just cause and owner move-in or sale (90 days)checked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.270 and 59.18.280, deposit trust account and 30-day statementchecked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.060, landlord dutieschecked 2026-10-15
- HUD FY 2026 Fair Market Rent schedule (Seattle-Bellevue HMFA)checked 2026-10-15
- IRS Topic 701, sale of your home (the $250,000 / $500,000 exclusion)checked 2026-10-15
Start here
Rent it, or sell it. One team, both numbers.
Address and a few details. You get the rent range with the licensed comps, the net-proceeds number if you sold instead, and the Sammamish HOA and lease checklist for your address, from Grisel and me, not from a call center.