Owner's guide — Seattle, 2026
Rent out my house in Seattle: the 2026 owner's guide
RRIO, first-in-time, the deposit cap, 180-day notice and EDRA, the state ceiling, what it rents for, what management costs, and the rent-or-sell call with the tax clock — from the team that manages and sells homes here.
RexMont Rent Read
What will your Seattle house rent for?
Request your Rent Read and see your home’s rent range from RexMont’s NWMLS rental data. Grisel Castro, our Property Manager, confirms the number and what renting versus selling looks like at a consultation meeting.
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 Seattle
Written with Grisel Castro, Property Manager (WA Lic. #137529), who prices, leases and serves the notices on RexMont’s Seattle 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 Seattle in 2026 you register it under RRIO ($126 per property plus $31.50 per additional unit, valid two years), screen first-in-time with written criteria, hold the deposit plus move-in fees to one month's rent, give 180 days' notice before any increase, and stay under the state's 9.683% ceiling after the first year. I'm Adriano Tori, Designated Broker of RexMont Real Estate, and Grisel Castro runs our Seattle property management. Seattle is the most regulated city in Washington for a single-family landlord, and 2025 added the state ceiling on top. None of it makes renting your house a bad idea; it means the casual lease is over. This page is the sequence we run for owners, in the order you will decide it, every rule cited to its section so you can read it yourself.
Can I rent out my house in Seattle?
Yes, once it is registered. Seattle's Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO, Seattle Municipal Code chapter 22.214) requires every rental property owner in the city to register the property before renting it, a single-family house included. As of January 2026 the registration fee is $126 per property, which covers the first unit, plus $31.50 for each additional unit at the same address, and the registration is valid for two years; a house with a rented ADU is $157.50. You register online through the City's portal or on the paper form, and you keep the RRIO number for the lease file: the Just Cause ordinance makes compliance with RRIO a condition of ending a tenancy.
Every registered property is inspected at least once every 5 to 10 years, by a City inspector ($241.50 for the property plus $52.50 per additional unit, as of January 2026) or a qualified private inspector who sets their own price plus a $63 filing fee. Late registrations and inspections carry a $52.50 late fee, and an owner who does not register faces cumulative civil penalties of $150 a day for the first ten days and $500 a day after that. The RRIO Checklist the City publishes is the inspection standard; walk the house against it before you list, not after the notice.
Seattle also licenses businesses through a business license tax certificate. Whether a single long-term rental home reaches the City's licensing threshold depends on the exemption in force for the year, which City Finance publishes; the one-line answer we give owners is to ask City Finance with the address and the rent in hand before the first lease, and to file if told to. Short-term rentals (under 30 nights) are a different track with their own regulatory licence and are outside this page.
Finally, if the house is a condominium or sits in a plat with an association, read the CC&Rs before you list: lease minimums, rental caps and tenant registration live there, and they bind you alongside the City.
What will my Seattle house rent for?
Seattle single-family homes (3–4 bedrooms) RexMont leases run $3,000 to $5,500 a month, with premium pockets in Queen Anne, Ballard and Green Lake reaching $4,500 to $6,500; townhomes run $2,800 to $4,200 (our leasing, October 2026). HUD's FY 2027 baseline for the whole metro is below; a detached Seattle house generally clears it, a small one near the edges of the city may not.
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. In Seattle the price also sets the deposit: the one-month cap below is a cap on one month of whatever rent you set.
| Home | Monthly rent | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle single-family home (3–4 BR) | $3,000–$5,500 | RexMont leasing, October 2026 |
| Queen Anne / Ballard / Green Lake premium | $4,500–$6,500 | RexMont leasing, October 2026 |
| Seattle townhome | $2,800–$4,200 | RexMont leasing, October 2026 |
| 3-bedroom (HUD baseline) | $3,324 | HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA (effective October 1, 2026) |
| 4-bedroom (HUD baseline) | $3,954 | HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA (effective October 1, 2026) |
| 2-bedroom (HUD baseline) | $2,549 | HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rent, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA (effective October 1, 2026) |
HUD's Fair Market Rents are the 40th percentile of gross rents for the whole metro, published for FY 2027 and in effect since October 1, 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.
Request the Rent Read at the top of this page: Grisel Castro, our Property Manager, reviews your address against active and recently leased NWMLS rentals near you and walks you through the rent range and the rent-vs-sell math at a consultation meeting, which Leslie Ramirez sets up. The read is free.
What rules apply to a rental in Seattle?
Seattle layers its own ordinances on top of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, and since May 2025 the state has layered the rent-increase ceiling on top of both. The table is long because the list is long; every line binds a single-family rental you do not live in. The four that cost owners real money when missed are first-in-time, the move-in cap, the 180-day notice with its EDRA attachment, and Just Cause.
| Rule | What it requires | Section | In force |
|---|---|---|---|
| RRIO registration | Every rental property in Seattle registers before renting; $126 per property (first unit) plus $31.50 per additional unit, valid two years; inspection every 5–10 years (City inspector $241.50 + $52.50/unit); $52.50 late fee; penalties up to $150/day then $500/day. | SMC 22.214; RRIO Program Fees (Jan 2026) | 2026-01 (fees) |
| First-in-time screening | Publish minimum screening criteria and the document list, and the right to request more time; stamp applications by date and time; screen in order, one at a time; 72 hours for missing items; 48 hours for the first qualified applicant to accept. | SMC 14.08.050 | in force (upheld 2019) |
| Fair Chance Housing | No inquiry into, and no adverse action on, arrest or conviction records (narrow registry exception); notice of the ordinance on every application. | SMC 14.09 | in force (upheld 2021) |
| Move-in cap and installments | Deposit plus move-in fees: one month's rent total; move-in fees ≤10% of a month (screening, cleaning only); pet deposit ≤25%; installments of 6 / 4 / 2 by lease length, pet deposit in 3; late fees ≤ $10 a month; no fee for issuing a notice. | SMC 7.24 | in force |
| 180-day notice and EDRA | At least 180 days' written notice before any housing-cost increase. An increase of 10% or more in 12 months must carry the EDRA notice; a tenant household at or under 80% of AMI may claim three times the monthly housing cost, advanced by the City and reimbursed by the landlord. | SMC 7.24.030; SMC 22.212 | 2022-07-01 (EDRA) |
| Just Cause and renewals | One of the listed just causes is required to end any tenancy, month-to-month or expiring term; a renewal must be offered 60–90 days before a term lease ends unless just cause exists. Owner move-in or sale of a single-family home: 90 days' written notice. School-year protection for students and school employees; December 1–March 1 protection for lower-income tenants of owners with four or more units. | SMC 22.205; SMC 7.24.030.J; SMC 22.205.080, .110 | 2021-07 (term leases) |
| Renter's Handbook | Printed copy at the initial lease signing, again at every renewal, and annually for month-to-month tenants. | City of Seattle, Renting in Seattle | in force |
| 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 |
Where Seattle and the state differ, the longer notice and the lower cap both apply: 180 days from Seattle, the ceiling from the state. HOA and condominium covenants are a private layer on top of this table.
How the increase rules combine: any increase needs 180 days' written notice (Seattle's tier replaces the state's 90), and in 2026 an increase over 9.683% is not available at all on a covered home, so an increase that would trigger EDRA (10% or more in 12 months) is possible only on exempt property: new construction within 12 years, or an owner-occupied situation. With the state's 12-month freeze and Seattle's 180 days, the rent you set at move-in is effectively the rent for eighteen months, so price right the first time.
The full Seattle rule set, with the forms and the Renter's Handbook link, is on the Seattle landlord laws page; the state ceiling has its own calculator at Washington rent increase cap.
How do I screen tenants under first-in-time?
Seattle's first-in-time rule (SMC 14.08.050, upheld by the Washington Supreme Court in 2019) means you do not pick the applicant you like best; you offer the home to the first applicant who meets criteria you published before anyone applied. The City's own list for housing providers is the checklist, in seven steps: provide advance notice of your minimum screening criteria; list every document an applicant must supply; tell applicants they may request additional time where needed, for translation or a disability accommodation; date-and-time stamp each application in the order received; screen applications in that order, one at a time; give a minimum of 72 hours for an otherwise complete application to supply missing information; and give the first qualified applicant 48 hours to respond to the offer before you move to the next in line.
Two more rules shape the criteria themselves. Seattle's Fair Chance Housing ordinance (SMC 14.09) bars asking about or acting on arrest or conviction records, with a narrow sex-offender-registry exception, and every rental application must carry notice of the ordinance. And source of income is protected statewide (RCW 59.18.255, since 2018): an income multiple is lawful, refusing a voucher or other subsidy is not. The practical criteria set we use is an income multiple, a credit floor, verified rental history and a complete document list, written on the listing before the first showing and applied identically to every file.
This is the step where self-managing Seattle owners most often create liability, and it is the one owners most often hand to us. The exemptions are narrow: an ADU or backyard cottage on a lot where the owner lives is outside first-in-time; a house you have moved out of is inside it.
What can I collect at move-in, and how do I hold it?
Seattle caps everything a tenant pays before the keys. Under SMC chapter 7.24 the security deposit and all non-refundable move-in fees combined cannot exceed one month's rent; move-in fees themselves are limited to screening and cleaning and to 10% of the first month's rent; a pet deposit is capped at 25% of one month's rent. The tenant may pay in installments and you cannot refuse to rent or add a charge for choosing them: on a lease of six months or more, the deposit, move-in fees and last month's rent in six equal monthly installments; on a term of 30 days to six months, four; month-to-month, two; the pet deposit in three. Late fees in Seattle are capped at $10 a month, and a fee for issuing a notice is prohibited.
State law then governs the holding. 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 (RCW 59.18.270); a signed and dated move-in condition checklist is required whenever a deposit is collected, and it is the document that defends any deduction later. At move-out you have 30 days to refund or to deliver an itemized statement with the invoices or estimates behind every deduction (RCW 59.18.280(1)).
Seattle also requires the Renter's Handbook at signing (a printed copy), at every renewal, and annually for month-to-month tenants, and it lets tenants add roommates to the lease. Build these into the move-in packet once and they stop being a risk.
What does it cost to have it managed in Seattle?
RexMont manages Seattle single-family homes on one fee schedule: a $600 leasing fee plus 7% of collected rent each month ($200 monthly minimum, waived while the home is vacant), with six written guarantees. On a $3,200 Ballard house the monthly fee is $224 and the first year is $3,288 all in; owners who want tenant finding only and self-manage afterward pay 75% of one month's rent ($2,400). A self-managed vacancy that runs one month longer than ours costs one month of rent, more than all twelve monthly management fees combined.
| Leasing fee (once per new tenant) | $600 |
|---|---|
| Monthly management at 7% of rent collected ($200 monthly minimum) | $224 |
| Management fee for 12 months | $2,688 |
| First year, all in (leasing fee plus 12 months of management) | $3,288 |
| A year with no turnover (no leasing fee) | $2,688 |
| Leasing-Only Service (75% of one month's rent, you self-manage afterward) | $2,400 |
RexMont's published Seattle pricing: Full Property Management is a $600 leasing fee plus 7% of collected rent ($200 monthly minimum, waived when vacant); the Leasing-Only Service is 75% of one month's rent. Owner-paid items outside the fee: repairs, RRIO fees, insurance, property tax.
What the fee buys in Seattle specifically: RRIO registration and the inspection walk-through, pricing off licensed comps, first-in-time screening with the stamp log kept, a RCW 59.18 lease with the Seattle move-in cap, installment plan and Renter's Handbook built in, the deposit in trust, the 180-day increase notices on the state form inside the ceiling (with the EDRA attachment where the law requires it), and the Just Cause notices when you want the house back. The fee models and a full worked example are on property management cost in Seattle; the Leasing-Only Service is described on tenant placement in Seattle.
Should I rent out or sell my Seattle 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 with no incentive to push you either way. Renting tends to win when the home carries a low-rate mortgage, cash-flows at market rent after the 7% management fee and $600 leasing fee and a vacancy allowance, and you want the appreciation; selling tends to win when the yield on your equity is thin, when landlording under Seattle's rules does not fit your life, or when the tax clock below is about to run out.
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 clock is the part owners miss. Move out in 2026, rent the house, and the two-of-five-years test is still met through roughly 2029; rent it a fourth year and the exclusion on the gain is gone unless you move back in. Seattle's Just Cause ordinance gives you the exit when you need it: selling a single-family home is a just cause with 90 days' written notice, and so is moving back in yourself. The capital-gains clock page walks the window month by month; the sell side is on sell my house in Seattle and, once it is a rental, selling a home with tenants in Seattle. 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 Seattle owner, whether you do it yourself or hand us the risky steps. The days are a working calendar from the day you decide; the RRIO, first-in-time and move-in-cap lines are the ones that end up in front of a hearing examiner when skipped.
- 1
Days 1–2: decide rent or sell with both numbers in hand
Request the Rent Read above and Grisel Castro, our Property Manager, walks you through the rent range and the rent-vs-sell read at a consultation meeting; the Seattle home value covers the net-proceeds side. Both are free.
- 2
Days 2–5: register under RRIO and walk the checklist
Register the property online with the City ($126 for the house, $31.50 for a rented ADU, valid two years), keep the RRIO number for the lease file, and walk the home against the RRIO Checklist before you list. Ask City Finance whether the rental needs a business license tax certificate for the year, and file if told to. In a condo or HOA, request the CC&Rs the same day.
- 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 with the Seattle terms built in
A current Washington lease with the smoke-detector notice (RCW 59.18.060(12)); deposit plus move-in fees at or under one month with the installment schedule stated and the pet deposit under 25% (SMC 7.24); late fees at $10 or less; the printed Renter's Handbook handed over; the first-in-time stamp log and criteria filed with the application; and a term that matches your plan: 6–12 months if you may move back in or sell, 12 months if you are staying a landlord, knowing that a Seattle term lease must be offered a renewal 60–90 days before it ends unless a just cause applies.
- 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 Seattle house — the questions owners ask first
Do I need to register my Seattle house before renting it out?
Yes. Seattle's Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (SMC 22.214) requires every rental property in the city to be registered before it is rented. As of January 2026 the fee is $126 per property, covering the first unit, plus $31.50 for each additional unit, valid for two years, with an inspection at least once every 5–10 years. Unregistered owners face a $52.50 late fee and civil penalties that reach $500 a day.
How much can I charge for rent on my Seattle house?
Whatever the licensed comps support: Washington does not cap the starting rent of a new tenancy. Seattle 3–4 bedroom homes RexMont leases run $3,000–$5,500 a month, with Queen Anne, Ballard and Green Lake reaching $4,500–$6,500 (October 2026); HUD's FY 2027 metro baseline is $3,324 for a 3-bedroom and $3,954 for a 4-bedroom. Request the Rent Read on this page and Grisel Castro walks you through the range for your address at a consultation meeting.
Can I pick whichever applicant I like best?
Not in Seattle. The first-in-time rule (SMC 14.08.050) requires published minimum screening criteria, applications stamped by date and time and screened in order one at a time, 72 hours for an otherwise complete application to add missing items, and an offer to the first qualified applicant with 48 hours to accept. Fair Chance Housing (SMC 14.09) bars criminal-history screening, and RCW 59.18.255 protects source of income.
How much can I collect as a security deposit in Seattle?
The security deposit plus all non-refundable move-in fees cannot exceed one month's rent (SMC 7.24); move-in fees are limited to screening and cleaning and to 10% of a month, and a pet deposit to 25%. Tenants may pay in six equal installments on a lease of six months or more (four on a shorter term, two month-to-month). The deposit sits in a Washington trust account with the bank disclosed (RCW 59.18.270), and the itemized statement is due within 30 days of move-out (RCW 59.18.280).
How much notice do I give a Seattle tenant before a rent increase, and what is EDRA?
At least 180 days' written notice before any housing-cost increase (SMC 7.24.030), and the increase cannot start before the lease term ends. If the increase is 10% or more within 12 months, the notice must carry the Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance (EDRA, SMC 22.212) notice: a tenant household at or under 80% of area median income that moves out may claim three times the monthly housing cost, advanced by the City and reimbursed by the landlord. In 2026 the state ceiling of 9.683% keeps a covered home under the 10% trigger.
Can I raise the rent after the first year?
For a Seattle 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. In Seattle the notice is 180 days rather than the state's 90.
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 Seattle SDCI, RRIO Program Fees (as of January 2026)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle SDCI, about RRIO (all rental property owners must register; inspection every 5–10 years)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle, First-in-Time for housing providers (the five steps)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle SDCI, Move-In Charges (one-month cap, 10% fees, 25% pet, installments)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle SDCI, Rental Agreement Regulation (180-day notice, $10 late-fee cap, renewal offers, 30-day deposit return)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle, Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance for housing providers (10% trigger, three times housing cost, 80% AMI)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle SDCI, Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (SMC 22.205; renewals 60–90 days; 90-day owner move-in and sale)checked 2026-10-15
- City of Seattle, Renter's Handbook requirement (signing, renewal, annually month-to-month)checked 2026-10-15
- Seattle Office for Civil Rights, tenant screening rules (first-in-time, Fair Chance, source of income)checked 2026-10-15
- RCW 59.18.255, source of income protection (2018)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 2027 Fair Market Rents, Seattle-Bellevue HMFA (effective October 1, 2026)checked 2026-10-23
- 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 RRIO, screening and lease checklist for your address, from our property management team and me, not from a call center.