What the rules require of a landlord in Bellingham, drawn straight from the rule records this site computes with. Every line links to the source it came from.
This is an informational tool, not legal advice, and we are not your lawyer. Double-check deadlines with a licensed Washington attorney before acting on them.
Local rules go further here
Bellingham requires 120 days' notice for any rent increase, no matter the size (BMC 6.12.020), the broadest notice rule in the state. An increase of 8% or more within 12 months also lets the tenant claim relocation help worth 3 times the higher of fair market rent or their actual rent, payable within 31 days (BMC 6.14.020). Bellingham also requires rental registration.
An increase of 8% within 12 months can require relocation assistance of 3 months' rent.
The amount is based on the greater of local fair market rent or the rent the tenant actually pays.
An increase at that size also requires 120 days of notice.
Checked against the source on July 26, 2026.
Where a local rule is stricter, the local one governs. These apply wherever the property is.
The statewide cap on a rent increase is 9.683% for 2026. The cap that governs an increase is the one in force on its effective date.
No increase at all is allowed during a tenant's first 12 months.
Checked against the source on July 26, 2026.
You have 30 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant moves out to deliver a full and specific written statement and refund the rest of the deposit.
Personal delivery or first-class mail to the tenant's last known address both count.
Checked against the source on July 26, 2026.
Washington requires 90 days of written notice before a rent increase takes effect, whatever the size of the increase.
Tenancies subsidized through the unit itself get a shorter period of 30 days. A tenant's portable voucher does not count.
The increase has to start at the beginning of a rental period.
Checked against the source on July 26, 2026.
This page says what the rules require. The free calculators apply them to one increase, and an account tracks every unit you own and emails you before each deadline.
