Like many, we imagined spending our retired years in relative peace and stability. We moved to Washington state four years ago to be close to our children and grandchildren on Bainbridge Island, but because of unpredictable rent increases in our 55-plus community, we’re not sure how much longer we’ll be able to stay in our home.

The average apartment rent statewide across all bedroom types was $1,823. A 10% increase translates to $182 hike in monthly rent. Wages aren’t going up by 10%, and those of us on fixed incomes depend on social security that only goes up around 2%. How are we supposed to keep up with increases like that?

According to a 2024 report by the National Low Income Housing Alliance, the average wage for renters in Washington is $28.95 an hour, but one would need to make $39.40 an hour in the Bremerton-Silverdale area to afford a two-bedroom home and cover utilities. Here in the 23rd legislative district, according to a 2023 American Community Survey, nearly 20,000 – one third of us – are renter households. More than half of us are “cost burdened,” meaning rent takes up more than 30% of our household income.

The average age in our community is 85. These folks can’t just go out and get another job to try to keep up with rent increases that are far outpacing the annual cost of living adjustment to our social security benefits. We’ve seen at least 10 neighbors have no choice but to leave. The way things are going we could all be homeless in another six months.

Large rent increases aren’t just an annoying trend, they cause displacement and even homelessness, especially threatening seniors, working families with children, and disabled people who can’t easily pick up and find a new place to live that they can afford. Rent gouging is affecting everyone. Businesses and essential services like our schools, hospitals and fire departments can’t retain and recruit staff because they can’t afford to live near their work.

A survey conducted by EMC Research from Jan. 26 to Feb 2 of registered voters in Washington state found 72% support a policy that would prohibit excessive rent increases, require more notice before increasing rent, and limit move-in and late fees. The survey found support across partisan lines, age, income, geography and other demographics.

That kind of widespread agreement on policy to address complex social and economic problems is rare indeed. But it’s not surprising when you consider that seven-in-10 say they have been unable to rent near where they work due to rents being too high, 70% say they have had a rent increase that significantly impacted their financial situation, and almost two-thirds say they have had to move because the rent got too high.

The rent stabilization measure will protect both residential tenants and manufactured homeowners who must rent the lot our home sits on. It sets a limit of 7% per year for rent increases and provides renters six months notice of rent increases over 3%.

Opponents with a vested interest in protecting their unrestricted ability to increase rents say stabilizing rent will cause a decline in housing supply, but there is literally no empirical evidence to support that claim. The measure that passed the state House and is on its way to the Senate includes a 10-year exemption for new buildings and exemptions for owner-occupied small dwellings, and only applies to current tenancies, meaning landlords can still set the rent at whatever they want for new tenants.

Before moving to Washington, I was a state legislator in Utah. I know how critical affordable housing is to the wellbeing and economy of local communities. That’s why I was glad to see strong support in the Washington legislature for tackling this problem with a common-sense solution. If the Senate fails to pass this bill, rent gouging will continue unabated, padding the profits of landlords and at the expense of some of the most-vulnerable people in our communities. This is not a future problem. It’s a three-alarm fire, and relief is needed today.

Sara Eubank, a former Utah state legislator, lives in Bremerton.