CITY OF RENTON WASHINGTON

*New Streamlined Process in 2022*

Effective December 15th, 2021, the City of Renton has reconfigured the Rental Registration Program for registration. If you have previously registered, a notice on how to reapply will be distributed to you shortly. 

If you have not yet registered, please follow the instructions below. 

Rental Registration Program

Under Renton Municipal Code, landlords are required to register all residential rental housing properties within the City of Renton.* See RMC 4.5.125 for more detail. 

*Exceptions for registration include room rentals in owner-occupied housing, commercial lodging, short-term rentals, state-licensed facilities, and housing owned by government groups or by housing authorities. See RMC 5.4.125(B) for applicability.

Registration

Registration is required annually, on or before January 31.

Registration and annual renewal can be completed online at the City of Renton's Permitting Portal. As part of the application, you will be asked to submit a Declaration of Compliance Checklist.

To register or renew, complete the steps below:

1. Complete the Declaration of Compliance Checklist

   Download the Declaration of Compliance Checklist:

    Declaration of Compliance Checklist

   Using one checklist per rental property, determine if your property are compliant with basic health and safety standards by completing a self-inspection of your rental unit(s). Checklists can be completed by property managers. Certificates of inspection completed within the last 30 days and submitted by approved third-party inspectors are also accepted.

   For code citations of the Landlord-Tenant Act and basic health and safety standards, along with additional information, please refer to the Checklist Guide. 

   You will upload the completed Declaration of Compliance Checklist in Step 2. 

   If your property is not compliant, contact the Housing Programs Manager.

2. Complete the online Rental Property Registration:

Navigate to the online Permitting Portal webpage. Log In or register and apply for a Rental Property Registration license for each of your rental properties.

For questions, please refer to the Online Registration Tipsheet and the Rental Property Registration Tipsheet. 

Violations

This program enforces the WA State Landlord-Tenant Act and existing building and property standards of Renton. This program imposes no additional standards on landlords, other than those already in place in city and state code.

Failure to register, failure adhere to applicable codes, and/or false reporting on the Rental Registration Program Declaration of Compliance Checklist will result in issuances of violations and penalties. 

Violations and penalties follow existing City procedures outlined in Chapters 1-3 of the Renton Municipal Code.

Inspections

Renton’s program does not mandate inspections, except in cases of violations or if the landlord appears to have failed to fulfill an obligation required under the Landlord-Tenant Act. In such cases, the landlord must provide a certificate of inspection completed by an approved third-party inspector with thirty days of when requested.