Seattle Eastside Property Management Fees: 9 Markets Compared
What property management costs across Seattle Eastside
Across the 9 Seattle Eastside markets below, managers quote 6%–12% of collected rent. Average asking rents run from $1,895 to $3,995, and that spread is the whole story: at 9.5% the point where a flat $199 becomes cheaper than a percentage is $2,095 a month, and 7 of these 9 markets sit above it.
$2,095
FLAT-FEE BREAK-EVEN RENT
9.5%
TYPICAL MANAGEMENT FEE
$199/mo
ZIPRENT FLAT FEE
Every market, and which model is cheaper there
| Market | Average asking rent | At 9.5% that is | Cheaper on management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sammamish | $3,995 | $380/mo | Flat $199 |
| Mercer Island | $2,995 | $285/mo | Flat $199 |
| Bellevue | $2,950 | $280/mo | Flat $199 |
| Issaquah | $2,860 | $272/mo | Flat $199 |
| Kirkland | $2,625 | $249/mo | Flat $199 |
| Redmond | $2,567 | $244/mo | Flat $199 |
| Bothell | $2,499 | $237/mo | Flat $199 |
| Kenmore | $2,080 | $198/mo | About even |
| Shoreline | $1,895 | $180/mo | 9.5% of rent |
Those are all-bedroom figures. A three-bedroom single-family home — the kind most owners hand to a manager — typically rents above the figure shown, which moves more of this table into the flat-fee column than the all-bedroom figures suggest.
What each city requires of landlords
Washington caps annual rent increases statewide under RCW 59.18.700 at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less, with no increase in the first 12 months and 90 days’ written notice required under RCW 59.18.140. The Department of Commerce set the 2026 maximum at 9.683%. That applies everywhere below. Fee structures across the region are close to identical too — the local rules are not, and they are where the avoidable costs sit.
Bellevue
Bellevue City Code 9.21.040 requires an owner who displaces low-income tenants by demolition, substantial rehabilitation, or a change or elimination of residential use to pay $2,000 per dwelling unit in relocation assistance, adjusted annually by the housing component of the CPI, with the owner responsible for half and the city paying up to the other half.
Bothell
Unlike neighboring Kent, Renton and Tukwila, Bothell operates no city rental registration or inspection program — it is absent from the Rental Housing Association of Washington’s statewide list of cities that have one. Bothell’s main rental-specific ordinance is the multifamily property tax exemption at BMC 3.90.120, where a 12-year exemption requires 20% of units to be affordable at 60% AMI (or 20% micro-apartments at 50% AMI), with affordable units intermingled with market-rate units.
Issaquah
Issaquah’s Tenant Protections chapter, IMC 5.52.030 (Ordinance No. 2986, effective October 6, 2022), requires every rental agreement to state the dollar amount of the rent increase and to give at least 120 days’ written notice before any rent increase greater than 3 percent. The one exception is subsidized housing where the rent is based on the tenant’s income, which gets a 30-day minimum notice instead. That four-month lead time means an Issaquah owner has to set next year’s rent well before a lease rolls over, so a management agreement that reprices on a shorter cycle can leave a unit below market for an extra quarter.
Kenmore
Kenmore’s Ordinance 22-0545 (KMC Ch. 8.55), effective April 7, 2022, caps late fees at 1% of one month’s rent and caps combined move-in fees and security deposit at one month’s rent, which a tenant on a lease of six months or more may pay in six monthly installments. The package was challenged in court by the Washington Business Properties Association, and Kenmore adopted Ordinance 24-0604 on September 13, 2024 to repeal certain just-cause and misleading-conduct provisions as part of the settlement — the fee caps survived.
Kirkland
Kirkland has its own Tenant Protections chapter, KMC Chapter 7.75 (Ordinance 4810, 2022), which requires 120 days’ written notice for any rent increase greater than 3% and 180 days for an increase greater than 10%, with the notice stating the actual dollar amount of the new rent (KMC 7.75.030). KMC 7.75.040 caps all move-in fees and security deposits combined at one month’s rent and lets tenants on leases of six months or longer pay that in six equal monthly installments, or two installments on shorter and month-to-month agreements. Any rental agreement provision that violates those two sections is null and void under KMC 7.75.060, so a landlord cannot contract around the repricing delay or the deposit ceiling.
Mercer Island
Mercer Island had to bring its development code into line with Washington’s HB 1337 by June 30, 2025: the city may no longer require owner-occupancy of either the ADU or the main house except where the ADU is used as a short-term rental, must allow two ADUs per lot in zones where single-family homes are permitted, and may not prohibit the sale of ADUs as independent units. Mercer Island’s city business license endorsement costs $30 to originate and $30 to renew.
Redmond
Redmond Municipal Code 9.54.050 (Ord. 3091, 2022) caps late fees and non-payment penalties at 1% of the tenant’s monthly rent — on a $2,500 rent that is roughly $38.
Sammamish
Sammamish’s Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program (SMC 21.10) reaches all new residential construction, including new single-family houses: 10% of units must be affordable at 80% AMI, or the applicant pays an in-lieu fee of $34 per square foot of living space. The city also requires an annual business license for anyone engaging in business within city limits (SMC 5.05.030), at a $15 origination and $15 renewal endorsement fee, with an exemption only for businesses under $4,000 in annual gross proceeds that have no premises in the city.
Shoreline
Shoreline adopted its own Residential Tenant Protections in Ordinance No. 996 (2023), codified as SMC Chapter 9.35. Late fees are capped at 1.5 percent of the tenant’s monthly rent, and all move-in fees and security deposits charged before the tenant takes possession cannot exceed one month’s rent combined, with tenants on leases of six months or longer entitled to pay that in six equal monthly installments. Rent increase notice runs 120 days for a base rent increase above 3 percent and 180 days for one of 10 percent or more, so a Shoreline owner both collects less cash up front and waits longer to reprice.
The fees underneath the headline percentage
These are the regional norms — the ranges below are drawn from published schedules covering this market, and individual firms vary within them. The percentage is what gets quoted; the rest is what gets invoiced.
| Fee | What it costs here |
|---|---|
| Monthly management | 6%–12% of collected rent |
| Tenant placement | 50%-75% of one month’s rent (Bellevue firms); Washington firms typically charge 80% of one month’s rent |
| Lease renewal | $195-$500 flat, or 25%-50% of one month’s rent; Washington average $199 or 33% of one month’s rent |
| Account setup | $200-$400 per unit at many Puget Sound firms; a typical setup fee of $185 per contract |
| Maintenance markup | About 10% on vendor invoices in Bellevue; 10%-15% across the wider Seattle market, often undisclosed |
| Also commonly charged | vacancy fee; annual inspection fee; eviction fee; eviction coordination fee; account setup/onboarding fee; early termination fee |
Ziprent’s pricing across Seattle Eastside
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Management | $199 / month | Per property. $100 a month for each additional property. |
| Tenant placement | $1,500 per lease | Charged only when a lease is signed. |
| Lease renewal | $250 per renewal | Not charged on ZipGuarantee. |
| ZipGuarantee | $250 / month | Management plus unlimited placement and renewals. |
The same number applies in every market in the table. A percentage does not: the identical service costs $180 a month in the cheapest market above and $380 in the most expensive, purely because the rent differs.
Seattle Eastside fee questions
How much do property managers charge in Seattle Eastside?
Between 6% and 12% of collected rent, averaging about 9.5%. On the rents in the table that is roughly $180 to $380 a month, before placement, renewal and setup charges.
At what rent does a flat fee beat a percentage?
$2,095 a month at 9.5%. Above that, 9.5% of rent costs more than $199; below it the percentage is cheaper on headline management price, though the flat fee still removes maintenance markups, setup fees and the link between your rent and your bill.
Does Washington cap rent increases?
Washington caps annual rent increases statewide under RCW 59.18.700 at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less, with 90 days’ notice required.
Do you charge more for a second property?
Less. Management is $199 a month for the first property and $100 a month for each additional one, so a second rental in the same market is roughly half the price of the first.
Fee breakdowns for other markets
Connecticut · North Carolina · Texas
Sources
Rents: Zumper, per-market pages. Local and state requirements: City of Bellevue, Washington Legislature, City of Kirkland. Fee percentages and add-on charges are drawn from published fee schedules and industry survey data for this region, given as ranges because practice varies between firms.
More on Washington
Every Washington market we cover · Property management fees by market · Ziprent pricing