It’s no secret that Seattle is an expensive place to live. A big part of the problem is high rent costs. In the past few years, local housing activists have pushed the idea of a rent cap. One version is getting a hearing in Olympia today on its way to potentially becoming state law.

Mike Wilkerson, an urban economist and thedirector of analytics at ECONorthwest, breaks down the different kinds of rent caps and where the proposed law would fit in.

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