Lacey, WA Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Lacey Municipal Code § 14.02.010 sets the Residential Building Rental Registration Program for the City of Lacey, Thurston County. All properties containing five or more dwelling units in the same complex that are rented or leased for payment of money, goods and/or services must be registered annually with the community and economic development department. New buildings in such complexes are registered during the final inspection or certificate of occupancy process. Existing buildings or complexes of five or more units had to register within thirty days after the city's notification, and register prior to January 31st of each year thereafter. The program reaches complexes of five or more units; the section does not require registration for smaller rentals.

Section 14.02.020 states the purpose: to prevent neighborhood blight and deterioration by giving the city accurate information for notifying owners or their agents, so officers can respond quickly and accurately if a complaint is filed against the property. Section 14.02.030 lists what the registration must contain: the owner's residence address, mailing address and telephone number, the address of each residential rental property owned within the city, the number of dwelling units at each address with the gross floor area of each unit and the number and floor area, excluding closet space, of each bedroom, whether a tenant-screening agency is used, and the telephone numbers of the on-site manager and any security agency. An owner whose principal residence is outside a fifty-mile radius measured from the Lacey City Hall, at 420 College Street S.E., must also name one local agent for each property with that agent's mailing address and telephone number. Everything is submitted on forms provided by the department.

Section 14.02.040 sets the fee at $5.00 per living unit each year, with a maximum fee of $500.00 per complex. A change in ownership requires a new registration. Ten percent of the fees is designated for the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Program and the Crime Free Multi-Family Housing Program, and the balance for enforcement of the City of Lacey Property Maintenance Code and abatement costs. Under Section 14.02.050 the fee is waived for owners who voluntarily participate in the Lacey Crime Free Housing Program and meet its certification requirements, and loss of certification revokes the waiver.

Registration also connects to occupancy. The prerequisites to a certificate of occupancy in LMC 14.04.015 include, for a property with five or more dwelling units in the same complex, registration in the program under Chapter 14.02.