Find the latest summaries and policy updates for all multifamily housing regulations and policies.
On Tuesday, the House and Senate voted on three landlord-tenant bills. For all intents and purposes, this is the final hurdle for these legislative proposals before they will become law. With all proposals that are considered in Olympia, there is a lot of give and take between stakeholders and... Continue Reading
The 2020 legislative session is “half over.” There are two weeks left and the pace at which legislation moves increases a lot. About last week... This legislative session the WMFHA lobby team has defeated efforts to implement rent control and defeated efforts to prohibit... Continue Reading
Last Wednesday, the House and Senate began marathon floor sessions to vote on policies that survived the first policy and fiscal cut-offs. The floor sessions will continue until Wednesday, February 19. During this time, the full chamber considers any bill that moved out of its policy committee or... Continue Reading
Yesterday, by a 7-0 vote, the Seattle City Council passed a law that allows a tenant to say: “It’s winter. You can’t evict me.” The law applies to certain evictions between December 1 and March 1, every year. This is the first major action taken by the new Seattle City... Continue Reading
Four things to know about Week 4 of the legislative session. 1. Any proposal that did not receive a hearing or a vote by its policy committee is considered dead for the legislative session. A bill that would implement rent control in Washington, among other strict provisions is dead. We... Continue Reading
This Friday marks the first significant deadline of the 2020 legislative session when bills must be voted out of their policy committee. If a bill is not voted out of its policy committee it is considered dead for this session. We expect several rental housing bills to move out of their policy... Continue Reading
HUD recently released guidance clarifying the terms under which a tenant may request a reasonable accommodation to keep an animal as a service animal or assistance animal. The guidance is available here. It is also available on the HUD website. Below is a summary of the law and should not be... Continue Reading
In this session, policymakers in Olympia are considering Senate Bill 6490, legislation intended to limit the use of criminal history in tenant screening. Criminal history is important for resident screening. An individual’s criminal history is an additional data point that provides context... Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released new guidance to clarify the responsibilities of both rental housing providers and renters concerning reasonable accommodation requests for emotional support animals (ESAs) in housing. For four years, this has been a priority... Continue Reading
In Olympia last week: The House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee held a hearing on HB 2453, implementing "just cause" requirements in Washington. There were also hearings on HB 2520 adding onerous requirements to return a security deposit and HB 2535, implementing a mandatory grace period... Continue Reading
Washington's 66th Biennium resumed this week in Olympia. Washington’s legislative cycle is two years long, with sessions lasting 105 days in odd-numbered years and 60 days in even. 2020 is, therefore, a short session expected to end March 12. The first policy cut off is February 7. In the... Continue Reading
Eviction Moratoriums Harm Residents and Housing Providers: Washington Needs More Holistic Solutions to Address the Cause of Evictions and Homelessness Nobody should be without a safe place to stay during the winter – or any time of year. Evictions are a last resort for housing providers... Continue Reading
