Find the latest summaries and policy updates for all multifamily housing regulations and policies.
On Monday, October 7, the City of Burien passed a bill creating a local rental housing code requiring "just cause" for termination of a tenancy, requiring distribution of information and notice of intent to sell low-income housing properties. The law takes effect on October 15, 2019, and applies... Continue Reading
The City of Seattle recently passed legislation requiring changes to the notices served to residents. These laws were signed by the Mayor on October 4 and take effect on November 3, 2019, for all properties located in the City of Seattle. Below is a summary of each of the laws: Council Bill... Continue Reading
The City of Federal Way is considering a rental registration and inspection program. The program will be proposed and considered by the City Council beginning in December, with an implementation and registration period throughout 2020. The city is currently proposing a $15 per unit registration... Continue Reading
An article which appeared in last Saturday’s Tacoma News Tribune highlighting new landlord-tenant laws included several assertions by tenant advocates claiming that landlords are intentionally attempting to remove protections granted to them under the new law. To set the record straight,... Continue Reading
On average, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 9 men experience some form of domestic violence at the hands of an intimate partner in America. Here in Washington state, the data is alarming. In 2018, the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN) answered more than 5,700 calls from survivors desperate for... Continue Reading
The subject of housing affordability is front and center in the national conversation. The causes of rising housing costs and available and effective solutions are just now getting their much-deserved spotlight. Congressman Denny Heck from Washington’s 10th District made his viewpoint very... Continue Reading
The Seattle City Council recently amended a 2015 law requiring notice to the Seattle Office of Housing and Seattle Housing Authority of the owner's intent to sell multifamily property. The law takes effect September 1, 2019, and applies to properties located within the City of Seattle only. ... Continue Reading
As published in Rental Housing Journal's May 2019 On-Site Who Wants Affordable Housing? Apparently, not Oregon. Oregon’s horrendous newly adopted statewide rent control law has opened Pandora’s box. It threatens real... Continue Reading
The Seattle Office of Housing published the 2019 maximum income and rent schedules for the various income-restricted housing programs operating within the City of Seattle limits. Schedules for the various programs can be found here. For participants in the Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE)... Continue Reading
On April 24, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the 2019 Median Income schedules which set limits for certain housing assistance programs in the country. For Washington, "Median Income" increased 6.4% from $81,100 to $86,300 per year. HUD has published... Continue Reading
Wednesday, April 17, marks the final day the legislature may consider a proposal from the opposite house. The remaining time is devoted to concurrence votes (more below) and items that are necessary to implement the budget (taxes). Last week was busy for the legislature, passing a number of... Continue Reading
The Democratic Party may have the majority in both chambers of the Washington State Legislature, but their proposed Biennium Operating Budgets couldn’t be more different. Now the question has been raised: are we going into a special session? The main difference between the two budgets?... Continue Reading
