Find the latest summaries and policy updates for all multifamily housing regulations and policies.
Your Rights as a Property Owner and the Seattle Waterfront LID As you may know, the City of Seattle is in the process of creating a special tax assessment property owners as part of its Waterfront Seattle project. The tax, known as a Local Improvement District (LID), would apply to commercial... Continue Reading
The most significant threat to multifamily industry in decades... Is the potential of Proposition 10 passing in California. Residents will vote this November on whether or not to undo the statewide prohibition on rent control known as Costa-Hawkins. If we lose the fight in California, the effects... Continue Reading
After suspending rent increases in the MFTE program in early April, the Seattle Office of Housing published income and rent schedules for the MFTE and other income and rent restricted programs on Monday May 14, 2018. The published rent and income schedule results in an average 4.5% increase in... Continue Reading
The Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program is a highly successful affordable housing program authorized by the City of Seattle to create affordable rental housing to families earning between 65% and 80% AMI. As of June 2017, more than 160 apartment communities participate in the program,... Continue Reading
On May 14, a new law takes effect in Seattle which may change how you offer and charge for parking to residential and commercial tenants. The law affects multifamily properties in the City of Seattle only. The law, which amends the land use code to change mandatory parking requirements in... Continue Reading
The State legislative session concluded in the late hours of March 8 and for the first time in five years lawmakers did not enter a special session to complete its business. In total, legislators introduced 1,425 distinct legislative proposals. Of that number, 310 passed both the House and... Continue Reading
On Wednesday, March 28, Seattle's First-in-Time law was struck down by a King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Parisien. The law, passed in 2016, required housing providers to provide direct links to screening criteria on all websites advertising available units, provide additional time to... Continue Reading
The City of Kent recently passed an ordinance creating a rental registration and inspection program to identify and inspect basic health and safety issues. in rental housing The law itself becomes effective April 18, however implementation of the program will begin this summer. The process... Continue Reading
After receiving a report from the University of Washington Associated Student Body regarding websites that provide rent bidding services, the Seattle City Council moved to place a moratorium on the use of such services for two years. The moratorium, which becomes effective 30 days after the Mayor... Continue Reading
The Washington Multi-Family Housing Association (WMFHA) welcomes the passage of Engrossed Third Substitute House Bill 2578 establishing statewide source of income protections, and creating the Landlord Mitigation Fund in statute. The new law, which will take effect September 30, decreases the... Continue Reading
The City of Bellingham recently passed a law creating additional tenant protections for residents living in rental properties. The law affects all multifamily rental properties within the city limits of Bellingham. Click links below to learn more about each of the tenant protections passed by... Continue Reading
It’s the bottom of the 9th inning in Olympia this week. Thursday, March 8 marks the end of the 2018 regular session. Recall last year, the end of the regular session was followed by two special sessions. A repeat of last year seems unlikely this year. Friday marked the last day either... Continue Reading
