End-of-Session Washington Multifamily Housing Association Legislative Update

The Washington Multifamily Housing Association provided the following update on Friday regarding the final outcome of legislation impacting multifamily rental owners in Washington State. 

All adopted bills, once signed by Gov. Inslee, will become effective June 9, 2022.

SHB 1593 – Expanding access to the Landlord Mitigation Program for Victims of Domestic Violence
This bill was proposed by WMFHA and supported by our long-term partners at Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN).

The measure allows landlords to seek reimbursement of up to $5,000 from the LMP when a resident terminates their tenancy in accordance with RCW 59.18.575 – victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, unlawful harassment, or stalking.

To be eligible, the landlord must return the full security deposit to the tenant and must forgo any collection actions against the tenant.

SSB 5749 – Methods of Rental Payments
Requires residential and manufactured housing community landlords to accept a personal check, cashier's check or money order for any payment of rent made by a tenant by mail, unless an accessible on-site location to pay rent is available.

However, such landlords are not required to accept a personal check for payment of rent if the tenant has had a personal check written to the landlord or the landlord's agent returned for insufficient funds or account closure within the previous nine months.

ESHB 2064 – Security Deposit Options
This legislation creates requirements around the use of security deposit alternatives. It also provides transparency of the product to tenants including maximum insurance coverage, and clearly identifies tenants remain liable for unpaid rent and damages, despite paying a "fee in lieu of a security deposit."   

This means that the property is the insured and the leasing consultants are considered the insurance agents. There is no real direct relationship between the insurer and the tenant. 

Provisions of housing bills that did not pass include those that would have:

• Required 180 days' notice for rent increases above 3%
• Limited late fees to 1.5% of tenant's monthly rent
• Prohibited the use of criminal history in screening except for sex offender registry information 
• Required landlords to make copies of estimates and invoices for repairs and deductions for tenants
• Prohibited deductions for carpet cleaning unless the landlord could document damage beyond normal wear and tear
• Permitted a tenant to request a walkthrough before the end of tenancy 
• Created a one-year statute of limitations on collections for money owed for damages
  

Remember: Elections Matter! 
2022 is also a major election year with the entire state House of Representatives and half the state Senate appearing on the November ballot. WMFHA will be watching these races closely and meeting with candidates to educate them on our industry needs.

Building relationships with elected officials allows our industry access to share our viewpoints. WMFHA’s Political Action Committee (PAC) will remain an influential tool in our efforts to ensure public officials understand the importance of responsible policy that supports, not harms, the rental housing industry.

We continue to strive to advance policies that create more diverse housing development throughout our state to address the demand/supply imbalance currently stressing housing affordability.