Changes In Your Area
Government Updates | RHAWA Staff
Keeping you up-to-date with the latest legal changes in Washington
In Olympia, RHAWA was successful in an industry-supported “squatters bill” which will allow police to remove individuals from a property who cannot prove by written lease that they have a right to occupy the unit.
Projecting the next few months out, Seattle appears likely to attempt to severely restrict a landlord’s ability to deny an applicant due to their criminal history. At this point, a simple “ban the box” bill would be a very friendly compromise from advocates and city staff who believe landlords use their ability to deny tenancy due to criminal records as cover-up for personal biases.
Then, there’s the issue of Initiative 127 — the so-called “What’s in my rent?” initiative — which is out collecting signatures to be eligible for the ballot, possibly as soon as August’s primary. Of course, receiving a spot on the ballot would assume that City Council doesn’t choose to instead just pass the initiative in to city law without a vote of the people.
Source of income also continues to spread outward from Seattle, this time reaching over the Cascades to Spokane where its city council passed new legislation. Auburn and Shoreline are two other cities to monitor on this issue — “source of income” isn’t slowing down, and will continue to dominate rental discussions in 2017.
Renton is reviewing staff recommendations to create a mandatory rental inspections program. Legislative action could occur at any time there.
Feedback from the membership regarding these issues, or any other issue not mentioned here, is welcomed and encouraged. Member participation in local government affairs is vital to letting government know RHAWA and rental property owners / operators are an important group in the State that provides a vital service to our communities.
Auburn + Shoreline| Source of Income
Auburn and Shoreline are the two newest cities on RHAWA’s radar with regards to potential legislation which would create a protected class for an individual’s source of income. This continues the trend of Seattle suburbs enacting this legislation in response to lower-income renters facing difficulty finding affordable rents.
Shoreline Council heard a presentation RHAWA was made aware of the possibilities by city staff, and was pursuing follow up conversations at the time of press.
Eastside | Fire Alarm Retrofits
RHAWA has learned of Eastside fire districts notifying multi-family property owners — under the State’s 2015 International Fire Code, Chapter 11 — of requirements to retrofit hard-wired, monitored fire alarm systems. The rule applies to any multi-family building more than three stories in height, or containing 16 or more apartment dwelling or sleeping units.
Exemptions from the requirements are only applicable to:
Buildings with an existing, previously approved fire alarm system.
Building where each unit has its own independent exit and is separated from other units by fire barriers.
Buildings with fire sprinkler systems containing a local alarm to notify all occupants.
Renton | Rental Housing Inspections
Renton city staff has taken up the issue of mandatory licensing and inspections of rental property in the city of Renton. Current drafts of legislation have tie-ins to “Safe and Healthy Housing” — a not-for-profit organization with political ambitions of its own — and would require rental units meet minimum safety and environmental health standards. See the attached documents for specifics of the proposal.
Property owners who are landlords would be required to obtain a business license and register residential units available for rent in the City of Renton. Residential rental units would be inspected and certified as meeting standards for safety and health.
A public meeting was held on March 2 to discuss the proposal with RHAWA in attendance. We are engaged with city staff to communicate the many illegal components of the current draft.
Seattle | “Rent Transparency” Initiative
A citizen’s initiative was filed in early-March to begin collecting signatures on a proposal to require landlords disclose all of their costs involved in making the determination of how to set their rental rates.
Specifically, landlords would be forced to provide a cost breakdown along with rent, including mortgage, insurance, property taxes, fees, and maintenance. The information would have to be provided with new rental agreements or rent increase notices.
Signature gatherers have until September 13 to collect the 20,638 signatures required for the initiative to be placed on the fall 2017 ballot. Owner-occupied single-family units, mother-in-law or cottage units, duplexes, and subsidized properties would be exempt.
RHAWA believes I-127 piles on to the “death by a thousand cuts” strategy Seattle has pursued against small landlords, and would further reduce Seattle’s affordable housing stock as small landlords choose to sell to owner-occupants or developers building new, luxury housing. We are following this issue closely.
Seattle | Restricting Use of Criminal Records in Tenant Screening
Seattle’s Office of Civil Rights is close to pushing forward its proposal to create what amounts to a protected class status for individuals with arrest and conviction records when applying for rental housing. Of biggest concern are two issues; landlords could not use criminal records more than 2 years old for denial of an applicant, and the 2 year timeline would start from the date of sentencing rather than the date of final disposition.
Other details include prohibiting landlords from:
Inquiring about, nor carrying out, an adverse action against an applicant because of an arrest record belonging to the applicant or a member of their household.
Inquiring about, nor carrying out, an adverse action against an applicant because of any conviction records belonging to the applicant or a member of their household which are more than two years beyond the date of final disposition.
Carrying out an adverse action based on a conviction record of prospective occupant, tenant, or members of their household, unless the person has a legitimate business reason.
RHAWA was a participant on the HALA (Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda) subcommittee assigned to this issue, and is continuing to meet with Council on this issue.
Pierce County
No new issues at time of press.
Snohomish County
No new issues at time of press.
Statewide | Squatters Legislation
RHAWA was successful, after pushing for 6 years, in passing legislation which makes it much simpler for property owners to have illegal squatters removed from their property. This is a huge win for our industry, with the bill passing with unanimous bi-partisan support!
The new law, which takes effect July 23, 2017, allows property owners to file a declaration that a trespasser — not a tenant — is on their property. This allows law enforcement to remove the person immediately, without having to go through a lengthy, costly eviction process.
For more information about RHAWA please visit: RHAWA.org
