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Legislative Update 2020: Week 6
Legislative Update 2020: Week 6

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted02/27/2020


Eastern Washington Emerald Award Recipients - 2020
Eastern Washington Emerald Award Recipients - 2020

Congratulations to this year's recipients! Continue Reading

Postedby Jim Wiard (deleted)
Date posted02/24/2020


Welcoming Many New Members!
Welcoming Many New Members!

Our members make our world go 'round! New Property Members: Renton Sage Vigilant Vancouver Evergreen Ridge Apartments Ballinger Estates The Edge Ambrose Forest Creek Marvelle SC Notch Greensview Oakridge Royal Oaks Manor Way Watermark Alvista240 Alvista Lake... Continue Reading

Postedby Jim Wiard (deleted)
Date posted02/20/2020


Legislative Update 2020: Week 5
Legislative Update 2020: Week 5

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

Postedby Kelly Wakefield (deleted)
Date posted02/17/2020


Love in the Industry
Love in the Industry

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to celebrate love in the multifamily industry! Meet some of the couples from the WMFHA membership: Stephanie Moss and Nick Hamby Stephanie and Nick met in 2009 when she was a property manager for Fairfield Residential and he was a porter. He ended up moving... Continue Reading

Postedby Kelly Wakefield (deleted)
Date posted02/14/2020


Seattle Passes Winter Eviction Moratorium
Seattle Passes Winter Eviction Moratorium

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted02/11/2020


Legislative Update 2020: Week 4
Legislative Update 2020: Week 4

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted02/10/2020


Legislative Update 2020: Week 3
Legislative Update 2020: Week 3

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted02/3/2020


Reasonable Accommodation HUD Guidance
Reasonable Accommodation HUD Guidance

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted01/31/2020


Banning Criminal Background Checks Puts Residents and Housing Providers at Risk
Banning Criminal Background Checks Puts Residents and Housing Providers at Risk

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted01/31/2020


Statement on 2019 Novel Coronavirus
Statement on 2019 Novel Coronavirus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring the outbreak of a novel (meaning new) coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which was first detected in Wuhan City, China, and has since spread to 15 additional countries. With 5 cases of coronavirus confirmed in the United States... Continue Reading

Postedby Jim Wiard (deleted)
Date posted01/28/2020


Changes to Assistance Animal Reasonable Accommodations
Changes to Assistance Animal Reasonable Accommodations

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

Postedby Brett Waller
Date posted01/28/2020