Advocacy News

Living in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in Seattle, we often take pride in our reputation as a beacon of progress and acceptance, especially concerning social issues. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the journey towards inclusivity, particularly for the LGBTQ+ community, has and... Continue Reading

96 *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Stipulated Agreement Opinion On Wednesday, June 12, Division II of the Washington Court of Appeals published an opinion that will affect stipulated... Continue Reading

On Wednesday, May 29, the King County Superior Court adopted an emergency amendment, effective immediately, to LCR 40.1(b)(1)(L), for unlawful detainer actions where noncompliance by the defendant is alleged to... Continue Reading

The City of Olympia recently passed another round of tenant protections. Under this new ordinance, housing providers must notify tenants of their right to relocation assistance when increasing rent by more than 7%. The amount of relocation assistance they are then required to pay is two and a half... Continue Reading

Despite opposition and concern from our organization and members, as well as members from other organizations, a new ordinance requiring housing providers give residents a minimum of 180 days’ notice when increasing their rent passed in Spokane, with one amendment. If you raise rent less... Continue Reading

Your GA Team will be presenting as part of WMFHA’s Virtual Legal Symposium on all things Tenant Protections, so if you’ve been curious or confused on all the changing laws and regulations- you don’t want to miss this! Tune in on Tuesday, May 21 at 11:00am to learn more and ask... Continue Reading

Election season is upon us! I’m sure by now you’ve seen a political ad or two on TV or in the mail- a bummer if you find those annoying because they will continue leading up to Washington’s primary on August 6. So why should you care? Sometimes it’s easy, or even... Continue Reading

The WMFHA GA team recently participated in the bi-annual Washington Real Estate Coalition (WREC) meeting in Renton. WREC is made up of real estate trade associations, industry lobbyists and interested small business representatives. The group met to discuss a recap of the 2024 legislative session... Continue Reading

At the May Government Affairs Committee (GAC) meeting members discussed ADUs on multi-family 0roperties, a Seattle initiative to bring balance back to the city and NAA grassroots advocacy. In 2023, the legislature passed HB 1110, the middle housing bill, which was intended to be a step towards... Continue Reading

A group of multi-family and commercial property managers, developers, owners, real estate agents, association staff and other stakeholders recently met to discuss the challenges of rental housing and policies in City of Seattle and the awful unlawful detainer process in the King County court... Continue Reading

WMFHA staff and GAC member Mack Mayo, Paine Hamblen LLP, recently hosted a Spokane Tenant Protections Roundtable to educate members on the tenant protections passed in 2023 and the disjointed implementation by the city. Although in effect since mid-2023, some principal parts of the required... Continue Reading

A new proposal requiring housing providers give renters a minimum of 180 days’ notice when increasing their rent made the news on Monday in Spokane. Currently, housing providers must give tenants 60 days’ notice for rent increases. Councilmember Paul Dillon announced this proposal to... Continue Reading