Brief Summary: Prohibits homeowner association and condominium association restrictions that limit private property owners’ ability to deploy low-water landscaping techniques.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Tina Orwall

Brief Summary: Requires the holders of an interest in an easement to maintain the easement and permits agreements that allow maintenance obligations to be allocated to fewer than all holders of an interest in an easement. Requires the cost of maintaining an easement to be shared by each holder of an interest in the easement.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Jeff Morris

Brief Summary: Entitles an aggrieved party, if a willful violation of a homeowners’ association is found, to exemplary damages up to two times the actual damages sustained.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Christine Kilduff

Brief Summary: Revises the notice and opportunity to cure process in a construction defect action, adding a mediation process and further detail with respect to the termination of this process. Extends tolling provisions and provides for tolling in the context of claims by one construction professional against another.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Cindy Ryu

Brief Summary: Prohibits homeowner association and condominium association restrictions that limit private property owners’ ability to deploy low-water landscaping techniques.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Tina Orwall

Brief Summary: The Office of the Attorney General (AGO) is directed to establish a dispute resolution pilot program in Clark, King, and Spokane counties, for the resolution of disputes between condominium and homeowners’ association boards and owners. The pilot also instructs the AGO to create educational materials on the rights of homeowners and the authority of the boards.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Vicki Kraft

Brief Summary: Requires increased notice, a meeting, and a majority vote of the homeowners before the board of a condominium or homeowners’ association may commence a construction defect action.

Prime Sponsor: Rep. Tana Senn

Summary: Requires an insurer, before issuing or renewing a policy of insurance to the owner of commercial or residential rental property for coverage of the premises, to require the owner to certify that he or she is in compliance with fire safety requirements. Requires an insurer, before issuing or renewing a policy of insurance to an association for a condominium, to require the association to certify that the condominium is in compliance with fire safety requirements.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Kirk Pearson

Summary: Before a homeowner’s association or unit owner’s association may impose and collect charges for late payments of assessments, the owner must be give 45 days notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board of directors or their designee. It is also clarified that the opportunity to be heard must be fair and impartial.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Bob Hasegawa

Summary of Bill: Revises the condominium act with regard to voting requirements when amending the bylaws of the association.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Karen Keiser

Summary of Bill: Removes provision that a budget is ratified unless a majority of the ballots cast in the association vote to reject – and instead, adds requirement that the majority of ballots cast by those in the association present, by person or by proxy, determines the proposed budget vote.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Tim Sheldon

Summary of Bill: Revises the condominium act regarding costs of litigation for condominium associations by changing the definition of constructional defect and prohibits the board of directors from taking action on behalf of the association to: institute, defend, or intervene in litigation or administrative hearings.

The parties to a construction defect dispute must engage in mandatory binding arbitration.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Mike Padden

Brief Summary: The bylaws of a condominium may be amended by applying the minimum percentage of affirmative votes to the number of votes received rather than the total number of votes allocated if: 1) the proposed amendment is not seeking to amend the method of amending the bylaws; and 2) three notices are sent by certified mail, at least ten days apart, to the unit owners in advance of the vote either at a proposed meeting or other voting method authorized by the governing documents.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Karen Keiser

Brief Summary: County treasurers, at least 180 days before the issuance of a certificate of delinquency, must provide notice to the record owner of residential property that contains information regarding the potential for the homeowner to access mediation under the Foreclosure Fairness Act.  The fee a person may charge a non-natural person to locate abandoned property is 35 percent of the value returned to the owner.

Prime Sponsor: Sen. Mark Mullet