Legislative Day

Please Oppose -

HB 2563: Establishing a state tax on capital gains, affects commercial and residential rental properties. It does not allow for tax-deferred exchanges as under federal law. With $23 billion in annual income and who knows the market values of our properties, property owners are the source for “new revenues.”

HB 2564:  Unlawful Detainers  and evictions are synonymous.  Often a landlord seeks to terminate tenancy
because either a tenant defaults in rent or fails to comply with the terms of the lease/rental agreement.  The landlord
will try to work with the tenant to resolve the issue before beginning the eviction process, as evictions are costly.  An average eviction may cost $800, not including the lost rent revenue and time.

Not all unlawful detainers become eviction records because the landlord stops the process once a tenant moves out.   Most landlords do consider the unlawful detainer filings of an applicant and inquire at the application process.  Just as a mortgage lender would question your financial worthiness before approving a loan, certain considerations are made during the
application process.

Access to Protection Order Court Records

Denying access to public records does not set a good precedent.  It is important that laws are careful to balance the public’s longstanding right to access public information.  Domestic Violence, sexual assault and or stalking records are impacted.  In a
civil case the court, any party may request a hearing to seal or redact the court records.  Privacy of victim’s records should always be a consideration; however, access to public records should be allowed.

 HB 2642 and SB 6315:  Tenant Screening

Washington State legislators are attempting to create a definition for tenant screening or screening service which is different than what is already regulated by Federal and current State law. Both Federal and State law definitions of consumer reports and consumer reporting agencies include all the activities a screening service would provide when providing a tenant screening report and were designed to protect the consumer. The definitions in SB 6315 are inadequate and do not address past rental history and employment verification.

Consumer report information varies from the different screening agencies and credit bureaus.  Some reports are
very basic while others supply an actual credit bureau report with information including previous addresses, social security number verification, fraud alerts, etc.  The landlord/manager decides which company provides the best information relevant to make an informed decision.

Do not support portable reports. A consumer report must be current and up-to-date.  Information on the consumer report can change daily and sometimes hourly. A portable report is unable to meet that need.

Housing providers are willing to provide applicants with the screening criteria (Resident Acceptance Policies) they use when reviewing a consumer report.  Landlords are also required to provide the applicant with information as to why they are denied tenancy and the specific reasons for the decision that came from a consumer report (Adverse Action Letter)