Washington Senate Bill Report E2SHB 1335 (March 17, 2021)
- Issuer
- Congressional materials
- Document type
- Report
- Date
- 2021-03-18
- Case
- 2021 03 18 A28680 D232328 Bill Report 1335 S2 E Sba Bfst 21
Summary
A Washington Senate Bill Report on E2SHB 1335, as of March 17, 2021, prepared for the Senate Committee on Business, Financial Services & Trade, which heard the bill on 3/18/21. The bill concerns review and property owner notification of recorded documents with unlawful racial restrictions and passed the House on 3/4/21, 97-1. The background describes the Washington Law Against Discrimination and the seller disclosure statement for residential real property. The bill would require the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University to review recorded covenants and deed restrictions and notify property owners and county auditors of unlawful restrictions. It adds a notice to the seller disclosure statement, provides a superior court process for striking such provisions, and takes effect January 1, 2022.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Full text
SENATE BILL REPORT
E2SHB 1335
As of March 17, 2021
Title: An act relating to review and property owner notification of recorded documents with
unlawful racial restrictions.
Brief Description: Concerning review and property owner notification of recorded documents
with unlawful racial restrictions.
Sponsors: House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Valdez, Rude, Berry, Fitzgibbon, Morgan, Santos, Shewmake, Davis, Berg, Gilday,
Bergquist, Fey, Bateman, Lekanoff, Lovick, Callan, Riccelli, Rule, Pollet, Senn and Harris-
Talley).
Brief History: Passed House: 3/4/21, 97-1.
Committee Activity: Business, Financial Services & Trade: 3/18/21.
Brief Summary of Bill
• Requires the University of Washington and Eastern Washington
University to review existing deeds and covenants for unlawful racial or
other discriminatory restrictions and provide notice of such restrictions
to property owners and county auditors.
• Adds to the seller disclosure statement a notice to the buyer of real
property that covenant or deed restrictions based on race or other
protected classes are unlawful and provides the methods by which such
restrictions can be struck.
• Provides a process for striking and removing unlawful provisions from
the record and chain of title after a property owner files an action in
superior court.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, FINANCIAL SERVICES & TRADE
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative
members in their deliberations. This analysis is not part of the legislation nor does it
constitute a statement of legislative intent.
Senate Bill Report -1- E2SHB 1335
Staff: Clinton McCarthy (786-7319)
Background: Washington Law Against Discrimination. The Washington Law Against
Discrimination (WLAD) prohibits discriminatory practices in employment; places of public
resort, accommodation, or amusement; real estate transactions; and credit and insurance.
The law protects persons from discrimination based on their race, creed, color, national
origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children, sex, marital status, sexual
orientation, age, honorably discharged veterans, or military status. The law also protects
persons from discrimination based on the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical
disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.
WLAD declares void any provision in a written instrument relating to real property that
purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease of the
property to individuals within a protected class. If a written instrument contains a provision
void under WLAD, the owner, occupant, or tenant of the property or the homeowners'
association board may bring an action in superior court to have the provision struck from
the public records, or may record a restrictive covenant modification document with the
county auditor.
Seller's Disclosures. A seller of residential real property must provide a buyer with a
disclosure statement about the property within five business days after mutual acceptance of
a written purchase agreement. The disclosure statement requires the seller to answer yes,
no, or don't know on a list of items, with space provided for more information if necessary.
The seller disclosure statement includes the following categories:
• title;
• water;
• sewer or on-site sewage system;
• structural;
• systems and fixtures;
• homeowners' association or common interests;
• environmental;
• manufactured and mobile homes; and
• full disclosure by sellers.
Within three business days of receipt of the disclosure statement, the buyer may approve
and accept the disclosure statement or rescind the purchase agreement. If the disclosure
statement is delivered late or not delivered, the buyer's right to rescind expires the earlier of
three days after receipt of the disclosure statement or the date the transfer closes.
Summary of Bill: Subject to appropriations, the University of Washington and Eastern
Washington University must review existing recorded covenants and deed restrictions to
identify recorded documents that include racial or other restrictions on property ownership
or use against protected classes that are unlawful under WLAD. For properties subject to
such unlawful restrictions, the universities must notify property owners and the county
Senate Bill Report -2- E2SHB 1335
auditor of the county in which the property is located and must provide information on how
such unlawful restrictions may be struck.
The seller disclosure statement is amended to include a notice to the buyer that covenants or
deed restrictions based on race, creed, sexual orientation, or other protected class are void
and unenforceable, and provides information on how such illegal restrictions can be struck.
A process for striking and removing unlawful restrictions from the record and chain of title
after a property owner files an action in superior court is provided.
The original document containing the unlawful restrictions may be preserved for historical
or archival purposes.
The provisions of the bill apply to real estate transactions entered into on or after January 1,
2022.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on January 1, 2022.
Senate Bill Report -3- E2SHB 1335
File and source
- File
- 2021-03-18_a28680_d232328_bill-report-1335-s2-e-sba-bfst-21.pdf
- Size
- 9,393 bytes
- SHA-256
- f4b16e9105630696761d6e3dc119f34233c1dedf1e0398c63e2e63914a87565d
- Original
- app.leg.wa.gov