| Passed by the Senate February 13, 2006 YEAS 47 ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House March 1, 2006 YEAS 98 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 6169 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Secretary | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2006 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/09/2006. Referred to Committee on Financial Institutions, Housing & Consumer Protection.
AN ACT Relating to discriminatory provisions in the governing documents of homeowners' associations; amending RCW 49.60.227; adding a new section to chapter 64.38 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that some homeowners'
associations have governing documents that contain discriminatory
covenants, conditions, or restrictions that are void and unenforceable
under both the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and RCW
49.60.224. The continued existence of these discriminatory covenants,
conditions, or restrictions is contrary to public policy and repugnant
to many property owners. It is the intent of this act to allow
homeowners' associations to remove all remnants of discrimination from
their governing documents.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 64.38 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The association, acting through a simple majority vote of its
board, may amend the association's governing documents for the purpose
of removing:
(a) Every covenant, condition, or restriction that purports to
forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease
thereof to individuals of a specified race, creed, color, sex, or
national origin; families with children status; individuals with any
sensory, mental, or physical disability; or individuals who use a
trained dog guide or service animal because they are blind or deaf or
have a physical disability; and
(b) Every covenant, condition, restriction, or prohibition,
including a right of entry or possibility of reverter, that directly or
indirectly limits the use or occupancy of real property on the basis of
race, creed, color, sex, national origin; families with children
status; 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
physical disability or who is blind or deaf.
(2) Upon the board's receipt of a written request by a member of
the association that the board exercise its amending authority granted
under subsection (1) of this section, the board must, within a
reasonable time, amend the governing documents, as provided under this
section.
(3) Amendments under subsection (1) of this section may be executed
by any board officer.
(4) Amendments made under subsection (1) of this section must be
recorded in the public records and state the following:
"This amendment strikes from these covenants, conditions, and restrictions those provisions that are void under RCW 49.60.224. Specifically, this amendment strikes:
(a) Those provisions that forbid or restrict use, occupancy, conveyance, encumbrance, or lease of real property to individuals of a specified race, creed, color, sex, or national origin; families with children status; individuals with any sensory, mental, or physical disability; or individuals who use a trained dog guide or service animal because they are blind or deaf or have a physical disability; and
(b) Every covenant, condition, restriction, or prohibition, including a right of entry or possibility of reverter, that directly or indirectly limits the use or occupancy of real property on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, national origin; families with children status; 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 physical disability or who is blind or deaf."
Sec. 3 RCW 49.60.227 and 1995 c 292 s 18 are each amended to read
as follows:
If a written instrument contains a provision that is void by reason
of RCW 49.60.224, the owner, occupant, or tenant of the property which
is subject to the provision or the homeowners' association board may
cause the provision to be stricken from the public records by bringing
an action in the superior court in the county in which the property is
located. The action shall be an in rem, declaratory judgment action
whose title shall be the description of the property. The necessary
party to the action shall be the owner, occupant, or tenant of the
property or any portion thereof. The person bringing the action shall
pay a fee set under RCW 36.18.012.
If the court finds that any provisions of the written instrument
are void under RCW 49.60.224, it shall enter an order striking the void
provisions from the public records and eliminating the void provisions
from the title or lease of the property described in the complaint.