We Need Your Help to Unlock Condo Production in Washington State!

Condos represent an accessible homeownership option for first-time homeowners, families looking to build intergenerational wealth, and aging adults looking to downsize and stay rooted in their communities as they age. Despite the clear benefit of condos as an affordable homeownership option, there are well documented insurance liability barriers in state statute that choke off condo production by introducing unnecessary costs and risks.

As a result, condo production in Washington has been largely abandoned in favor of less risky development types, such as apartments and single-family homes. Condos represent around 5.3% of the overall housing stock in WA but only 1% or less of new construction since 2011.

Fortunately, there are two bills that propose effective solutions to re-balance condo liability while maintaining important protections for consumers: HB 1403 and HB 1516.

• HB 1403 – This bill passed the Washington State Senate on Tuesday, 4/8 with a bipartisan 47-1-1 vote! We now need the Senate version to be reconciled with the House version and for the Governor to sign this into law.
   
• HB 1516 – This complementary bill urgently needs to move to the Senate floor for a final vote. HB 1516 will study ways to lower insurance costs for nonprofit and government affordable homeownership developers. Permanently affordable homeownership projects face unique insurance challenges and costs that aren’t addressed through HB 1403; we need legislators to take this critical first step for permanently affordable homeownership models!

We need your help to ensure that HB 1516 moves to the Senate floor for a final vote while maintaining support for reconciliation and signature for both HB 1403 and HB 1516! Ask your legislators to support the full range of condo liability reform in Washington State. 

We’re close, but need your help for this final push!