Advocacy
WBPA is in Olympia every day of session. We track every bill that touches how property is built, rented, sold, and taxed, and we report to members every week.
WBPA is in Olympia every day of session. We track every bill that touches how property is built, rented, sold, and taxed, and we report to members every week.
2027 Session (convenes January 11, 2027)
WBPA's 2027 priorities
- Promote electronic notices. In 2026, WBPA won removal of the certified mail requirement for rental notices (HB 2664). The next step: let tenants opt in to receive notices by email and regular mail instead of having them posted on their door. It is more private for tenants, faster and more reliable for owners, and creates a clear delivery record for both.
- Oppose the rental junk fee bill. Protect owners' ability to charge clear, disclosed fees for real services without new liability traps.
- Defeat new real estate taxes. Stop new and higher taxes on buying, selling, owning, and operating property.
- Keep real estate exempt from the capital gains tax. All real estate, with no carve-outs.
- No tax on rent. Rent is not a revenue source for the state, and a tax on it would be passed on to tenants and small businesses.
Members: join the WBPA Weekly Real Estate Update on Zoom, Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. during session, for the bill tracker and strategy. Log in for the link.
2026 Session Record
We led on:
- REET on partnership transfers (HB 2009). Clarifying that the selling price is the fair value multiplied by the share of controlling interest actually transferred.
- Pay transparency fix (HB 2377). Defining "applicant" to stop lawsuit-driven claims by people with no real interest in the job.
- Retail theft accountability (HB 2729). Minimum sentences for repeat offenders, modeled on Bellevue's ordinance.
We supported:
- Fixing the estate tax (SB 6347)
- Allowing regular mail for unlawful detainer notices (HB 2664) and manufactured housing notices (HB 2452)
- Local REET options (HB 2442) and redevelopment incentives (SB 5884)
We opposed:
- A state income tax (SB 6346) and capital gains tax expansion (HB 2292)
- Limits on owning single-family homes (HB 1732)
- Partial payment of rent requirements (SB 6139)
- Expanded contractor wage liability (HB 2191) and other new mandates on employers
Beyond the Legislature
- Energy codes. WBPA is part of the statewide coalition engaging the State Building Code Council on the 2024 commercial energy code.
- Agency rulemaking. WBPA is tracking the Department of Revenue's estate tax rulemaking implementing SB 6347.
- Local governments. WBPA has fought rent control and property-rights measures in Seattle, Spokane, Kenmore, and Bellevue.