HB 1236 and impact on WA real estate

[Jayman Dalal]

HB 1236 is being discussed in Senate soon. Here is a post on SeattleTimes summarizing the bill. Here are my thoughts on it. I wonder what other perspectives folks have? Does it make it harder to rent now?

Pros

• - Puts more focus on landlords to look for high quality tenants.
• - Keep first lease to under 1 year so that you can invoke the "no cause" termination.
• - Be vigilant to look out for warning signs before the first lease ends and give a 60 days termination notice to tenant.
• - Only renew to tenant that pays on time, nuisance free and hassle free. 

Cons/Open Issues:

• - Unclear on how the renewals will be past 1st lease expiration. Does it become month-to-month always or can we still renew to a term? 
• - Going from 20 to 60 days is a very long period of notice, putting more onus on landlords to make early call.
• - Landlords renting out in lower end communities might be motivated more to sell those properties, leading to more homelessness. 

Thoughts?