HB 1501 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning inquiries into association governance or operations by unit owners in common interest communities.

HB 1501 requires associations in common interest communities (like homeowners' associations and apartment buildings) to respond in writing to unit or apartment owners' written inquiries about governance or operations within 30 days. If a legal opinion is needed, the association must provide a response within 60 days. Failure to comply bars the association from recovering legal fees in related disputes. The law applies to all such associations in Washington State and expires on January 1, 2028.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Signed Mar 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed Bill → Passed Legislature · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to extend the time associations have to respond to owner inquiries and to clarify how they can handle complex requests. Specifically, associations are now allowed to delay responses to review inquiries at monthly board meetings, add 30 days for complex cases, or seek legal opinions without passing those costs to individual owners. These changes aim to reduce the administrative burden on associations while ensuring owners still receive timely answers.

REQUIREMENT

Associations can now extend the 30-day response deadline to allow for board review at monthly meetings, an additional 30 days for complex inquiries, or time to obtain a legal opinion.

Associations must treat costs for discretionary legal opinions or third-party reviews as common expenses and cannot charge individual owners for them.

New subsections were added to clarify that these inquiry rules do not override other existing laws in the chapters they amend.

DEFINITION

The definition of a 'substantive response' was updated to explicitly include references to association records that are already available for inspection by owners.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House Jan 22, 2026

How they voted

35–15

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 51

Feb 26, 2026

D Democratic31

30 Yea 1

96% Yea

R Republican20

5 Yea 15 Nay

75% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 23, 2026

Signed into law

Governor signed.

executive

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

President signed.

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Speaker signed.

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed final passage; yeas, 58; nays, 37; absent, 0; excused, 3.

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

House concurred in Senate amendments.

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee amendment(s) adopted with no other amendments.

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (35-15-1)

senate

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

HSG - Majority; do pass with amendment(s).

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Housing at 10:30 AM.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing at 10:30 AM.

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Floor amendment(s) adopted.

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; do not pass.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

HOUS - Majority; do pass.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Housing at 4:00 PM.

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 4:00 PM.

lower

Feb 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 1:30 PM.

lower

1 primary · 13 co-sponsors