AN ACT Relating to mitigating disputes between unit owners and unit owners associations under the Washington uniform common interest ownership act;
Summary
HB 2646 amends the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act to change how disputes between unit owners and unit owners associations are handled. The bill allows a unit owner, association, declarant, or other person covered by the chapter to bring an action to enforce rights or obligations under the act or the governing documents, but it adds a new pre-suit notice requirement for actions against an association. Before filing suit, a unit owner must notify the association of the alleged violation, and if the association does not cure the violation or provide a substantive response in a tangible medium within 30 days, the owner may proceed without further notice.
The bill also directs courts to award actual damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs to a prevailing unit owner in an action against an association, while preserving the court’s ability to award reasonable attorney fees and costs in other cases under the section. In addition, it expressly allows parties to resolve disputes under the chapter or governing documents through binding or nonbinding alternative dispute resolution at any time.
Impact
HB 2646 would modify RCW provisions governing enforcement actions under the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, especially disputes involving condominium and other common-interest community associations. It creates a notice-and-opportunity-to-cure process before a unit owner may sue an association, and it strengthens remedies for prevailing unit owners by requiring awards of actual damages, attorney fees, and costs. The bill also reinforces the availability of alternative dispute resolution as a permitted path for resolving association-related disputes.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a consumer-protection and dispute-mitigation measure for homeowners in common-interest communities. Its structure suggests a generally favorable posture toward giving unit owners clearer enforcement rights while also encouraging associations to respond before litigation begins. No formal vote history or hearing record is provided here to indicate organized opposition or support.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the balance between homeowner rights and association process protections. Unit owners may favor the bill’s stronger remedies and ability to sue after a 30-day nonresponse, while associations may object to mandatory damages and fee awards or to the burden of responding in a tangible medium within a short timeframe. Another possible issue is whether the notice-and-cure requirement is sufficient to reduce litigation or instead creates an additional procedural hurdle for owners seeking timely relief.
AN ACT Relating to preventing common interest community unit owners' associations from imposing more onerous restrictions on an owner than those restrictions that existed when the owner acquired the unit;