A new state law requiring landlords to increase the notification process for tenants being displaced from their homes due because of redevelopment or remodeling is on its way to being approved by the Washington Legislature.

House Bill 1462, approved March 6 by the House of Representatives and now awaiting passage by the Senate, “allows additional time in the notification process for those who must relocate when a property they are living in is set to be renovated or sold,” said Rep. Andrew Barkis, who is from the Olympia-area Second District. “Giving tenants plenty of notice provides them with the time they need to find a new place to live. I believe this is a great bill to benefit all tenants residing in Washington.”

Under the proposed legislation, landlords planning to demolish or substantially rehabilitate a home or planning a change of use to the premises would be required to provide written notification to the tenant of at least 120-days before termination of their tenancy. This gives more time to soon-to-be displaced tenants to find new housing, according to supporters of the legislation.