In May, Governor Inslee signed a law that will create a down-payment assistance program to help people affected by racist covenants used to ban property from being sold or rented to non-white people prior to enactment of the Fair Housing Act in April of 1968. These covenants frequently barred Black, Indigenous, Asian and other people of color from purchasing homes in entire neighborhoods, which ultimately limited their ability to build generational wealth and contributed to the disparity in ownership rates that we see today.
The new law will impose a fee of $100 on certain recorded documents to raise money for the program. People who lived in the state prior to April 11, 1968, and who would have been affected by racially restrictive real estate covenants – and their descendants – will qualify for the assistance if they are first-time homebuyers and have household income at or below the median income for the area.
For an analysis of the bill that was signed into law, see the Bill Analysis here. Full article available at Axios.com.
Washington State Capitol Building
