FROM THE AUDITOR

In May, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law Second Substitute House Bill 1474 creating the covenant homeownership account and program.

The intent of this program is to address housing discrimination due to racially restrictive real estate covenants. This law will result in an increase of $100 in the recording fee for each document recorded by your Auditor's Office Recording Department. This fee is collected as an assessment for the covenant homeownership program. As part of the program, the state Department of Commerce will contract with the Washington state Housing & Finance Commission to design, develop, implement and evaluate special purpose credit programs aimed at reducing racial disparities in homeownership by providing down-payment and closing-cost assistance to program participants.

The program assessment is in addition to the fees currently collected to record most documents. So, beginning Jan. 1, recording costs will be $303.50 for the first page plus $1 for each additional page. Survey filing fees will be $423.50 for the first page and $5 for each additional page. Some documents are exempt from the covenant homeownership fee. Examples include assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust; documents recording a birth, marriage, divorce, or death; any recorded documents otherwise exempted from a recording fee or additional assessments under state law; marriage licenses issued by the county auditor; documents recording a name change order; or documents recording a federal, state, county, city, or water-sewer district, or wage lien or satisfaction of a lien.

To learn more about this law, you will find it in Chapter 43.181 RCW Covenant Homeownership Program and in RCW 36.22.185 Covenant homeownership program assessment.

Your recording team strives to deliver the best customer service possible. If you have any questions on document recording, call 360-427-9670, ext. 732, or stop by for a visit.