Washington SB 6054: Concerning unreasonable restrictions on wildfire home hardening practices in common interest communities.

Bill Text

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6054
Chapter 180, Laws of 2026
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITIES—FIRE-HARDENED BUILDING MATERIALS
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026
Passed by the Senate March 10, 2026
Yeas 47 Nays 0
DENNY HECK
President of the Senate
Passed by the House March 3, 2026
Yeas 87 Nays 5
LAURIE JINKINS
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
CERTIFICATE
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
Washington, do hereby certify that
the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE
BILL 6054 as passed by the Senate
and the House of Representatives on
the dates hereon set forth.
SARAH BANNISTER
Secretary
Approved March 24, 2026 10:39 AM FILED
March 25, 2026
BOB FERGUSON
Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to unreasonable restrictions on wildfire home 1
hardening practices in common interest communities; adding a new 2
section to chapter 64.38 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 64.34 3
RCW; adding a new section to chapter 64.90 RCW; and providing 4
expiration dates.5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 64.38 7
RCW to read as follows:8
(1) The governing documents may not prohibit the installation, 9
use, or maintenance of fire-hardened building materials so long as 10
the fire-hardened building material meets applicable health and 11
safety standards and requirements imposed by state and local 12
permitting authorities.13
(2) The governing documents may include reasonable rules 14
regarding the design, dimensions, placement, or exterior appearance 15
of fire-hardened building materials, provided that such rules:16
(a) Do not prohibit the installation, use, or maintenance of 17
fire-hardened building materials;18
(b) Do not render the use of the fire-hardened building materials 19
infeasible; and20
(c) Allow for one or more reasonable options that:21
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6054
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2026 Regular Session
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senate Housing (originally sponsored by Senators Hunt, Orwall, and
Shewmake)
READ FIRST TIME 01/29/26.
p. 1 SSB 6054.SL

(i) Meet applicable wildfire-resistant standards; and1
(ii) Do not significantly increase the cost of the fire-hardened 2
building materials.3
(3) Nothing in this subsection confers upon a property owner the 4
right to construct or place fire-hardened building materials on 5
property that is:6
(a) Owned by another person;7
(b) Leased, except with permission of the lessor; or8
(c) A common area of the association.9
(4) This section applies retroactively to a governing document in 10
effect on the effective date of this section. A provision in a 11
governing document in effect on the effective date of this section 12
that is inconsistent with this section is void and unenforceable.13
(5) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 14
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.15
(a) "Fire-hardened building materials" means materials that meet 16
one or more of the following criteria:17
(i) The criteria for construction in wildland areas set forth in 18
the most recent version of the International Wildland Urban Interface 19
Code, or other code or standard enforced by the local jurisdiction;20
(ii) The criteria for construction in wildland areas set forth in 21
the most recent version of the NFPA standard 1140, "standard for 22
wildland fire protection"; or23
(iii) The requirements for a wildfire-prepared home established 24
by the IBHS.25
(b) "IBHS" means the insurance institute for business and home 26
safety or its successor organization.27
(c) "NFPA" means the national fire protection association or its 28
successor organization.29
(6) This section expires January 1, 2028.30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 64.34 31
RCW to read as follows:32
(1) The governing documents may not prohibit the installation, 33
use, or maintenance of fire-hardened building materials so long as 34
the fire-hardened building material meets applicable health and 35
safety standards and requirements imposed by state and local 36
permitting authorities.37
p. 2 SSB 6054.SL

(2) The governing documents may include reasonable rules 1
regarding the design, dimensions, placement, or exterior appearance 2
of fire-hardened building materials, provided that such rules:3
(a) Do not prohibit the installation, use, or maintenance of 4
fire-hardened building materials;5
(b) Do not render the use of the fire-hardened building materials 6
infeasible; and7
(c) Allow for one or more reasonable options that:8
(i) Meet applicable wildfire-resistant standards; and9
(ii) Do not significantly increase the cost of the fire-hardened 10
building materials.11
(3) Nothing in this subsection confers upon a property owner the 12
right to construct or place fire-hardened building materials on 13
property that is: