On April 26, the Washington State Legislature passed SB 5378 which expands training requirements for fair housing clock hours for real estate brokers and managing brokers. The bill is on the Governor’s desk and his signature is expected. The law would take effect June 1, 2022.

Background
Real estate brokers and managing real estate brokers are licensed by the Department of Licensing in the state of Washington. Under existing statute, real estate brokers and managing brokers must fulfill the following criteria in order to obtain a real estate broker’s license:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent; and
• Complete 90 hours of approved real estate education within two years before applying
  for the exam, including a 60-hour course in real estate fundamentals, and a 30-hour
  course in real estate practices.

The above real estate education requirements are waived for qualified applicants currently licensed in another state. To maintain and renew a broker’s license, a real estate broker or managing real estate broker must complete an education requirement. Prior to renewing a broker’s license for the first time, a broker must complete 90 hours of education with the following requirements prior to licensure renewal:

• 30 hours of an advanced practices course;
• 30 hours of a real estate law course;
• 3 hours of a current trends and issues in residential/commercial real estate in Washington (CORE) course; and
• 27 hours of elective continuing education courses

Summary of the law
Under SB 5378, the education required to obtain or renew a real estate broker or managing broker license will be required to include instruction hours in fair housing as follows:

• Three of the 90 hours required for an initial real estate broker license;
• Three of the 90 hours required for first renewal of a real estate broker license; and
• Three of the 30 hours required for every subsequent renewal of a real estate broker or managing broker license.

Any real estate broker or managing broker who did not complete three hours of fair housing training for an initial license and three hours for  he first license renewal must complete six hours of fair housing training for the first license renewal after June 1, 2022.