FAQs

RHAWA stands for Rental Housing Association of Washington.

We are a not-for-profit organization, driven by a mission to support and champion the rental housing industry through advocacy, a high standard of ethics, education, research, products, and services.

We started out as a Seattle-based association and grew into a regional resource throughout the Puget Sound area. In an effort to serve all those in the rental housing industry regardless of geographic location in Washington, RHAWA expanded to become a statewide association in 2012.

Currently made up of more than 5,300 members, we are the premier rental housing association in Washington State. RHAWA continues to grow and evolve into one of the most valuable resources for independent rental owners and managers.

RHAWA supports and champions the rental housing industry through advocacy, a high standard of ethics, education, research, products, and services.

Our core values:

• Excellence - We strive to be the best in everything we do.
• Innovation - We are creative in delivering value to our members in everything from services to products to processes.
• Integrity - We conduct ourselves honestly and ethically.
• Learning - We promote continuous skill and knowledge development.
• Outside-In Focus - We believe that growth comes from looking at opportunity through the eyes of our members.
• Respect - We treat others with the highest degree of dignity, equality, and trust.
• Teamwork - We work collaboratively to achieve common goals.

• We provide services that help rental housing providers maintain a high standard of excellence.
• We design accurate and engaging content to serve and educate members.
• We actively participate in state and local policy advocacy.

• Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• Read CURRENT.
• Check out our blog.

• You can reach us by:
  • Phone: (206) 283-0816
  • Fax: (206) 286-9461
• For general inquiries and membership, email us at office@RHAwa.org

RHAWA members are:

• Rental property owners.
• Manufactured housing community owners.
• Property management companies.
• Rental housing industry vendors.
• Rental Housing Association Coalition advocates.
• A combination of the above.

Our members include rental property owners of all sizes and all stages of ownership. We have members who recently acquired a rental property through inheritance or purchase to members who own hundreds of units. We have something for everyone. Our membership also includes service providers who focus on serving the rental housing industry.

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Whether you are thinking about purchasing rental property, already own or manage, have products and services you wish to market to those in the rental industry, or a little bit of everything, we have a membership to fit your needs. The following are just some of the benefits of membership:

• Access to our library of attorney-reviewed RHAWA Leases and Forms.
• Use of RHAWA Screening Services.
• Access to the RHAWA Support Center.
• Access to join RHAWA Events and Classes or watch them later OnDemand.
• Information about the latest RHAWA Government Advocacy.
• Membership in an active community of housing providers through the RHAWA Connect Forum.

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Complete an application to join RHAWA. Once we receive your application, a staff member will provide you with all your log-in information.

Yes, all employees of RHAWA member companies are also members. To take advantage of your member benefits, please register for RHAWA events using your company email address. Or contact our Member Services staff to get your own log-in information.

RHAWA is a not-for-profit organization. We collect membership dues so that we can continue to provide high quality products and services to our members. Membership dues vary based on your membership type. To see your membership options, click here.

Annual membership dues are tax deductible as a necessary and ordinary business expense.

The tenant screening process is the single most important part of filling vacancies and retaining quality tenants. RHAWA offers the best in the industry with extensive screening services at a competitive price. Packages range in price and feature, allowing custom screening to meet your criteria with. At RHAWA you have the option to order tenant screening reports online – allowing you to run reports 24 / 7 via desktop or mobile. Plus, we have staff available to assist you with processing and interpreting tenant screening reports.

RHAWA offers a variety of screening packages to meet your specific screening needs.

The certification is federally mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and verifies that the member has due cause to receive another individuals sensitive information. For more details, see our Certification Process. This will give you the individual steps and a feature to upload your documents to Tenant Screening.

Yes. RHAWA screening services are only available to members.

RHAWA's Rental Housing Academy^TM focuses on three key areas for landlord education: Managing Your Business, Managing Your Rentals, and Understanding the Law. In each of these categories there are dozens of courses designed to provide you with the knowledge and best practices to be a successful landlord.

For a full overview of RHAWA's Rental Housing Academy^TM courses, click here.

Most RHAWA classes are restricted to RHAWA Members and Freemium Subscribers.

RHAWA currently offers classes OnLine and OnDemand.

To sign up for a class OnLine:

• Register for a class on the Education calendar.
• If you are a member, register using your log-in information to receive member pricing.

OnDemand courses are only available for RHAWA members. Members recieve free access to the following courses:

• Washington Housing Provider Workshop - landlord-tenant law and best practices for operating your Washington State rental properties. (Residential Rental Members Only)
• Seattle Housing Provider Workshop - landlord-tenant law and best practices for operating your Seattle rental properties. (Residential Rental Members Only)
• Manufactured Home Landlord-Tenant Act - laws for operating your manufactured housing communities. (MHC Members Only)

To sign up for access to our entire library of OnDemand classes, sign up for a monthly or annual Class Pass.

Please contact RHAWA’s Director of Education + Resources with your proposal and a brief professional biography.

RHAWA has multiple events organized and produced annually, including:

• Legal Panel
• Economic Summit
• Summer Workshop + Tradeshow
• Annual Business Meeting
• Annual Gala

These programs facilitate networking, socializing, and learning opportunities. When landlords learn and grow, the industry strengthens together.

For a full description of RHAWA events, click here.

Note: During the COVID pandemic, some events may be online only.

No, you do not. Howver, non-members may be charged an additional fee to attend events.

Register for an event or class from the Events calendar. As a member, register using your log-in information to receive member pricing.

Yes, for most events, it is still possible to register and to pay at the door, although you will be charged a higher price. We accept credit card payments.

Please contact RHAWA's Director of Education + Resources with your proposal and a brief professional biography.

Advocacy is a term used by associations and is usually equated with lobbying government officials. RHAWA sees advocacy as a broader responsibility in which we show public support for our industry or for causes that our industry supports. Advocacy means inspiring, motivating, informing, and if necessary driving collaboration to build a better state.

RHAWA's three policy priorities are:

1. Prevent rent control.
2. Support uniformity of State Landlord-Tenant laws across all jurisdictions.
3. Educate legislators.

RHAWA represents the interests of the entire rental housing industry at the state and local level of government.