The act adds a new section to chapter 84.36 RCW creating a property tax valuation exemption for qualifying housing by reducing assessed value by $50,000 for each qualifying tenant occupying the property. Property owners must apply to the county assessor in a form and manner required by an unspecified state department; applications filed in the current calendar year apply to property taxes levied for collection in the following calendar year. The exemption amount may not exceed the assessed value of the qualifying housing. The bill defines qualifying tenant as a person who has resided at the qualifying housing for at least nine months in the calendar year of the application and who is either receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (per 42 U.S.C. §423(d)(1)(A) as amended prior to January 1, 2025, or a date the department may specify) or is a veteran receiving Department of Veterans Affairs compensation at 40% combined service‑connected rating or higher or a total disability rating. It defines qualifying housing to include single‑family and multiple‑family residential properties (excluding transient accommodations). Owners must provide department‑specified information substantiating SSDI or VA compensation eligibility, and at least 80 percent of the property tax savings from the valuation exemption must verifiably and uniformly benefit qualifying tenants through reduction, elimination, or refund of rental payments in the same calendar year the owner receives the exemption. The act also states that RCW 82.32.805 and RCW 82.32.808 do not apply to this act. Key implementation and enforcement details are not specified in the extracted text: the identity of the department that prescribes application form and rules is not named; the specific evidence, procedures, or standards required to substantiate SSDI or VA claims are not described; how “verifiably and uniformly” the 80 percent pass‑through is to be demonstrated or enforced is not explained; and apart from not exceeding assessed value, any limits on multiple $50,000 exemptions per property and any penalties or administrative processes for noncompliance are not provided.

If enacted, owners of eligible single‑family or multiunit rental properties could lower the taxable value of their property by $50,000 for each tenant who both lived there at least nine months that year and is receiving Social Security disability payments or qualifying VA disability compensation, which would reduce the owner’s property tax bill beginning the year after they apply. In return, owners must apply to the county assessor using a form set by a state department (not identified in the text), provide proof of each tenant’s benefit status, and put at least 80% of the tax savings back to those tenants in the same year through lower rent, rent refunds, or similar reductions, so landlords will see smaller tax bills but also need to reduce rental income and manage new documentation and timing requirements while counties will face added application review work. Key implementation details remain unclear in the bill text: the state department that sets the form and proof rules is not named, the exact evidence and enforcement standards for proving disability or VA eligibility and for verifying the required 80% pass‑through are not specified, and the bill does not clearly limit how many $50,000 reductions can be claimed on a property beyond the rule that the exemption cannot exceed the property’s assessed value; those gaps could create administrative costs, compliance risk, and disputes for property owners and county assessors.