(1) Except as provided in subsections (6) and (7) of this section, beginning January 1, 2022, and every quarter thereafter, every beneficiary issuing notices of default, or causing notices of default to be issued on its behalf, on residential real property under this chapter must:
(a) Report to the department, on a form approved by the department, the total number of residential real properties for which the beneficiary has issued a notice of default during the previous quarter, together with the street address, city, and zip code;
(b) Remit the amount required under subsection (2) of this section; and
(c) Report and update beneficiary contact information for the person and work group responsible for the beneficiary's compliance with the requirements of the foreclosure fairness act created in this chapter.
(2) For each residential real property for which a notice of default has been issued, the beneficiary issuing the notice of default, or causing the notice of default to be issued on the beneficiary's behalf, shall remit $250 to the department to be deposited, as provided under RCW
61.24.172, into the foreclosure fairness account. The $250 payment is required per property and not per notice of default. The beneficiary shall remit the total amount required in a lump sum each quarter.
(3) Reporting and payments under subsections (1) and (2) of this section are due within 45 days of the end of each quarter.
(4) For purposes of this section, "residential real property" includes residential real property with up to four dwelling units, whether or not the property or any part thereof is owner occupied.
(5) The department, including its officials and employees, may not be held civilly liable for damages arising from any release of information or the failure to release information related to the reporting required under this section, so long as the release was without gross negligence.
(6)(a) Beginning on January 1, 2023, this section does not apply to any beneficiary or loan servicer that is a federally insured depository institution, as defined in 12 U.S.C. Sec. 461(b)(1)(A), and that certifies under penalty of perjury that it has issued, or has directed a trustee or authorized agent to issue, fewer than 250 notices of default in the preceding year.
(b) During the 2023 calendar year, this section does not apply to any beneficiary or loan servicer that is a federally insured depository institution, as defined in 12 U.S.C. Sec. 461(b)(1)(A), and that certifies under penalty of perjury that fewer than 50 notices of trustee's sale were recorded on its behalf in 2019.
(c) This subsection (6) applies retroactively to January 1, 2023, and prospectively beginning with May 1, 2023.
(7) This section does not apply to association beneficiaries subject to chapter
64.32, 64.34, or
64.38 RCW.
