WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Safe keys bill heard in House Judiciary Committee

Dana Widrig was brutally beaten and raped in her apartment complex three years ago. Her attacker was a maintenance employee who worked at Widrig’s apartment complex. He gained access to a spare set of keys to her rental unit because they weren’t properly secured by the landlord.

As it turns out, there’s no legal requirement for a landlord to safely secure spare or master keys to rental units.

Rep. Gael Tarleton (D-Ballard) has a bill, HB 1647, that looks to fix that oversight in the Landlord-Tenant Act. It would require landlords to safely secure spare keys to their rental units.

HB 1647 received a public hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

“I know that House Bill 1647 is necessary because I lived through what happens when bad people have unchecked access to duplicate keys,” Widrig stated in public testimony in support of the bill.

“I expected to feel safe in my home and I was not safe on December 5, 2009, because my landlord did not protect my key from unauthorized access by its maintenance person.”

“Everyone who lives in an apartment has a right to be safe when they go to sleep at night,” said Tarleton. “Tragically, this bill is needed because Dana Widrig was not safe in her apartment.”

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Rep. Gael Tarleton (D-Ballard), right, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in support of her bill – HB 1647 – which would require landlords to safeguard spare keys to rental units. Also testifying were Dana Widrig, center, and attorney Kristi McKennon, left. Dana was a rape and assault victim. Her experience is the impetus behind HB 1647.

You can watch the complete testimony below.