New Law Bans Property Flippers From Doing Their Own Wiring

TUMWATER, WA — Starting Sunday, house flippers in Washington will either have to pay an electrician to rewire the home they're flipping— or else pay a thousand dollar fine.

As the Washington Department of Labor & Industries explains, the agency has been tasked with enforcing SB 5267, a law passed in the 2021 legislative session that goes into effect July 25. Once it does, property flippers will have to use certified electricians for any wiring work on homes or buildings, if they are selling the home within a year of buying it.

“This law is designed to protect home buyers from shoddy electrical wiring,” said Wayne Molesworth, chief electrical inspector for L&I. “We have many examples of unsafe wiring performed by property flippers that resulted in new owners having to hire electrical contractors to make repairs, sometimes at a significant cost."

L&I says last year, its inspectors were called to more than 600 flipped homes with shoddy wiring. In one Bellevue home, they say the new owner was left with a $4,100 bill just getting the wiring back up to code.

“Homebuyers and home inspectors may not be able to tell whether electrical wiring has been installed correctly,” Molesworth said. “By having a licensed electrician do the work, it helps ensure electrical work is done safely.”

The bill is designed only to impact house flippers, who buy, repair and then sell a home within a year. Longtime property owners will remain largely exempt from electrical licensing and certification requirements, and are free to make their own repairs to their home or business.

House flippers, however, will need to hire a contractor or certified electrician who has received an electrical permit from L&I. Otherwise, they could be slapped with a fine up to $1,000. The law also applies to phone and internet lines, which must be installed by licensed telecommunications contractors.