Other LanguagesOn June 11, 2026, a new Washington law became effective that bans most grocery store and pharmacy restrictive real property covenants. Our legislature enacted House Bill 2294 (pending incorporation to Title 19 RCW), which prohibits negative use restrictions on real property that prohibit or restrict the use of such real property for a grocery store or pharmacy.
The law contemplates a limited set exceptions where such restrictive use covenants are permitted. The prohibition generally does not apply to:
(a) An agreement imposing a negative use restriction that became effective prior to June 11, 2026.
(b) An agreement that imposes a negative use restriction to prohibit or restrict use of real property for a grocery store or pharmacy after an owner or operator of a grocery store or pharmacy discontinues operations of the grocery store or pharmacy on the property for the purpose of relocating the grocery store or pharmacy, as long as the conditions outlined in the statute are met.
(c) An agreement that imposes a negative use restriction to prohibit or restrict use of real property for a grocery store or pharmacy in order to limit competition or conflicting uses within the confines of a retail center by allowing only a limited number of grocery stores or pharmacies within the retail center. In this case, the law provides that any owner or operator who discontinues grocery store or pharmacy use at a site within a retail center for a period exceeding one year, or the time period under section 3 of the act, cannot seek to enforce a negative use restriction prohibiting or restricting grocery store or pharmacy uses within the retail center.
The new law requires a party who enters a private agreement that imposes these exceptionally permitted negative use restrictions for a grocery store or pharmacy in Washington to notify the Attorney General and the appropriate local jurisdiction of the negative use restriction within 10 days of entering the private agreement. Parties in this position should notify the Attorney General by contacting us at the address or email address below:
Office of the Attorney General
Antitrust Division
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188