HomeSight's Darryl Smith Appointed to Washington Covenant Homeownership Program Oversight Committee

Washington state's effort to redress generations of housing discrimination gained a key voice when HomeSight Executive Director Darryl Smith was appointed to the Covenant Homeownership Program Oversight Committee by Governor Jay Inslee. The appointment, announced December 11, 2023, placed a longtime Seattle-area affordable housing leader at the table as the state prepared to launch one of the most ambitious reparative homeownership programs in the country.

The Covenant Homeownership Program (CHP) was created by House Bill 1474, the Covenant Homeownership Act, which passed the Washington Legislature with bipartisan support in the spring of 2023. The law established a dedicated funding stream, supported by a document recording fee, to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time homebuyers who can trace their family history to Washington residents affected by racially restrictive covenants, redlining, and other discriminatory housing practices in place before the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. Eligible applicants must identify as part of a historically discriminated group, including African American, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander communities, and must meet first-time homebuyer and income requirements. The program officially launched in January 2024 and is administered by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Smith's appointment reflected his deep involvement in the policy work that produced the program. HomeSight, a community development financial institution based in Seattle's Rainier Valley, worked alongside the Black Home Initiative Network and the Housing Development Consortium to advocate for the legislation. Smith testified before the Senate Ways and Means Committee in support of the bill and participated in the stakeholder work group that reviewed data on racial restrictive covenants and recommended best practices for the program.

"I'm honored by this opportunity to help ensure the CHP makes a profound impact on black homeownership in Washington state," Smith said in a statement marking the appointment. "The foundation for generational wealth building is rooted in home ownership."

The Oversight Committee, chaired by Patience Malaba, is responsible for reviewing program performance, advising on eligibility criteria, and ensuring the CHP achieves its statutory goal of narrowing Washington's stark racial homeownership gap. Smith's presence on the committee was widely viewed as important because HomeSight has decades of experience counseling first-time buyers of color and originating loans in neighborhoods historically shaped by restrictive covenants.

Early program results have been significant. Reporting from the program's first year indicates that at least 250 families used Covenant Homeownership assistance to purchase homes, with roughly 180 of those households identifying as African American. Qualifying buyers can receive assistance of up to 20 percent of a home's purchase price, to a cap of $150,000, structured as a forgivable second-position loan that reduces the cash barrier that has kept many Washington renters of color out of ownership for generations.

For homeowners and prospective buyers following the program, Smith's appointment signaled that the state's implementation would be guided by leaders with direct ties to the communities the program is intended to serve, rather than treated as a purely technical housing finance exercise. As the CHP enters its next phase, including continued legal scrutiny and ongoing refinement of eligibility documentation, the oversight committee's composition will continue to shape how effectively Washington delivers on the promise of the Covenant Homeownership Act.