2024 WA Legislative Tracker

The 2024 Washington State legislative session began on January 8 (see our full 2024 Legislative Agenda), and we’re closely tracking the bills and budget items that can make a real impact for affordable housing. Scroll down to view the entire list, or use the buttons below to filter by topic or status. More bill numbers, links to bills, and ways to take action are expected throughout the first and second week of the session.

2024 State Legislative Report

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Affordable Homes Act (HB 2276/SB 6191)

Create a dedicated revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund by reforming the Real Estate Transfer Tax.

About the bill

Reforms the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), with revenues dedicated for affordable housing. This bill has two parts:

Raise the threshold for the lowest tier from $525,000 to $750,000, cutting the RETT paid by the vast majority of people selling properties.
Create a 1% surcharge on the portion of property sales price above $3 million. The revenues will be dedicated to the Housing Trust Fund, Apple Health and Homes account, a developmental disabilities trust account, and operations, maintenance and services for permanent supportive housing and affordable rental housing.

Further reading

Affordable Homes Act One Pager | Rep. April Berg

Affordable Homes Act FAQ | Rep. April Berg

Community & Transit Oriented Development (HB 2160)

Require cities to allow for more residential density near transit.

About the bill

The bill defines “station areas” as being within a 0.5 mile walking radius of light rail, commuter rail, streetcars and within a 0.25 mile walking radius of bus rapid transit. Within station areas, cities are:

Prohibited from imposing a maximum density in terms of homes per acre.
Prohibited from imposing parking requirements, except those dedicated exclusively for individuals with disabilities.
Required to allow a minimum average Floor Area Ratio of 3.5 around fixed rail and 2.5 around bus rapid transit.

The bill requires 10% of the additional homes allowed to be affordable at less than 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) for rental housing or 80% of AMI for owner-occupied housing, with a provision to allow cities with an existing inclusionary or incentive zoning program to depart from these requirements.

Read about the bill HB 2160

Status details

Feb 26: Failed to pass out of executive session in Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Feb 24: Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 9:00 AM.

Feb 20: Passed out of executive session in the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs at 8:00 AM.

Feb 15: Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs at 10:30 AM.

Feb 13: Passed the House, 56-40!

Feb 9: Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading.

Feb 5: Referred to Rules 2 Review.

Feb 2: Passed out of executive session in the House Committee on Capital Budget.

Jan 25: Public hearing in the House Committee on Capital Budget at 1:30 PM.

Jan 17: Referred to House Capital Budget Committee.

Jan 15: Passed out of executive session in the House Committee on Housing at 1:30 PM.

Jan 11: Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs at 10:30 AM.

Jan 9: Public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 4:00 PM.

Further reading

Op-Ed: State Must Pass Transit-Oriented Housing Rules Prioritizing Equity, Affordability

Construction Sales Tax Exemption (HB 2219)

Exempts non-profit affordable housing developments from the sales tax on construction materials.

About the bill

Exempts non-profit affordable housing developments from the sales tax on construction materials.

Rent Stabilization (HB 2114)

Enact statewide limits on rent increases.

About the bill

Limits rent increases for most tenants to 7% per year. Exempts tenancies in homes built within the past 10 years, or those operated by a public development authority, housing authority, or nonprofit organization where maximum rents are already restricted.

Requires 6 months’ notice for a rent increase of 3 percent or more.

Ensures that fees count as rent for the purposes of calculating an increase.

Limits move-in fees to the equivalent of one month’s rent or less.

Limits late fees to $10.

Exemption for Leasehold Excise Tax for Leases on Public Lands (HB 2003)

Creates a leasehold excise tax exemption when public lands are used for affordable housing.

About the bill

Allows the Department of Natural Resources to pursue a strategy of leasing public lands for affordable housing. The bill will amend the Leasehold Excise Tax (LET), to create an exemption for leases on public land when used for affordable housing. The LET fee is typically 12.84% of the lease rate. This exemption is intended to incentivize the placement of affordable housing on leased DNR land, while generating new lease revenue for Trust beneficiaries. The bill includes a 12-year LET exemption for renting or selling at least 20% of units as affordable, and a 20-year LET exemption for renting or selling at least 25% of units as affordable.

Further reading

Housing on DNR Lands | Fact Sheet

Residential Building Code Reform (HB 2071)

Reforms the state building code to make it easier to build middle housing and passive house apartments.

About the bill

This bill is meant to make housing more affordable across Washington state by implementing building code changes to remove barriers to middle housing and smaller dwelling units.

The bill directs the State Building Code Council to convene two technical advisory groups to recommend changes to the State Building Code—one to provide recommendations for amendments that are necessary to apply the Washington State Residential Code to multiplex housing (4-6 units), and one to provide recommendations for amendments to the international building code that would allow for dwelling units smaller than the efficiency dwelling unit size.

Insurance Market Study (HB 2329)

Conducts a study of the insurance market for affordable housing providers.

About the bill

Directs the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) to study the property and liability insurance available to housing providers serving extremely low income people and receiving Housing Trust Fund resources.

The OIC must obtain data, from entities transacting insurance with applicable housing providers from the previous five years, on:

the number and type of policies in effect
whether and why policies were not renewed or canceled
claims activity
premiums and deductibles.

Expanding Property Tax Exemption (HB 2012)

Allows more nonprofit affordable housing developments to benefit from the property tax exemption.

About the bill

Expands the property tax exemption for nonprofit-owned affordable housing, to allow the following as qualifying funding sources:

Voter-approved levy lid lifts (such as the Seattle Housing Levy)
City and county funds

Workforce Housing Accelerator (HB 1892)

Creates a revolving loan fund for affordable housing developments.

About the bill

Creates the Workforce Housing Accelerator Revolving Loan Fund
Program within the Department of Commerce. This program will issue loans to assist with developing of housing affordable to people making between 50% and 80% of Area Median Income.

The program prioritizes projects that are ready to proceed with construction, cost efficient, and with private capital committed.

Housing financed utilizing program loan funds must serve low-income households for a minimum of 99 years. Loan amounts are not to exceed $20 million or 20% of total project cost, whichever is less.

No more than $20 million per round of funding can go to projects in each individual county.

Read more about the bill HB 1892. Note that the Workforce Housing Accelerator Revolving Loan Program is not funded by the state budget proposals, and would need to be funded in a future biennium.

Status details

Mar 1: Passed Senate, 48-0!

Feb 29: Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.

Feb 26: Passed out of executive session in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means. Referred to Rules Committee.

Feb 22: Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 1:30 PM.

Feb 16: Passed out of executive session in the Senate Committee on Housing at 10:30 AM. Referred to Ways & Means.

Feb 14: Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing at 10:30 AM.

Feb 8: Passed House, 97-0!

Feb 7: Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.

Feb 2: Passed out of executive session in the House Committee on Capital Budget at 8:00 AM.

Jan 25: Public hearing in the House Committee on Capital Budget at 1:30 PM.

Jan 15: Passed out of executive session in the House Committee on Housing at 1:30 PM.

Jan 9: Public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 4:00 PM.

Increased Parking Flexibility (SB 6015)

Lowers barriers to home production by increasing flexibility on parking requirements.

About the bill

Reforms the rules on what “counts” as a parking space for the purposes of minimum parking requirements. In detail, the bill requires cities and counties to align land use regulations such that:

Garages and carports may not be required;
Parking spaces may be enclosed or unenclosed;
Tandem parking spaces shall count towards meeting minimum parking requirements at a rate of one space for every 20 feet;
Gravel surfacing may not be prohibited as a parking area material;
Parking spaces may not be required to exceed 8’ x 20’, except for required accessible parking spaces.

Further reading

Parking Flexibility for Homes | Sightline Memo

Co-Living (HB 1998)

Create more affordable housing options by legalizing co-living housing in all areas that allow multifamily housing.

About the bill

Requires cities and counties to allow co-living housing (defined as residences with independently rented living/sleeping rooms and shared kitchen and/or bathroom facilities) as a permitted use in all zones that allow for multifamily residential housing.

Requires cities to treat a sleeping unit in co-living housing as no more than 1/4 of a dwelling unit for the purposes of calculating density or 1/2 of a dwelling unit for permitting and utility connection fees.

Prohibits cities from imposing room dimensional standards larger than that required by the state building code.

Prohibits cities from requiring co-living housing to provide off-street parking within 1/2 mile of major transit, or more than 0.25 parking spaces per sleeping unit elsewhere.

Read about the bill HB 1998

Status details

Feb 22: Passed Senate, 44-4!

Feb 20: Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading.

Feb 19: Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.

Feb 15: Passed out of executive session in the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs.

Feb 7: Passed House 96-0!

Feb 2: Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading.

Jan 15: Referred to Rules 2 Review.

Jan 11: Passed out of executive session in the House Committee on Housing at 8:00 AM.

Jan 8: Public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 1:30 PM.

Dec 20: Prefiled for introduction.

Further reading

FAQ: Co-living for Washington State Sightline Institute

Permanent Supportive Housing (HB 2474)

Restricts cities from rejecting permanent supportive housing developments.

About the bill

Before denying or rescinding a permit application for transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, or indoor emergency shelters or housing, a city must submit any zoning ordinance and related development regulations addressing the reasonable occupancy, spacing, or intensity of use requirements to the Department of Commerce for review and approval.

If Commerce finds that the city ordinance, denial, or rescission prohibits the siting of transitional housing or permanent supportive housing, the city may not establish or enforce zoning ordinances for any zone in which residential dwelling units or hotels are allowed until the city ordinance is amended, and Commerce is authorized to develop all zoning regulations within
those zones.

If Commerce finds that the city ordinance, denial, or rescission prohibits the siting of indoor emergency housing or indoor emergency shelters, the city may not establish or enforce zoning
ordinances for any zone in which hotels are allowed until the city ordinance is amended, and Commerce is authorized to develop all zoning regulations within those zones.

Lot Splitting (HB 1245)

Help homeowners stay in their homes and communities while creating lower-cost home options for others.

About the bill

Require cities to allow one lot split within residential zoned land, provided that each resulting lot is at least 2,000 square feet and at least 40% of the size of the original lot. It prohibits lot splits that would require demolition or alteration of housing that has been rented by a tenant within the last year.

Further reading

Bill Brief highlighting impacts on Black homeownership (Sightline)

Housing Accountability Act (HB 2113)

Creates a builders remedy for affordable housing, prohibiting a city or county from denying an affordable housing development unless they have a compliant housing element.

About the bill

The bill prohibits a city or county from denying an affordable housing development, unless the Department of Commerce has certified that its housing element and any related development regulations are in compliance with the housing planning goal under the Growth Management Act.

For the purposes of this “builder’s remedy,” an affordable housing development is defined as a residential development where:

at least 20% of the units are for rental housing with costs that do not exceed 30% of the income of a household whose income is at 60% of the area median income (AMI);
at least 20% of the units are for owner-occupied housing with monthly costs that do not exceed 30% of the income of a household whose income is at 80% AMI;
all of the units are for rental housing with costs that do not exceed 30% of the income of a household whose income is at 100% AMI; or
all of the units are for owner-occupied housing with costs that do not exceed 30% of the income of a household whose income is at 120% AMI.

Further reading

‘Housing Accountability Act’ Seeks to Push Local Governments to Boost Homebuilding

Wealth Tax (HB 1473/SB 5486)

Create a 1% wealth tax.

About the bill

Impose an annual 1% wealth tax on financial assets owned above $250 million, such as stocks and bonds. This tax would affect the richest 700 Washington households and raise an estimated $3 billion per year. Funds would be dedicated for education, affordable housing, disability care, and tax credits for low- and middle-income families.

Status details

Jan 8: Reintroduced from last session.