The Senate Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Jessica Bateman, oversees legislation to build more homes and expand affordability, support homeownership opportunities, and provide stability to help keep people in their homes. Washington needs to build more than a million new homes over the next 20 years, and over half must be affordable for people with the lowest incomes. This legislation is essential to making that possible. This session, the committee considered 41 bills, 21 of which passed into law – 20 of those with bipartisan support!

Some examples of important 2026 housing legislation:

EXPANDING HOUSING SUPPLY AND INCREASING AFFORDABILITY

  • SB 6026 opens up more land zoned for commercial and mixed-use, such as empty strip malls and big box stores, to build housing such as apartments and condos. More land for housing means more opportunities to expand our housing supply and lower costs for buyers and renters.
  • HB 1974 allows cities and counties to establish land banks that can acquire and hold land until housing projects are ready to move forward.
  • SB 5156 makes it easier to build small apartment buildings by allowing smaller elevators that still meet safety and accessibility requirements.
  • HB 1345 expands housing options in rural communities by allowing counties to permit small backyard homes on existing properties outside urban growth areas. The bill creates clear statewide standards to support modest housing growth while protecting rural character.
  • HB 2228 makes multifamily housing more efficient to build by directing the State Building Code Council to study and recommend updates to the building code allowing scissor stair designs for consideration in the 2027 code cycle.
  • HB 2304 increases homeownership opportunities by allowing certain condominium projects to use insurance-backed construction warranties, reducing development risk and encouraging smaller condo projects.
  • HB 1687 expands housing supply by allowing cities and the state to support publicly owned, mixed-income social housing using existing tools such as land transfers, infrastructure support, loans, and regulatory flexibility.
  • HB 1859 makes it easier to build affordable housing on underutilized land owned by faith-based organizations by allowing mixed-income projects to qualify for a density bonus while maintaining long-term affordability requirements.
  • HB 2269 expands housing options in rural communities by allowing middle housing in designated rural development areas to use large on-site sewage systems when public sewer is unavailable.
  • HB 2354 makes it easier to create small middle-housing communities by reducing regulatory burdens on small common interest communities, clarifying that unit owners are responsible for their own EV chargers, and raising the financial threshold that triggers formal audit requirements for smaller homeowner associations.

PROVIDING STABILITY AND PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS

  • HB 2266 helps ensure shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing can be built more predictably by requiring cities and counties within urban growth areas to allow these housing types wherever residential housing or hotels are allowed.
  • SB 6027 preserves existing permanent and supportive housing by expanding the allowable uses of local housing-related sales tax programs to support operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation instead of just new construction. New federal rules from the federal administration are threatening many of our housing providers, and this bill is a necessary response.
  • SB 5938 protects homebuyers from unintended fees while preserving foreclosure prevention resources that help Washington families avoid losing their homes. The bill makes technical updates so the foreclosure prevention fee enacted last year works as intended.

PROTECTING HOMEOWNERS AND TENANTS

  • SB 6237 ensures that renters get the same notice and warning about known flood risks that homebuyers get.
  • SB 6054 helps ensure homeowners can take basic steps to harden their homes against wildfire risk by limiting restrictions imposed by homeowners’ associations and common interest communities.
  • SB 6200 protects Washington renters during extreme heat by ensuring tenants can install portable cooling devices in their homes, with clear safety guardrails for landlords and buildings.
  • HB 1501 requires homeowners’ and condominium associations to respond to certified owner inquiries within a clear timeline, improving transparency and communication between homeowners and their associations.
  • HB 1500 protects homebuyers in condominiums and HOA-governed communities by requiring clearer disclosures about association finances, fees, legal issues, and major repairs before a sale is finalized.
  • HB 2452 simplifies how rent increase notices are delivered in manufactured and mobile home communities by aligning them with standard notice procedures and eliminating certified mail requirements that added unnecessary cost and complexity.
  • HB 2664 removes a costly certified-mail requirement for eviction and related legal notices, allowing them to be served by regular mail and reducing unnecessary expenses and delays.
  • SB 6091 requires real estate brokers who market homes for sale or rent to make those listings available to the general public, helping ensure buyers have fair access to housing opportunities.
  • SB 5937 protects renter privacy in buildings that use smart locks or other digital access systems by limiting what information landlords can collect and requiring clear disclosures about how tenant access data is used and stored.