Updated 3/2/2020
Supply and Preservation of Housing
| Bill | Description |
| SHB 1834/ESSB 5746/HB 2849 Amending Definition of First Time Home Buyer | Unifies the definition of first time homebuyer to match the state definition with the definition in the Washington State budget and in federal statute. HB 2849 includes the definition as well as cleans up the Housing Trust Fund related statutes. |
| At least 10 million into Housing Trust Fund (HTF) for preservation of existing affordable homes | Providing money to ensure that units coming off of being protected for affordability can stay that way |
| REET exemption for selling land to nonprofit that uses it for affordable housing | Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) exemption for selling land to nonprofit that uses it for affordable housing. |
| State funding for low-income owner occupied repairs | Seek additional state funding for low-income owner-occupied repairs to allow seniors to age in place and prevent displacement of low-income families. |
| SB 6457 American Dream Homes | Creation of the designation “American Dream Homes” which would encourage the development of single family residential housing for low income households through reduced fees and permitting costs for affordable housing projects. |
Equitable Access to Land
| Bill | Description |
| HB 1797/HB 2343/SB 5812/SB 6617 Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Reform | Reforming laws governing ADUs to allow for increase in density and waiving some associated rules |
| HB 2780/SB 6536 Density Zoning reform | Allowing for more units to be built on property currently zoned for Single Family Housing (SFH). |
| HB 1938 Infrastructure investment funding for affordable housing projects | Helping to address the last mile problem by providing funding for infrastructure in places where it doesn’t currently exist for affordable housing projects. |
Equitable Access to Credit
| Bill | Description |
| HB 1694 Requiring move in fee installment payment plans over 3 months if a tenant requests | Getting into and qualifying for an apartment is hard enough – but after significant fees and deposits and first and last month’s rent in one go – renting gets out of reach for many people. HB 1694 does not regulate fees, but it allows a tenant to request a three month payment plan for all the move in fees, deposit and first/last month’s rent. |
| Dedicated source of funds for HTF | The State needs to be a predictable and significant source of funding for affordable housing projects, both in areas where there is local sources and areas where there are not. HTF funding source needs to add to, not supplant, historic funding from the Capitol Budget |
Communities of Opportunity
| Bill | Description |
| SHB 1656/5733 Eviction reform | Requiring a reason to force someone to move. restricts no-cause evictions. |
| Housing Trust Fund Geographic distributions are met for rural housing | Clarifies and strengthens rules around HTF funding for rural communities. Redefines the 30% rule to include the total allocation of HTF money, not just the competitive portion, dependent on sufficient quality applications. |
| HB 2489/SB 6212 Provide additional resources for low income homebuyers up to 80% Area Median Income (AMI) | Promote and support laws and policies that provide additional resources for low-income homeownership up to 80% AMI |
| Foreclosure prevention | Support legislation that helps low-income families remain in their homes |
| HB 2497 Add Permanently Affordable Housing to possible uses of community revitalization financing, et al. | Opens up new avenues of funding to help build homeownership and rental opportunities in communities and neighborhoods where it is sorely needed. |