H-0446.3
HOUSE BILL 2027
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Berg, Macri, Kloba, Parshley, Gregerson, Pollet, and Scott
Read first time 02/27/25. Referred to Committee on Finance.
AN ACT Relating to increasing the supply of affordable and workforce housing by increasing state and local taxes on the transfer of real estate; amending RCW 82.45.060 , 82.46.010 , and 82.46.035 ; adding new sections to chapter 82.45 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 82.46 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the lack of housing affordability and related instances of homelessness are issues that affect every community in Washington. The legislature also finds that increased homelessness is overwhelmingly caused by rising rents, which push people living at the margins into homelessness, erode public confidence, and undermine the shared values that have driven our state's prosperity. The legislature further finds that problems caused by rent increases are exacerbated by the associated issue of very low vacancy rates, which make it difficult for people to find a unit even when they have sufficient income or rental assistance to pay market rates. The legislature finds that low housing vacancy rates, the growth in population, and a limited housing supply have created a housing shortage in which existing inventory is priced at a premium. The legislature also finds that although household incomes have grown along with the economy, increases in income for those with moderate and lower incomes have not kept pace with rent and purchase price increases. This problem is especially impacting lower and fixed income households, including people with disabilities, seniors, veterans, and farmworkers.
Indeed, these trends, in combination with other market factors, have created a deficit of housing that is affordable and available, particularly for Washingtonians within the low to middle income range who are increasingly more vulnerable to homelessness. Moreover, the legislature finds that these households have the fewest options available in the private housing market to find and retain a unit. In strong housing markets, builders seek the highest achievable price to offset higher development costs, which means new production does not create more housing that is affordable.