H-2705.1
HOUSE BILL 2346
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Duerr, Bernbaum, Ramel, Reed, Parshley, Zahn, and Kloba
Prefiled 01/08/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee on Local Government.
AN ACT Relating to performance-based building codes for middle housing; creating a new section; and adding a new section to chapter 19.27 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that Washington faces an ongoing shortage of middle housing and that existing building code compliance pathways are largely prescriptive or applied on a project-by-project basis, increasing permitting uncertainty, limiting innovation, and constraining the ability to scale housing production. Performance-based building codes are effectively used nationally and internationally to address structural design, fire and life safety, egress, durability, and other core building functions, enabling repeatable approvals and industrialized housing delivery. Washington currently lacks a comparable, system-level performance-based compliance pathway under the international building code for middle housing.
The legislature further finds that establishing a codified performance-based compliance pathway for middle housing can reduce regulatory friction, improve permitting predictability, and support off-site manufacturing and industrialized construction. By allowing housing systems and building plans to demonstrate compliance based on measured performance rather than prescribed methods, such a pathway can enable reuse of approved designs across jurisdictions, support manufacturing at scale, and help reduce the cost of housing delivery while maintaining appropriate health, safety, and welfare protections.