WA House passes legislation to increase housing options

OLYMPIA – A bill that seeks to increase housing options through lot splitting passed the state House of Representatives on Wednesday.

"We need more options to tackle our housing supply problem,” said Representative Andrew Barkis (R-Olympia), sponsor of the bill.

Washington state produces the fewest housing units per household of any state in the country, the release by Barkis’ office states. In response, House Bill 1245 would require cities to allow splitting a single residential lot if specific conditions are met and prohibit cities from imposing certain regulations on a residential lot resulting from a lot split.

“I understand lot splitting is a unique concept, but it has been successful in other states. It's a simple solution where someone owning a larger lot can split and sell a portion of that lot to allow for the development of another housing unit," said Barkis. "Splitting of residential lots will allow for the creation of more homes, smaller homes, less expensive homes, and intergenerational wealth."

The bill passed the state House of Representatives 94-2 and now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

"This bill is an example of when you get people together, work out some of the differences, and listen, then you get the right results," Barkis said. "This is one piece of the housing policy puzzle that will hopefully work in conjunction with many other bills moving forward this session to increase our housing supply."