Washington residents are united, across the state and across the aisle, on the types of solutions we want urgently to address the housing and affordability crisis.

Alongside partners, Futurewise recently conducted statewide polling to get a better picture of the impacts of rising housing costs on families in different counties, geographies, and living situations, and to ask them what types of solutions they want to see from the state.

The results are in, and they’re overwhelmingly clear: We need rent stabilization, we need increased development around transit centers, and we need it now.

Rent hikes are destabilizing Washington families

Whether living in Seattle, Spokane, or Walla Walla, families are facing difficult financial decisions because of rising housing costs.

• Nearly 7 in 10 renters report not being able to live near where they work due to unaffordable rent costs
• Nearly 7 in 10 renters have experienced a rent increase so high that it caused significant financial hardship
• Nearly two-thirds of renters have had to move from their home due to rent increases they couldn’t afford

Housing Affordability is top of mind for Washington residents

When asked what the top issues facing our state are, 41% listed cost of housing as a TOP issue, and even if not their top issue, 92% agree that the cost of housing is a problem.

In strong agreement that housing costs are a problem, we also asked about who they think should be tackling this.

Respondents, regardless of renter status, political party, or geography, overwhelmingly want to see the State Legislature take action on housing- 86% agree that the state should be doing more to address the housing shortage, and bring down housing costs. A majority (66%) still agree the State should be prioritizing increasing housing supply and bringing down housing costs, “even if it means reducing the power city governments have over what types of homes can be built”.

A strong, bipartisan majority agree on the solutions

Two proposals are being considered in the State Legislature this year, and the results are clear on how Washington residents feel about both.

The Solutions: HB 1491 Transit-Oriented Development

If you follow Futurewise, you’ve likely heard quite a bit about transit-oriented development (TOD). We love it, we’ve worked closely on this bill for the past few sessions.

We love TOD because it’s a win-win-win policy solution.

• It eases the cost of living by increasing density and creating more affordable housing;
• It makes a car-free/car-lite lifestyle easier which means less spending on gas and vehicle costs;
• It helps combat climate change by creating more walkable communities and increasing public transit use, which decreases the emissions that harm our health and our environment.

What HB 1491 would do:

• Requires cities planning under the Growth Management Act to allow new residential and mixed use development at certain densities
• Establishes a new 20-year Multifamily Property Tax Exemption for certain properties
• Provides financial support, via a grant program, to support cities in staffing, planning and implementation of this policy

The Solutions: HB 1217 Rent Stabilization

Capping rent increases and tackling rent price gouging by property management companies is an important part of a larger housing policy portfolio. Addressing the dire need for more housing supply is one prong of the solution. But while new affordable housing is being build, more and more families are forced from their homes due to unaffordable rent increases. There’s currently nothing to stop property management companies from continuing to hike up costs. Rent stabilization will help families stay in their homes while the state works to build new housing.

What HB 1217 would do:

• Protects manufactured homeowners and residential tenants
• Allows annual rent increases up to 7% each 12-months for residential renters, and 5% for manufactured homeowners
• Requires 90-day notice of rent increases for residential renters
• Caps late fees and move-in costs for manufactured homeowners
• Allows enforcement through “a private right of action”, creates penalties, and allows the State Attorney General’s Office to enforce

It also has been carefully negotiated with all stakeholders, and includes exemptions:

• New multifamily construction is exempt from the annual rent increase limit for the first ten years
• Tenants living in a shared housing situation with their landlord
• ADUs and Duplexes where the owner lives on site
• Publicly subsidized housing owned and operated by nonprofits or public housing authorities

We have the solutions. It’s time for the Legislature to pass these bills without delay, and bring relief to Washington’s families.

You can learn more details about the polling results by watching a quick (15-minute!) video review here
Results provided by 2025 April YouGov poll and February 2025 EMC Research