Micro-apartments Could Become Fully Legal in Washington, Again

The Washington State Legislature is considering legalizing “co-living housing” in cities and towns across Washington, which could open the door to new micro-apartments offered at lower rents and help fill a niche that’s primarily being left to subsidized housing to solve. House Bill 1998, sponsored by Representative Mia Gregerson (D-33, SeaTac) and Andrew Barkis (R-2, Olympia), received its first hearing Monday on the first day of the 2024 legislative session, giving it a head start on most other legislation. Its Senate counterpart, Senate Bill 5901, received a public hearing early Tuesday and looks poised to advance as well.

Co-living housing is a rebrand seeking to avoid the negative connotations associated with “single-room occupancy” (SRO) buildings or boardinghouses. Under such an arrangement, tenants rent private rooms with sleeping quarters, but use shared kitchens, dining areas, and community spaces. These micro-apartments are often available for significantly lower monthly rent than nearby studio and one-bedroom apartments. And the co-living element, where residents interact with each other for regular shared meals and activities in common areas, can provide a type of community interaction for people who might otherwise be generally isolated.

The bill would require cities and counties to allow co-living housing buildings everywhere they allow multifamily housing, including in their mixed-use zones where ground-level storefronts might otherwise be required. It also stops localities from imposing regulations that might make co-living buildings infeasible, including requiring unit sizes larger than state building code standards, requiring a mix of housing types like studios or one-bedrooms, and any other standards that aren’t applied to any other type of use in the multifamily zone.

It would also ban local governments from imposing any requirements for a minimum number of parking stalls within a half-mile of a relatively frequent transit stop, and from requiring more than one parking stall for every four sleeping units outside of those areas.

https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/01/09/micro-apartments-could-become-fully-legal-in-washington-again/