Wilson-sponsored bill aims to make kit homes easier to build

Washington state Sen. Jeff Wilson of Longview wants certain smaller homes built sooner by avoiding the permitting process that can draw out the cost and building time for regular-sized homes.

Wilson introduced a bill this session to exempt homes built from kits that are under 800 square feet from municipal permitting and local fire safety regulations.

Wilson’s bill would also exempt kit homes from local design reviews when they are first certified to comply with Washington State Building Code by the manufacturer. If the manufacturer is from Washington, the inspections will be done by Washington state Department of Labor & Industries, and by a counterpart agency if manufactured in a different state.

“The bottom line is we need to mass-produce more options to help resolve the housing crisis,” Wilson said in Olympia on Monday.

The bill unanimously passed the Senate last week and was discussed at a public hearing in the Washington state House Committee on Housing Monday in which Wilson and two proponents of the bill spoke.

At the meeting, Wilson said he was partly inspired to create the bill after Washington communities, like Longview, built pallet homes, which are assembled through a kit but didn’t require certain inspections like from L&I. Pallet homes are used at the city of Longview’s emergency housing site called HOPE Village, though Wilson did not name the site at the meeting.

“It’s not to anywhere say that these are not built to a standard, I’m certainly not anywhere qualified to do that, but with this bill, I’m asking and agreeing to setting a standard of inspection and compliance,” he said at the meeting.

What are kit homes?

Kit homes, first popularized pre-World War II, can fall under $10,000, not including construction costs. That’s a steal, Wilson said, compared to the average prices of regular stick-built homes in the state, median prices for which are about $540,000.

Manufacturers design kit homes at a range of sizes, from as small as 60 square feet up to 2,000 square feet and more. This bill would only exempt kit homes that are under 800 square feet.

A kit home, also sometimes called a catalog home, requires a solid foundation, which is why they are often a top choice for a homeowner looking to build an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on their land.

Tiny homes, by contrast, are roughly 400 square feet or less, and are often built on permanent foundations or trailers so they can be easily transported.

Kit homes, or kit-built homes, were advertised in the early to mid-1900s as a cheap and efficient way for landowners to build their own house. Models were listed in catalogs like the Sears, Roebuck and Co. and shipped piece by piece to the buyer, who could choose to build the house themselves or hire a contractor to do it for them.

Wilson said this bill is in line with zoning amendments that lift longtime restrictions on what structure can be built where, and that it opens the possibility for people to build out more housing on their land.

He said it could be an option for new homeowners who want to build an ADU or a developer who wants to build a collection of kit-built homes to sell.

Local governments would still be able to require kit-built homes to meet all of the local permitting regulations that a regular house would, Wilson said. This bill is meant to harmonize with local ordinances to increase housing density, and, he said, to “quit making housing so complex with government stipulations and requests.”

“When you have a housing shortage you have to start checking boxes off,” Wilson said to The Daily News.

Caleb Barber is a news reporter for The Daily News covering housing and business.