OLYMPIA – The Washington Senate Tuesday passed a bill aimed at increasing the acceptance of kit homes as a potential solution to the state’s growing shortage of affordable housing.

Senate Bill 5552, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, directs the state Building Code Council to develop new rules specifically for kit homes of 800 feet or less. The measure passed the Senate 49-0 and moves to the House for further consideration.

Wilson says Washington should clear the way for kit homes by adopting new regulations suited to their standardized design and manufacturing techniques. In remarks on the Senate floor, Wilson said Washington should take a lesson from the building practices of a century ago, when kit homes were commonplace and houses could be ordered from the Sears catalog and many other manufacturers – with some assembly required.

Kit homes “are an old idea we need again,” Wilson said. “We need a new idea that is over 100 years old. Sears & Roebuck used to offer catalog sales. Wasn’t it nice when you could order a house, and it would show up on your doorstep and it could be assembled?”

Prewar kits typically included precut lumber and all the fittings required to build a house. Kits remain available today, and while there is greater use of prefabricated parts, kit homes are distinguished from other manufactured housing by the fact that most assembly is still accomplished on-site. Prices start at less than $10,000, and models range in size from 60 square feet to more than 2,000.

The greatest interest is on the affordable end of the scale, Wilson said, where an ambitious do-it-yourselfer might purchase a kit to add an accessory dwelling unit in the back yard. Larger-scale developments also might be comprised of groupings of smaller kit homes.

Wilson has been working on the kit-home concept for the last two years, identifying regulatory hurdles and needed rule changes. This was one of two kit-home bills he introduced this year. SB 5249, which failed to pass committee before a Feb. 21 deadline, would have given cities and counties the ability to site kit homes wherever single-family homes are allowed. It also would have granted permission to use kit homes for temporary housing where permanent housing is not allowed. Wilson said he will continue to pursue the idea next session.

Two years ago the state Department of Commerce estimated that Washington will need 1 million more homes over the next two decades to keep up with population growth.