OLYMPIA — A bill passed in the Washington Legislature and signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson this year could mean some new options for housing in the state in the future, said the bill’s primary sponsor, state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.

“When you’ve got a $600,000 beat-up starter home someplace around Seattle, what about a simplified but modernized version of a kit home from the old days?” Wilson said. “We need all choices on the menu for housing options, except living in a blue tarp on the street.”

The law directs the state Building Code Council to develop rules specifically for kit homes 800 square feet and smaller. Before World War II, it wasn’t uncommon to buy a complete home – pre-cut lumber and all the accompanying materials – from the Sears-Roebuck catalog via mail order. The purchaser then built the home himself on whatever land was available.

The times may have changed, but those homes are available. Little Twig Homes, based in Hendersonville, North Carolina, ships pre-packaged home to a number of states, said owner Aaron Dunn, in a 950- and a 400-square-foot size.

“They’re all DIY-friendly,” Dunn said. “They’re pre-cut, numbered and ready to go … You do have to have some carpentry skill, but they come in panels that are numbered. It’s kind of like putting a big Lego puzzle together.”

Little Twig’s 400-square-foot home, which fits with the state’s new definition of a kit home, comes on a single 53-foot truck, Dunn said. It’s 20 feet by 20 feet, a single story with a 200-square-foot loft accessible by a ladder. It includes the shell, walls, roof, windows, and exterior and interior doors. Any further interior work, as well as power and plumbing, is up to the buyer, he said.

The hangup in Washington state, Wilson said, is that up to now there hasn’t been a standard definition of kit homes for the Building Codes Council to work from.

“A kit home has to be put into a category all of its own because it’s not a two- or three-story mansion. It’s not a ranch house. It’s not a manufactured home because it’s a do-it-yourself, potentially.”

The State Building Code Council is made up of volunteers, and they make changes to the state regulations on pre-determined cycles, said Tim Woodard, chair of the Washington Association of Building Officials.

“When we have to advance these rules outside of the normal cycle, it just means more time away from our daily jobs,” Woodard said. “If we can do it combined with the other … processes that go through the state building code council it enables us to more efficiently address these concerns.”

The new legislation required that the standards be in place by March 31, 2027.

The next step, Wilson said, is to find ways to get kit homes into the state.

“When you go online or you go to a dealership, you should be able to get ready to place your orders and start having homes delivered.”

The text of the new law is available at https://bit.ly/WAKitHomeLaw26. Little Twig Homes can be found at littletwig.homes.