The 2026 state legislative session is right around the corner. Although it will be a difficult session plagued by budget shortfalls and fast-moving legislative deadlines, our movement is strong, and we are ready for the challenge. Together, we'll keep beating the odds and will continue to make progress towards our vision of preventing and ending homelessness, advancing affordable housing, and protecting renters in their homes.

Read on to learn more about the Housing Alliance's 2026 Policy Priorities. We developed these priorities after holding a dozen community forums all across Washington and receiving input from hundreds of people through our online policy priorities survey. We prioritized input from people directly impacted by homelessness and housing insecurity, and heard from renters, front-line service providers, affordable housing nonprofits, and advocates across the state. Thank you if you were one of the many people who weighed in and helped us ensure that our 2026 priorities reflect the most urgent needs in our communities.

Together, these policies and budget investments will help thousands of families and individuals stay safe and housed, improving equity and housing stability across Washington. Please read on for more details and get ready for a strong, unified push for housing justice in 2026.

2026 Lead Policy Priorities

Secure a new Capital Budget investment for affordable homes  
Washington has only 45 affordable homes for every 100 very low-income households in search of housing. But the state Capital Budget could help build and preserve more affordable homes across our state. In the last legislative session earlier this year, the legislature invested over $605 million for the Housing Trust Fund. In 2026 there is room to grow that record investment and lawmakers should continue to invest in the affordable homes our communities need.

Keep people in their homes: Secure $3 million for eviction defense   
The Right to Counsel program ensures that tenants don't face their landlord's attorney in court without their own legal support. 90% of closed cases have resulted in people keeping their homes or moving into another permanent housing option, often with the eviction record sealed so it doesn't prevent them from accessing housing in the future. The program is one of the state's most effective tools preventing homelessness and displacement, and people helped by the program are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and People of Color or have disabilities. Without this funding, many fewer people will be served, just as evictions in Washington have reached an all-time high.  

Progressive Revenue   
Without new revenue, the state will need to make at least another $5 billion in cuts, on top of the $7 billion they cut in 2025. State budget cuts will hurt our communities, and a cuts-only approach will also make it impossible to fill any of the funding gaps to homelessness, housing, food assistance, and more that are all being created by ongoing federal budget and policy decisions. Lawmakers should reject an all-cuts budget and ensure that the wealthiest individuals and most profitable corporations contribute their fair share by passing significant progressive revenue.

Prevent local governments from blocking permanent supportive housing and shelter   
Washington must ensure that every community does its part to create housing and shelter for people experiencing homelessness, but some local governments are still creating discriminatory roadblocks. The state should outlaw these practices, streamline local zoning, and remove the many obstacles that some local governments intentionally create that make it harder, more expensive, or even impossible to site these critical homelessness solutions. This would ensure that local politics don't stand in the way of people accessing safe, stable places to live.

Stop the criminalization of homelessness  
Last year the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling that freely allows cities to criminally punish people experiencing homelessness even when there is no shelter available to them. Now cities in Washington are increasingly passing laws that fine, arrest, and punish people simply for trying to survive outdoors. Lawmakers should protect people experiencing homelessness by passing a state law that stops this kind of criminalization. We need our state and local governments to focus on real solutions to homelessness, instead of punishing and harming people.

Defend against rollbacks of tenant protections or homelessness prevention   
Some landlords, big real estate interests, and their lobbyists are working to roll back tenant protections and homelessness prevention efforts that keep people safe and housed. We will fight back against bills that increase housing instability or attempt to roll back hard-fought renter and homelessness protections.

Protect against cuts to housing, homelessness, and key human services  
Because of budget cuts and policy changes, both the state and local governments are likely to lose significant federal funding for addressing homelessness. Without state action, more people will face homelessness, and people will suffer longer on the streets. Lawmakers should do all they can to offset the harm caused by the federal government.

We know that these are bold goals, especially for a short 60-day state legislative session with a big budget deficit. But together we can continue to beat the odds and enact the budget and policy solutions needed to advance housing justice. I hope you'll continue to join us in fighting for these priorities. Please keep an eye out for opportunities to take action and mark your calendar for our weekly legislative updates on Zoom every Friday at 2pm, starting January 9.

Please take care. I'm looking forward to fighting with you for housing justice in 2026!

Michele Thomas (she/her)  
Director of Policy and Advocacy

P.S. Another way to help is by contributing to our year-end fund drive. The Housing Alliance leads the movement to protect renters and advance affordable housing and homelessness solutions. We need to raise $60,000 by Dec. 31 to start 2026 strong. Make a gift here!