Over much of the past decade, the amount of money that Washington lawmakers have devoted to housing and homelessness programs has gradually grown, rising from about $200 million to $400 million in each two-year budget between 2013 and and 2021.
But over the past four years, these expenses have increased, according to an analysis of state spending data provided by the Office of Financial Management.
These numbers show that more than $4 billion – or about 80% – of the roughly $5 billion earmarked for housing expansion and homelessness prevention since 2013 was included in the last two state budgets.
Part of that increase is due to an infusion of federal pandemic aid. But it also reflects a growing recognition among policymakers that Washington has a housing problemparticularly the shortage of affordable homes.
The additional spending went toward improving services for the homeless, purchasing temporary shelters, building more affordable housing, and providing rental assistance.
While you are helpedThe construction of affordable housing still does not meet estimated needs, rents remain too high for many renters and home ownership is often out of reach for families with lower and even middle incomes.
The numbers
According to data from the Office of Financial Management, Washington has invested about $3.4 billion in homelessness prevention programs and another $1.9 billion in housing construction since 2013, for a total of about of 5.3 billion dollars.
Between 2013 and 2021, spending on housing and homelessness programs averaged about $262 million in each two-year budget. In the last two budgets combined, it was more than $4.2 billion, including more than $1 billion in federal COVID aid.
The entire state operating budget for the current two-year budget cycle is about US$72 billion.
Outside of federal funding, one of the main ways the state funds housing and homelessness services is through a document recording fee, which people pay at the county auditor’s office when retrieving certain legal documents.
Funding from this fee is divided among a number of programs, including county homeless housing plans, rental assistance, incentives for landlords who house people on rental assistance, and construction and maintenance of permanent supportive housing.
During the budget cycle that ends next June, more than $562 million will be dedicated to programs funded by these fees. This represents more than $251 million during the previous cycle. Before 2021, less than $100 million was set aside for these programs every two years.
Another pot of money is that of the state housing and essential needs support program, which provides low-income people with essential necessities such as hygiene products or transit cards, or rental assistance if they are unable to work due to their physical or mental condition. This fund has also seen a boost over the past four years. In this two-year budget cycle, lawmakers set aside $130 million. This represents an increase from US$114 million in the previous cycle and US$78 million in the 2019-2021 cycle.
Since 2021, Washington state has spent about $1.5 billion on housing construction. That’s compared to about $446 million between 2013 and 2021.
Most of the money spent on construction over the past decade has been through the Housing Trust Fund, which provides subsidies to affordable housing providers.
From 2013 to 2019, the trust fund was the only account lawmakers used to fund affordable housing. In 2013, lawmakers invested $56 million in this. Over the past two years, they have dedicated a record $500 million to the fund.
The state has also set aside money in recent years to buy emergency housing and temporary shelters, distribute loans for rural housing rehabilitation and preserve mobile homes.
Did this help?
Money for housing construction helped, according to the Commerce Department.
On average, about 24,100 units were built in Washington every year between 2011 and 2015. Over the next four-year period, the state averaged nearly 41,000 units per year. Between 2020 and 2023, about 46,400 units were built annually – slightly above the projected annual need of 46,118.
Despite the overall increase in home construction, Tedd Kelleher, housing policy manager at the Department of Commerce, said in a statement that investments in affordable housing have not kept pace with Washington’s population growth.
According to Commerce, only about one affordable home for every five families that need one is available in Washington. The state needs to build about 27,011 low-income units every year to meet demand, department estimates show. Between 2020 and 2023, the state average number of units built for low-income families was 23,877.
Michele Thomas, director of policy and advocacy at the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, said the state needs to put more emphasis on building affordable housing, not necessarily all types of new housing construction.
“We don’t need more luxury apartments built,” she said. “What we need is affordable housing.”
When it comes to funding for homeless support and services, Thomas said the money has helped those experiencing homelessness, but the state needs to do more to address the root causes of homelessness, such as sharp increases in rents and the lack of affordable housing.
Every time a state program helps someone avoid homelessness, she said, more people fall into it, creating “constant turnover.”
“Every one of those dollars changed someone’s life,” Thomas said. “But there is nothing stopping more people from experiencing homelessness.”
This story was first published by the Washington State Standard, a nonprofit news organization and part of the States News network covering statewide issues. Read more at washingtonstatestandard.com.
This article originally appeared on the Kitsap Sun: Billions spent on housing in Washington state
