Washington State is opening a new round of capital funding for affordable rental housing, with a dedicated set-aside for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a population that advocates say has been left behind by both the housing market and decades of incomplete policy promises.
The state Department of Commerce is accepting applications through its Housing Trust Fund, the state's primary financing tool for affordable housing since 1986. The fund supports acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of multifamily rental projects. The total dollar amount available in this round has not been publicly specified, and Commerce has not yet confirmed the figure.
The IDD carve-out is the latest attempt to address a gap that has widened over decades. Beginning in the 1970s and accelerating through the 1990s and 2000s, Washington and other states closed or downsized large residential institutions, including facilities like Fircrest, Rainier, and Yakima Valley Schools, on the promise that people with developmental disabilities would be served in their communities instead. That community-based housing never materialized at the scale needed. The state's Developmental Disabilities Administration today maintains waitlists of thousands for residential services, and disability rights groups have long argued Washington is failing its obligations under the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision, which requires states to serve people with disabilities in the least restrictive setting possible.
The broader housing backdrop makes the challenge steeper. Washington's Department of Commerce projects the state needs to build more than 1 million homes over the next 20 years, with roughly half needing to be affordable for households earning below 50% of area median income. Statewide median home prices now exceed $600,000, and rents have risen sharply since 2020. Governor Bob Ferguson and the Legislature have responded with expanded Housing Trust Fund appropriations, which topped $400 million in the 2023-25 budget cycle, as well as zoning reform bills designed to unlock more multifamily construction. Washington has also opened dedicated funding streams for other underserved populations as part of this broader push.
For the IDD population specifically, generic affordable housing often falls short. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities frequently need accessible units, proximity to caregivers, and connections to support services that standard affordable housing projects don't prioritize. The HTF carve-out is intended to push developers to design projects that meet those specific needs.
Developers and nonprofit housing organizations with eligible projects have until Commerce's stated application deadline to apply. The agency has faced scrutiny in recent years over how quickly HTF awards translate into completed, occupied units, a timeline that housing advocates say needs to accelerate as waitlists grow.
