May 17 Housing Matters Newsletter

Welcome to the Housing Matters Newsletter! 

Thank you to those who were able to join our Housing Matters Zoom meeting this morning. If you weren’t able to make it, here are the slides from our review of the budget and the final legislative stretch. 

The next few weeks are critical to what the New Hampshire state budget looks like for the next two years. The State Senate will vote on potential amendments to increase access to affordable housing and support our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. You can fill out our petition here to access our budget toolkit and help make your voice heard.

Yesterday, the State Senate passed HB 577, which will allow for attached and detached ADUs by right across New Hampshire. ADUs are a great way to increase housing options that meet the needs of our communities. They provide an affordable opportunity for seniors to age in place, young workers to put down roots, and expand access for caregivers. Currently, only about half of New Hampshire municipalities allow for detached ADUs, and many more require discretionary hearings. You can read Housing Action NH’s statement on HB 577 passing here and a story in the Union Leader here.

As always, if you have questions about the legislation we mention in the newsletter or housing-related proposals that aren’t included, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, and you want to receive future updates, you can sign up here.

Best,
Nick Taylor

Please continue to voice your support for critical investments in housing in the New Hampshire state budget. 

As mentioned above, over the next two weeks, the State Senate will vote on potential amendments to increase access to affordable housing and support our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. You can fill out our petition here to access our budget toolkit and help make your voice heard.

Our budget toolkit includes talking points, sample emails and letters, Senate Finance Committee contact information, and more.

The relevant House Committees are not considering any legislation next week. 

The Senate Finance Committee plans to meet every day next week in State House Room 103. The Committee released a tentative schedule that includes the planned agencies under consideration each day; however, they may take up amendments at any time during the executive session. You can view the calendar here. The Finance Committee will discuss the Department of Business and Economic Affairs on Wednesday and the DHHS: Division of Behavioral Health on Friday, both of which have housing implications. 

The House of Representatives will meet for session on Thursday, May 22. The following housing-related bills are all on the consent calendar: 

• SB 165, relative to the audit requirements for consumer cooperative associations. This bill raises the revenue thresholds determining when a cooperative association must conduct an annual audit or financial review, helping ease financial pressures on smaller resident-owned manufactured housing communities while preserving accountability. OTP  16-0. 
• SB 170, (New Title) relative to development and related requirements in cities, towns, and municipalities. This bill aligns local regulations with Department of Environmental Services standards and creates a seven-day timeline for development review in the initial planning review stage. OTP/A 16-0. 
• SB 174, prohibiting planning boards from considering the number of bedrooms a given unit or development has during the hearing and approval process. During the public hearing, it was alleged that municipalities were restricting the number of bedrooms in projects to prevent families with school age children from moving into their communities. This bill would prohibit municipalities from using number of bedrooms as a criteria for rejecting a development proposal as long as the project meets water supply and sewage requirements. OTP/A 16-0.
• SB 188-FN, allowing independent permitting and inspections, and allowing local governments to authorize licensed engineers and architects to perform building code inspections. OTP/A 17-0.
• SB 282, relative to stairway requirements in certain residential buildings. This bill, as amended, allows a four-story building (where local height restrictions allow) to have a single staircase provided all safety conditions are met. The committee consulted with the State Fire Marshal, who supports this legislation. OTP/A 16-0. 
• SB 283, relative to the calculation of floor-area-ratios under local building ordinances. This bill, as amended, will standardize how floor-area-ratios (FAR) are calculated. Currently, different cities/towns calculate FAR differently; some include below-grade areas while others exclude below-grade areas from the calculation. This bill excludes below-grade areas from the calculation. OTP/A 16-0.

The Senate will meet for session on Thursday, May 22nd. The Senate will consider the following housing-related bill:

• HB 60, relative to the termination of tenancy at the expiration of the tenancy or lease term. This bill was improved by a committee amendment that ensures it only goes into effect if there is a 5 percent rental vacancy rate, increasing the minimum lease term to 12 months before this law applies, and clarifies that evictions must be filed within 6 months of the lease expiration. OTP/A 4-2. Housing Action NH believes this bill is unnecessary. 
• HB 342, relative to the approval process for new construction. This bill would allow property owners to build on their property without seeking a variance for minimum lot size or lot coverage if the proposed building density conforms to the surrounding neighborhood, as verified by the local planning board. OTP/A 6-0

The House of Representatives did not meet for session this week. 

The State Senate met for session yesterday. They passed the following bills:

• HB 428, prohibiting local amendments to the building code. 
• HB 577, relative to modifying the definition of ADUs. This bill allows detached ADUs anywhere single-family homes are permitted. 
• HB 731, relative to supportive housing options for individuals with developmental disabilities. This extends a limited license exemption for certain supportive housing options for individuals with disabilities located within a larger facility or apartment building. 

CONCORD MONITOR — Poll after poll this fall showed that Granite Staters viewed housing as a top issue. On the campaign trail, candidate after candidate retold stories of New Hampshire residents worrying about the affordability of buying a starter home, paying rising property tax bills and being able to age at home as seniors. 

“We knew this was a top issue facing voters,” said Taylor, the director of Housing Action NH, an advocacy group. “We constantly heard that they want action on housing, and that housing prices and housing costs were a number one driver in their day to day challenges, their family challenges, their next step in life, challenges. And so we knew there was interest.”

That interest materialized into over 60 proposed housing bills, as well as a handful of investments in the state budget.