STATEAffordable Housing Fund. The final biennial budget for state fiscal years 2022-23 included $35 million for New Hampshire’s Affordable Housing Fund. This budget’s appropriation represents the largest state expenditure to the Fund since it was created in 1988. Housing Action NH is grateful to the advocates and policy makers who helped steward this important affordable housing budget priority. The Affordable Housing Fund: - Supports the creation of multi-family housing developments that may not have other resources, such as supportive housing for individuals with special needs;
- Allows NH Housing to support local housing needs more effectively and to meet important public goals;
- Provides flexibility to developers since AHF financing has fewer regulatory restrictions than most federal funding; and
- Enables housing developers to significantly leverage their total project financing.
Supportive Housing Medicaid Benefit. The NH Department of Health and Human Services has submitted the supportive housing services Medicaid benefit State Plan Amendment to the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for consideration. This milestone is the result of years of data collection, education and advocacy from a critical group of local, state and national partners. Housing Action NH will begin work on provider readiness to help foster the expansion of supportive housing services in the Granite State.
Community Revitalization Tax Relief for Affordable Housing. Governor Sununu signed Representative Casey Conley’s bill, HB 154, into law, effectively expanding the RSA 79-e statute to include affordable housing development. It now allows developers to access tax relief provisions if one-third of the housing units are set aside as affordable. The bill also extends the maximum period of this relief from 9 to 10 years.
Council on Housing Stability Strategic Plan. The newly established Council on Housing Stability released its 3-year strategic plan to promote housing stability and tackle homelessness for residents of the Granite State. The plan, informed by input from 4 working groups, outlines actionable next steps and mechanisms for deploying resources with a focus on two significant goals: address housing needs with an increase of 13,500 units of housing by 2024 and make homelessness rare, brief and one-time in New Hampshire.
Call for ARP Funding to Address Homelessness and Housing Production. Housing and homeless services advocates are calling on Governor Sununu and the Joint Fiscal Committee to help address homeless services and housing production needs through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, part of the funding sent to States, Counties and some Municipalities as part of the American Rescue Plan. The interim final rule from US Treasury highlights that these resources are available to address affordable housing production and homeless services. Housing advocates are also urging Treasury to expand the use of resources for development outside of Qualified Census Tracks.
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