CONCORD, NH — Today, Governor Kelly Ayotte signed HB 1010 and HB 1588 into law. As adopted by the House and Senate, these bipartisan bills make technical improvements to last year’s residential-in-commercial-zones law (HB 631). This includes clearer standards for infrastructure adequacy and guardrails for municipal implementation, which help ensure communities can create more housing opportunities where infrastructure, jobs, and services already exist.

Housing Action NH Director Nick Taylor released the following statement after the signing:

“There is no single solution to New Hampshire’s housing shortage, but every successful strategy depends on clear, workable rules that allow housing to be built while addressing legitimate local concerns. HB 1010 and HB 1588 strengthen the bipartisan Homes Near Jobs law by providing municipalities, developers, and property owners with greater clarity around infrastructure adequacy and guardrails on unnecessary regulatory barriers. This ensures communities can take full advantage of opportunities to build housing where infrastructure and jobs already exist.  We thank the New Hampshire House and Senate and Governor Ayotte for advancing these practical updates, which will help create more housing options for Granite Staters.”

BACKGROUND:

  • According to a Housing Action NH poll conducted by YouGov, 88% of Granite State voters support policies that allow homes to be built near commercial areas, helping create vibrant communities where residents can live closer to work, shopping, and everyday services.

  • HB 631–the Homes Near Jobs law adopted in 2025–allows multi-family housing in commercially zoned areas such as retail corridors, aging strip malls, and underutilized office districts.

  • Recently released research from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that building homes in existing communities saves taxpayers money by reducing infrastructure costs while generating more property tax revenue per acre. The research included New Hampshire-specific analysis.

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Housing Action NH works to improve state and federal policy so everyone in New Hampshire has a place to call home.