Assessing this year’s State House housing initiatives: More could have been done

Housing stakeholders' criticism is directed largely at a new state budget that defunds or doesn't fund certain programs

Housing stakeholders credit the 2025 legislative session with some important initiatives to help relieve New Hampshire’s housing crisis. But they agree the state’s representatives, senators and governor could have done more.

They praised efforts to lower zoning barricades that some communities have raised to block needed housing development. Their criticism, on the other hand, is directed largely at a new state budget that defunds or doesn’t fund certain housing programs.

Nick Taylor, director of Housing Action NH, Bob Quinn, CEO of the New Hampshire Realtors Association, and Rob Dapice, executive director/CEO of NH Housing, had similar reviews of initiatives that came from the 2025 legislative session and how well — or not well — the new budget addresses housing needs.

Basically, according to the trio, there’s good news, and there’s bad news.

Nick Taylor, director of Housing Action NH

Taylor gives the legislative action this year a grade average of B: an A- for regulatory reforms, but a C+ for cutting back on the financial tools that make below-market-rate housing a reality.

“This year’s legislative performance was a tale of two sessions. Lawmakers made real strides on regulatory reform — cutting red tape, expanding access to accessory dwelling units, and allowing homes to be built in underused commercial spaces like aging strip malls and office buildings,” he said. “These targeted policy changes can make it easier for local workers —  like teachers, home health aides and retail employees — to find a home they can afford close to where they work.

“But the Legislature fell short when it came to financial tools,” he added. “Proven programs like the Affordable Housing Fund, InvestNH, and the Housing Champions Program saw a combined cut of more than $40 million in state general funds. These are the very tools that help unlock housing for working families and seniors who need it most, and incentivize communities to take action.”

Bob Quinn, executive director of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors

Quinn also noted the lack of funding for housing programs, noting, “The budget was clearly a challenge, and we understood this was a tough year to ask for increased funding for housing programs. However, programs like the Affordable Housing Fund, InvestNH and the Housing Champions program have proven themselves to be successful.”

Quinn and others touted several pieces of legislation that help increase inventory.

They include:

• House Bill 577, which seeks to expand the ability of property owners to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on their property by allowing a detached unit in addition to the current attached unit.
• House Bill 631, which would require municipalities to allow multifamily residential development on commercially zoned land, provided that adequate infrastructure, including roads, water and sewage systems, are available or provided to support the development.
• Senate Bill 188, which would allow property owners to use private providers for building code inspections and plan reviews conducted by licensed professionals, including engineers, architects, or building code administrators.
• Senate Bill 281, seeking to allow greater opportunities to build on a Class VI road, which is a public road that a town is not obligated to maintain.
• Senate Bill 282, which would allow residential buildings with four or fewer floors to have only one stairway, provided that the building is equipped with a sprinkler system and meets fire code requirements.
• Senate Bill 284 would mandate that towns can only require one parking space per housing unit on new development. It would also expand the scope of the existing statute to include all developments regardless of the number of units or bedrooms in the development, or whether they are used for workforce housing.

“These bills represent positive steps toward increasing housing supply, but they are not nearly enough,” said Quinn. “New Hampshire just set a record for the median sale price of a single-family home at $565,000. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, that price would require a household income of more than $180,000. Meanwhile, NHAR’s own affordability index has hit its lowest level ever recorded. So while the Legislature deserves credit for passing several important bills, the overall grade for its housing response remains incomplete.”

More could have been done, according to Quinn. He pointed to failed legislation that sought to allow smaller lot sizes. He said the legislation “somehow proved too controversial. Continuing to mandate large, costly lots as the default land use policy isn’t a viable strategy for addressing New Hampshire’s housing affordability crisis.”

Rob Dapice, CEO/executive director of New Hampshire Housing

In an extensive interview with WMUR-TV, Dapice expressed disappointment that the new budget didn’t contain continued funding for some housing programs.

“The people who most need relief and most need a place to sleep at night are people at the lower end of the income spectrum, and so we need to create more affordable housing,” he said. “I wish that the state budget that they were working on included more funding for affordable housing. It doesn’t, and that’s too bad.”

“There will be another opportunity in the future, but I think it means that all of us who are involved in this industry, in this community, need to be laser focused on lowering the cost of housing and lowering the cost of providing housing,” he added.

He cited the specific need for communities to lower what he called “zoning barriers” to provide greater opportunities for residential development.

“I think the folks in the local communities who see the impact and see the problem really have an opportunity now to work together and lower those barriers and encourage housing development that’s going to provide more opportunities for young people, more opportunities for people who want to age in place, more opportunities for people for whom a single family home might not be what they need,” said Dapice.

The state budget that went into effect July 1 runs for two fiscal years, ending on June 30, 2026.

The previous budget that expired June 30 had provided $25 million towards the Affordable Housing Fund, $10 million for the InvestNH Fund, $10 million for homelessness and housing shelter programs, and $5.25 million for the Housing Champion Designation and Grant Program.

The new biennial budget contains the following:

• For communities that qualify, the Housing Champion program provides incentives — such as money for sewer, water and other infrastructure improvements — as a way of encouraging more residential development. The $5 million in the budget is held over from the previous budget.
• Using money from an opioid abatement trust fund, the budget sets aside $5 million “for the purpose of providing year-round emergency shelter services to individuals with an opioid use disorder.  Such shelter programs must provide supportive services designed to assist people obtain recovery and permanent housing to achieve self-sufficiency.”
• The new budget creates a Partners in Housing Program, funded with $5 million for one fiscal year. The fund is specific to developers to whom a municipality or county transfers publicly-owned property for the purpose of residential development. At least 20% of the housing units have to be affordable for a period of at least 20 years.
• The budget also streamlines the residential development-related permitting process for approvals required of state agencies.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte, in an op-ed piece written for the state’s media, said the budget “continues our efforts to tackle our housing challenges by streamlining our state permitting process. We reduced the number of agencies involved from four to two, and we set a clear 60-day determination timeline to make it faster and easier to bring new construction online.”

The president of the New Hampshire Home Builders Association praised the move. Matt Menning, principal at Elm Grove Properties, said in a statement that the association “applauds the passage of the state budget today. Governor Ayotte made clear her focused interest in cutting red tape and streamlining bureaucracy. The measures passed today do exactly that; it cuts red tape. Governor Ayotte directed state agencies to find ways to cut wait times while also ensuring safety and the preservation of our precious commodity, the environment.”

Ayotte also mentioned the legislative action beyond the budget.

“… there are additional critical bills coming to my desk that will expand opportunities to build manufactured homes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and enable communities to build housing in commercial zones to continue to grow our housing supply,” she said. “I can’t think of a better way to create new housing opportunities than repurposing an empty office building into affordable homes for those that need them.”

Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoda, D-Portsmouth, said the Republican-led House and Senate failed to deliver on housing programs and other needs saying, “We should be funding successful programs that have proven to increase housing supply, provide needed infrastructure, and lower local property taxes.”

“Throughout the last campaign cycle and this legislative session, the number one issue we as legislators heard on the doors, at local events, and in every poll was the need for affordable housing. Yet, we saw no money for housing in the state budget, which included no funding for the oversubscribed Housing Champions Program or the highly-leveraged Affordable Housing Trust fund,” said Kwoka.

She also noted passage of the Republican led effort to remove eviction safeguards that had been in place for renters. The so-called “no-fault” eviction process, she said, “ in an ultra-tight housing market, will threaten Granite Staters with homelessness. “

Michael Skelton, president/CEO of the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association (BIA), also cited the legislative progress and agrees that there’s more work to be done on housing. And he added a companion issue: child care.

“While these actions represent meaningful progress, much work remains,” said Skelton in his weekly business update for the Union Leader. “With median home prices nearing $600,000 and the nation’s oldest workforce, New Hampshire must continue to pursue solutions that make housing more attainable — both to attract younger workers and to ensure long-term economic vitality.”

In looking ahead to the 2026 legislative session, Skelton said he expects a refocus on housing, “as well as new legislative attention on the state’s child care sector. These areas are critical for the Legislature to address if New Hampshire is to stay competitive for businesses.”

“Without action, we risk falling behind other states that are aggressively adopting policy reforms in an effort to attract and retain workers,” said Skelton. “Without bold steps to lower housing costs and expand access to child care, New Hampshire risks losing ground in this nationwide race to strengthen economic competitiveness and attract jobs, talent and investment.”