Both the Senate and House agreed to send the following bills to Governor Ayotte for her consideration. All of these bills were supported by NHAR:
Senate Bill 188 seeks to authorize licensed third parties to certify documents and inspect buildings in compliance with applicable building codes, in lieu of having a town building inspector perform those tasks.
When an approved third party is used for the review of construction documents, or for all inspections, then permit fees must be reduced by 40 percent. Where both functions are performed, meaning both review of documents and inspections, then permit fees must be reduced by 80 percent.
The intent is to create quicker and more efficient development while ensuring public safety by authorizing licensed third parties to certify documents and inspect buildings in compliance with applicable buildings and other codes. Some towns already allow for third-party inspections.
Senate Bill 282 would allow residential buildings up to 4 floors above grade to have only one stairway under conditions established by the state building code review board. Currently, two stairways are usually mandated. The state fire marshal agreed the final language in the bill would protect the safety of residents.
House Bill 457 is aimed at local ordinances that limit bedroom occupancy, which are often found in college communities. It will prohibit a town from adopting or enforcing any ordinance that restricts the number of occupants of any dwelling unit to less than two occupants per bedroom or is based on familial or non-familial relationships or marital status.
House Bill 296 contains two unrelated issues. First, it creates a new authorization for local governing bodies to erect buildings along private roads. Second, the bill removes the zoning board of adjustment's discretion for determining when to take an appeal, and replaces it with a non-discretionary 30-day period. That section was at the request of NHAR.
Wouldn’t it be nice: Manufactured housing bill faces choppy waters
House Bill 685 would allow, in all residential areas, the construction of manufactured housing by right. NHAR testified in favor of the legislation.
Manufactured homes fill a crucial gap in the housing market, providing an affordable alternative between apartments and single-family homes, which is especially important to New Hampshire’s workforce and many retirees who can no longer afford their larger single-family home.
HB 685 does not eliminate existing municipal ordinances related to lot sizes, setbacks from adjacent lots or wetlands, frontage requirements, septic or other sewage regulations and other dimensional requirements. Nor does it override municipal requirements related to aesthetics.
The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill, and those differences will need to be worked out and agreed to before the bill can head to the Governor’s desk. The NH Municipal Association is opposed to the bill and is working diligently to kill it.
Wipe Out: allowing neighborhood conforming zoning fails
House Bill 342 would have allowed property owners to build on their property without seeking a variance for minimum lot size or percentage of lot coverage if the proposed building conformed to the density of the neighborhood, which would have been assessed based on the density of 51 percent of the properties within a 1,000-foot radius of the new construction.
The Senate amended the House version of this bill. Although the changes were minor, the House refused to agree to the changes, and the bill is now dead for the year.
Quote of the Week
“Housing was very, very clearly, by far and away, the top thing that everybody was concerned about; they felt that housing was the thing that’s going to have the biggest impact on our future as a city.”
– Keene Senior Planner Mari Brunner, on a resident survey showing the housing crunch is the number one problem they want fixed (“As Keene updates master plan, housing is a top priority,” Keene Sentinel, June 10, 2025).
For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.