Last week, the House of Representatives tabled HB 1786, which would have created a new assessment on residential properties valued over $1 million that are not used as a primary residence for at least 183 days per year. Revenue created from this new tax would have gone to various housing programs. In a highly unusual situation, the bill never had a hearing due to clerical error.
Two other bills, HB 1580 and HB 1707, which also sought to impose new taxes on second homes, had already been killed previously by the House of Representatives. NHAR opposes these bills as they create a higher tax rate based on how the property is used, therefore treating identical properties differently while having little to no impact on housing inventory.
For the most recent 2026 legislative chart, click here.
Expanding causes to evict
Currently, under RSA 540:2, the owner of restricted property may evict by giving their tenant a notice in writing to quit the premises only for specific reasons outlined in that statute. House Bill 1499 would expand the reasons a landlord could initiate an eviction.
Under the proposed legislation, those causes for eviction would now include if the tenant had been convicted of entering the country illegally within the past three years; or has committed any crime where the maximum penalty provided is imprisonment in excess of one year and the conviction is less than five years prior to the service of the eviction notice; or if the tenant is a registered “sexual offender.”
The House passed the bill, and the Senate is expected to hold a hearing on the bill next month.
Who is responsible for snow removal?
House Bill 1112 would, in a residential tenancy, mandate that the responsibility for snow and ice removal must be explicitly stated in the written lease.
NHAR and others argued that mandating such language would establish a new precedent in New Hampshire in mandating terms of a lease. That gave some legislators enough pause to oppose the language. However, the House Housing committee is looking to amend the bill to state that if a lease does not establish responsibility, then it automatically falls on the landlord.
It is not clear if the Committee amendment will include parking areas or be more targeted to safety concerns, such as exits and fire escapes.
This one still has a long way to go, but the House Housing Committee is expected to take action on the amended bill this week.
Should access lead to possession?
House Bill 1135, as amended, states that the use of a landowner’s private roads, ways, driveways, or trails will no longer create rights by adverse possession or prescriptive use. Under current law, “adverse possession” allows someone to gain legal title to land if they occupy it long enough under specific conditions. A “prescriptive easement” does not transfer ownership, rather grants a right to use someone else’s land — typically for access.
The concern expressed by proponents was that landowners may block access or post land out of concern that long-term use could develop into a prescriptive easement, and lead to involuntary loss of property.
The amendment makes it clear that claims already fully adjudicated or currently being adjudicated are exempt. The bill only applies to future claims.
The House Municipal and County Committee supported the amended bill unanimously. The full House will take a final vote later this week.
Quote of the Week
“We hear stories every year of faculty and staff that we recruited but didn’t successfully get because they couldn’t find housing for their family. We need to have enough rental housing…but we know that our employees want to buy.”?
—Josh Keniston, vice president for operations at Dartmouth (New Hampshire Business Review Feb. 27, 2026)
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For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.