‘A top issue facing voters’: Halfway through State House session, checking in on top housing bills

A construction crew assembles modular units manufactured by Ritz-Craft Corporation in Pennsylvania into a 42-unit workforce housing apartment building on Spring Street in Newport, N.H., on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Jack Franks, President and CEO of Avanru Development Group, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against the town because of water and sewer connection fees, which he says are excessive and were not disclosed before the development began. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Alex Driehaus

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Monitor staff

Published: 05-11-2025 11:00 AM

Nick Taylor knew he had an audience.

Poll after poll this fall showed that Granite Staters viewed housing as a top issue. On the campaign trail, candidate after candidate retold stories of New Hampshire residents worrying about the affordability of buying a starter home, paying rising property tax bills and being able to age at home as seniors.

“We knew this was a top issue facing voters,” said Taylor, the director of Housing Action NH, an advocacy group. “We constantly heard that they want action on housing, and that housing prices and housing costs were a number one driver in their day to day challenges, their family challenges, their next step in life, challenges. And so we knew there was interest.”

That interest materialized into over 60 proposed housing bills, as well as a handful of investments in the state budget.

Here is an update on key housing proposals moving through the State House.