Homelessness prevention advocates say a slate of zoning reforms on the docket for the state’s next legislative session is key to helping reduce the state’s homeless population.
A key committee set up to find ways to tackle housing instability and homelessness in New Hampshire says the state must act on a bipartisan slate of zoning reforms that failed to pass last legislative session, among dozens of other recommendations.
The Council on Housing Stability was set up in November following intense debate when State Police officers cleared a high-profile homeless encampment outside a Manchester courthouse. It delivered its initial report Dec. 14. The council is made up of housing advocates, homelessness service providers, municipal leaders and members of the real estate industry.
HB 1269 and HB 1632 would have required towns and cities to create density bonuses or other incentives for the development of senior housing, discouraged frivolous appeals of land use decisions and created a business profits tax deduction for income derived from workforce housing development. Both passed the House by overwhelming majorities but died amid partisan bickering over a procedural step required to send the bills and many other urgent action items to the Senate for consideration.
The council listed the passage of both pieces of legislation as the first item on its list of immediate actions the sate should take to address homelessness.
Gov. Chris Sununu welcomed the report’s release and, according to his office, “instructed teams within state agencies to move forward with all recommendations that can be taken immediately through executive action.”
This includes applying for a federal waiver to support services to assist households in finding housing and staying housed by May 1, 2021.
“I would like to thank all members of this critical council for their tremendous, fast-paced work these last two weeks,” Sununu said in a statement. “Their charge was not easy, but they produced an excellent foundation for the Legislature to work from and for the state to begin updating our statewide homelessness plan. The work is far from over, and there are plenty of action items within this report that the legislature should take up. I am hopeful they will work in a bipartisan manner to move these items forward so we can work to address housing stability in New Hampshire.”
The state’s housing crisis has only gotten worse as COVID-19 has crimped the state economy.
The median monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment has increased by 22 percent in the past five years, double the rate at which renters’ income has increased, according to New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority data. And while the national average vacancy rate is 6 percent, in New Hampshire it is under 2 percent.
In addition, much of the rental housing produced in the state in recent years has been focused on higher-end, market-rate tenants. Taken together with the tight rental market and the limited amount of housing production in recent years, the situation has put enormous pressure on lower-income renters in many parts of the state. The state currently has over 4,000 homeless school-age children and children make up 19 percent of those staying at state-sponsored shelters.
The council will continue its work throughout the winter to flesh out a long-term plan but its initial report, available at NHCHS.org, outlined steps the state should take administrative steps to better understand the homelessness problem. Immediate action steps recommended by the council include extending the federal eviction moratorium, extending the time a tenant has to make good on back rent and adding $5 million more a year to the state Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
