Governor signs Industry-Related Bills
This week, Governor Ayotte signed a number of bills into law which impact the real estate industry. Those include the following:
House Bill 296: Relative to issuing building permits along private roads; also removes a Zoning Board of Adjustment’s discretion for determining when to take an appeal and replaces it with a non-discretionary 30-day period. Effective mid-September.
House Bill 309: Prohibits landlords from requiring a tenant or prospective tenant to pay by electronic funds transfers. Effective Jan 1, 2026.
House Bill 413: Extends the existing five-year exemption for subdivision plats to seven years and increases the preliminary step from two years to three years. Effective immediately.
House Bill 437: Establishes automatic discharge periods for undischarged mortgages based on whether their term or maturity date is stated or not. Impacts all mortgages after Jan 1, 2028.
House Bill 577: Relative to allowing either attached or detached ADUs by-right. Effective immediately.
House Bill 631: Requires municipalities to permit multi-family residential development on commercially zoned land, with stipulations for infrastructure and exemptions for adaptive reuse. Effective July 1, 2026.
Senate Bill 110: Requires the department of environmental services to adopt rules to establish a permit by notification for certain projects with plans encompassing an area less than 150,000 square feet. Effective mid-September.
Senate Bill 164: Prohibits certain contracts which the owner agrees to list the owner’s residential real estate for sale which requires a lien. Effective January 1, 2026.
Senate Bill 166: Requires the seller of a manufactured housing unit in a resident-owned community to provide notice to the prospective buyer of their right to obtain a copy of the community’s bylaws, fee schedule, and financial statements. Effective January 1, 2026.
Senate Bill 188: Authorizes licensed or certified third parties to certify documents and inspect buildings in compliance with applicable building and other codes. Effective immediately.
Senate Bill 281: Changes the requirements that allow a building to be constructed on a lot adjacent to a Class VI roadway. Effective July 1, 2026.
Senate Bill 282: Allows residential buildings up to four floors above grade plane to have only one stairway under conditions established by the state building code review board. Effective immediately.
Senate Bill 284: Amends the amount of accessory parking that municipalities can require for residential units to one parking space per unit. Effective mid-September.
For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.