Tenant notification bill tabled
House Bill 379 would have required that tenants subject to eviction must be provided with instructions on the process for contacting and obtaining assistance from New Hampshire Legal Assistance.
The bill had passed the House of Representatives, but the Senate voted last week to hold the bill for additional work. The concern was less the concept of notifying the tenant but rather with the specific notification language. The Senate will not take up the bill until next year.
Real property transfer on death act put off for another year
House Bill 68, which would have created a uniform real property transfer on death act was “rereferred” back to committee – meaning no final action on the bill will occur this year. The House of Representatives had passed the bill earlier this year.
HB 68 was introduced with the intention to allow the transfer of real estate at death without having to go through the expense of having a will or going through probate. While the Committee generally thought there was a lot of merit to the bill, they felt it needed more work before final consideration.
Biodiversity bill killed by House
Senate Bill 164 would allow the consideration of biodiversity in the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).
Currently, LCHIP provides matching grants to New Hampshire municipalities and non-profits to preserve and conserve “Eligible resources,” which include natural, cultural, or historical resources including archaeological sites, historic buildings and structures, ecologically significant lands, farms and wildlife corridors. This bill would have added “biodiverse areas” onto that list of eligible lands to preserve.
The bill had passed the Senate, but the House felt the term “biodiversity” was not well-defined in the legislation and voted to table the bill – meaning it is unlikely to come back in this session.
Quote of the Week
“The dispute has consumed so much of the local government’s time that ahead of the May 16 hearing at the New Hampshire Housing Appeals Board, the town shared an 823-page certified record of documents related to Silver Scone, and the myriad local agencies that have dealt with the matter.”
Wall Street Journal article on a zoning dispute in New Ipswich, NH, relative to a variance granted to a property owner to host “authentic English afternoon tea parties“ at her home. Neighbors sued the town over the variance the town granted the property owner, and the case was heard at the Housing Appeals Board last week.
For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.