Housing Champions:
Down But Not Out
Legislative efforts to eliminate New Hampshire’s Housing Champions program gained significant traction during the 2026 session, reflecting a broader debate over how the state should respond to its housing shortage.
Created in 2023 as a bipartisan initiative, the program encourages municipalities to adopt pro-housing zoning and land-use policies by providing access to state grant funding for infrastructure and development projects. Dozens of New Hampshire communities have earned the “Housing Champion” designation and are using those incentives to modernize infrastructure and support new housing development.
House Bill 1196 proposed to fully repeal the program, eliminating both the designation framework and related funding mechanisms from statute. NHAR opposed the bill, arguing that Housing Champions provides a much-needed boost to municipal efforts to expand housing supply. Governor Ayotte also indicated opposition to the repeal.
The House passed HB 1196 in February, but the Senate later rejected the repeal, ensuring the program remains in place — albeit without additional funding. For housing advocates, it was an important win, even as NHAR and others continue to push for resources that help communities turn pro-housing policies into actual homes.
Data Centers: Plugged in or Zoned Out?
As introduced, Senate Bill 439 was designed to authorize municipalities to regulate data centers in commercial and industrial zones. The debate over data center siting is really an attempt to resolve the tension between the growth of digital infrastructure (AI, cloud computing, streaming) and municipalities’ concerns over energy consumption, noise and water usage.
The bill defined “data center” to mean a facility used primarily for the storage, processing, management, and transmission of digital data but does not include a facility in which such uses do not exceed 10 percent of the gross floor area of all on-site buildings.
However, the Senate, instead of expanding local authority, as the sponsor of SB 439 had wanted, amended the bill to mandate that such data centers must be permitted in all commercial and industrial zones, potentially removing some local control over the placement of data centers.
The House Municipal & County Government Committee, which expressed some concerns with the final Senate version of the bill, is expected to take action on the bill later this week.
Expediting Condo Approvals
Under existing New Hampshire law, if there are not more than 10 units in a condominium development, it is exempt from certain approvals administered by the Dept. of Justice’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau. Senate Bill 415 sought to amend that exemption threshold to 20 units. The intent is to streamline the approval process and make development less expensive.
The House Housing Committee further amended the Senate bill to increase the threshold to 25 units. Additionally, the amendment proposes a study commission to review the entire condominium act in order to “identify opportunities to modernize the law, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, and support the creation of quality homeownership opportunities.”
The House will take action on the amended version of the bill later this week.
Small Feet, Big Barriers
House Bill 1195 seeks to mandate that any lot where residential use is permitted, a family or group family childcare center, licensed for six to 12 children, must be allowed by right in the primary or an existing accessory structure. The bill would also create similar types of opportunities in commercial zones.
In 2024, the legislature passed a bill to ensure communities could no longer prohibit home-based childcare nor could they require site plan review or a special exception permit. Instead, towns could either allow such childcare facilities by-right or through a conditional use permit.
A 2025 report by St. Anslem’s Housing Initiative indicated that 12 percent of communities require a conditional use permit. The intent of the bill is partly to eliminate the option for towns to mandate a conditional use permit, since safety concerns are already addressed by the NH Dept. of Health and Human Services licensing regulations.
The House of Representatives approved the bill in March. The Senate Municipal Committee is recommending passage.
Quote of the Week
“Manufactured housing plays a critical role in the affordability landscape, yet supply is limited, often constrained by zoning and local land-use policies. If we want to expand home-ownership opportunities, this is one area that deserves much more attention.”
—Alexsandra Galanis, manager of research and data analytics at New Hampshire Housing (NH Business Review, April 2026). Legislative efforts to expand opportunities for manufactured housing have fallen short over the past two years.
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For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.