Senator Hassan Introduces New Bill to Build More Homes & Expand Workforce Housing Opportunities in New Hampshire

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today is introducing a bill to help address New Hampshire’s housing crisis by expanding housing opportunities, which will increase housing options for families and in turn, help businesses attract workers.

“Investing in housing helps families across the state and boosts local economies that are in need of workforce housing,” said Senator Hassan. “This bill will help expand the housing options available in New Hampshire in order to tackle the housing crisis and ensure that families have access to good housing that they can afford. I have been working on addressing our state’s housing crisis since my time in New Hampshire state government, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill that will help more families and small businesses thrive.”

New Hampshire business leaders shared the importance of Senator Hassan’s new bill.

“The Upper Valley Business Alliance is supportive of the proposed Expand Housing Opportunities Act. Housing availability in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire, and all throughout the state, has reached a critical point where our businesses are not able to retain workers due to high housing costs in both the purchase and rental markets. Businesses large and small are being affected to the point of having to restrict their hours and services. We must have more housing - everything from single family homes to multi-family units - to meet the demand for workers in all professions,” said Tracy Hutchins, President, Upper Valley Business Alliance.

“On the seacoast and across the state of New Hampshire area businesses from all industries are struggling to attract workers they need due to the burden of high housing costs in the region. The workforce housing challenge is crippling the ability of businesses to expand and preventing new businesses from choosing New Hampshire as the location for their company. Thoughtful solutions from local, state and federal government are needed to address such a complicated issue. The Expand Housing Opportunities Act will provide developers and states much needed funding to support the creation of new housing in our communities while protecting those that are already cost-burdened and potentially facing eviction,” said Ben VanCamp, Chief Collaborator & President of The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth.

This housing bill that Senator Hassan is introducing today will:

• Create a competitive grant program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support the construction and rehabilitation of homes for purchase that are affordable to middle-class families – a key way to increase workforce housing opportunities
• Provide states with matching funds for investments in affordable housing construction or improvements, with an enhanced match for recovery housing
• Provide grants to state and local governments to create or expand landlord-tenant mediation programs, which helps to prevent evictions

This bill is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing efforts to address housing challenges in New Hampshire. As New Hampshire State Senator, she also sponsored a bill, which was later passed into law, to encourage the development of workforce housing. In the Senate, Hassan has worked to increase housing investments and expand housing opportunities for families. In March, the NH delegation announced that, following their calls, Granite State homeowners can apply for federal mortgage assistance. In addition, Senators Hassan and Blunt (R-MO) introduced a bipartisan bill to provide tax cuts to middle-class homeowners.

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