affordable housing

Some New Hampshire cities say they’re spending more on hotel assistance for their most vulnerable residents.

Low vacancy rates, rental turnover and high rents have made it tougher for residents to find permanent housing.

One week after its launch, about 2,100 households have applied to the New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The $200 million program covers current and past due rent, as well as utility and home energy costs, including internet, and is funded through last December’s federal coronavirus relief package.

Low vacancy rates, high rents, and a lack of affordable housing are perennial issues in New Hampshire.

Legislation being considered in the State House next year would encourage cities and towns to build more housing as a way to address the crisis.

Evictions in New Hampshire have been steady and relatively low since the state and federal moratorium on evictions ended this summer.

In the past month, there’s been a weekly average of about 50 evictions. That’s about a third lower than the weekly number of evictions happening prior to the pandemic, according to Elliott Berry, an attorney with New Hampshire Legal Assistance.

The New Hampshire Judicial Branch has released  court filings related to landlords and tenants. The data, released weekly, shows that eviction cases are on rise in New Hampshire since the state's coronavirus-related ban on evictions ended on July 1.

Governor Sununu has set aside $35 million from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide housing assistance for individuals who have trouble paying their rent and utilities as a result of the pandemic.

Seacoast nonprofits say dozens of families could be in jeopardy if a Dover rental complex decides to stop providing publicly subsidized housing next year.

The owners of the 50-unit Rutland Manor Apartments recently told tenants that they won’t be renewing their federal Section 8 housing contract in April 2021, according to Foster’s Daily Democrat.

A new study points to a range of options for easing traffic and improving economic development around the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The land use study was spearheaded by the town of Kittery, Maine. It's designed to help local officials plan improvements and seek federal funding.

Larry Dennis is president of the engineers' union at the shipyard, where nearly 7,000 people work.

Permits to build single-family homes and multi-family units in New Hampshire increased last year according to a report from the state’s Office of Strategic Initiatives.

Last year, close to 4,300 units were permitted, making 2018 the year with most number of units permitted since 2008.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson met with formerly homeless veterans in Manchester on Tuesday.

Carson also released new statistics showing that the rate of veterans experiencing homelessness dipped by 2% nationally, but by more than 20% in New Hampshire.

People in West Lebanon had a chance to tour New Hampshire’s first net-zero multi-family residential building. 

About 400 solar panels will power Tracy Community Housing. Some are on the roof, and others are on the south side of the building. Each apartment has a mini-split unit that’ll cool or heat the apartment using air source heat pumps.

A new report from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority says the affordable housing market has gotten even tighter this year. The survey polled owners and managers of more than 23,000 market rate rentals across the state, earlier this year. 

The results revealed that rent prices are rising and less housing is available.

• The median rental price for a two bedroom unit increased 4% since 2018
• The statewide vacancy rate decreased from 2% to less than 1%.

The head of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority does not see an end to the state’s affordable housing crisis any time soon.

Speaking on The Exchange, Dean Christon said the vacancy rate, particularly when it comes to rentals in multi-family homes, is the lowest in the region, hovering at or below 1 %. 

A new apartment building in Gilford is the first in the state to be certified as a “passive house.”

It uses airtight construction and energy efficient insulation that aims to sharply lower residents’ bills.

The building is the third phase of an affordable senior housing development called Gilford Village Knolls.

It includes 24 one-bedroom apartments, with a small rooftop solar array to cut residents' energy costs through net metering.

The nonprofit Lakes Region Community Developers built the multi-million dollar complex with state funding and tax credits.

Homelessness in New Hampshire has grown over the past two years, even as the state's economy has boomed.

A report from The New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness says the number of homeless people in the state increased by 10 percent between 2016 and 2018 to a total of 1,450 people.

A new study from the University of New Hampshire and the real estate website Zillow shows the impact rental housing affordability has on a community's rate of homelessness.

Researchers found that once residents are paying more than 32 percent of local median income to rent, the expected homelessness rate goes up sharply.  

UNH assistant professor of decision sciences Chris Glynn says this is most extreme in places like Los Angeles, where rents are nearly half of the median income and the homelessness crisis is clear.

An Upper Valley non-profit is hosting a public information session Thursday on accessory dwelling units, often known as in-law apartments.

New Hampshire is getting $14 million to support efforts to expand affordable housing.

The grants announced Friday by the state's Democratic congressional delegation come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The money will go to a variety of projects, including those aimed at helping those experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness.

Members of the delegation said they are pleased that the money is a substantial increase — about $1.7 million — compared to last year.

Construction is now officially underway on New Hampshire's first net-zero, multi-family housing project.

Rep. Annie Kuster joined state and local officials for the groundbreaking Wednesday in Lebanon.

The building’s 29 units will not only be energy-neutral, their electric use offset by solar panels, but also affordable. Resident incomes will be capped at about 60 percent of the area median, or about $42,000 for a family of four.