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Panel broadly supports ADU incentives; sponsors seek forgivable loans and technical assistance in HB 604
Summary
Supporters told the committee that accessory dwelling units (ADUs) could add lower-cost housing quickly, and House Bill 604 would create loan forgiveness or forgivable loans for homeowners who agree to rent ADUs at affordable rates; witnesses debated costs, loan structure and program administration.
Representative Jody Newell introduced HB 604, a bill to create a state program offering loans and forgivable loan assistance to homeowners who create accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and agree to rent them at affordable rates. “We are at a crisis point. We need 23,000 housing units immediately,” Newell said in opening testimony, and she described ADUs as a practical, often lower‑cost way to add housing in rural and small‑town New Hampshire.
Under the sponsor’s proposal, eligible homeowners who commit to renting an ADU at or below 80 percent of area median income (AMI) — and charging an affordable rent (roughly 30 percent of household income) — could receive up to $50,000 in a forgivable loan, with forgiveness conditioned on continued affordability for a defined term. Newell told the committee the program…
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