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Rep. Rhodes proposes bill to let towns limit manufactured homes as ADUs
Summary
Rep. Jennifer Rhodes introduced HB 1026 to clarify that municipalities may prohibit placing a second manufactured home on a single‑family lot as an accessory dwelling unit; municipal officials backed clarity while manufactured‑housing and housing‑affordability advocates opposed the change.
Representative Jennifer Rhodes (Cheshire District 17) opened the House Housing Committee’s hearing on HB 1026 by saying the bill is meant to clarify what a "manufactured home" is and to give towns discretion to prevent two full‑size manufactured homes from being placed on the same single‑family lot by right.
"What we're trying to do with this is to actually define what a manufactured home is," Rhodes said, adding that confusion after last year’s ADU changes left some towns facing lawsuits and enforcement questions. She told the committee that allowing a manufactured home as an ADU where the town otherwise excludes manufactured housing would effectively change the character and density of some neighborhoods.
Bridal Deshais of the New Hampshire Municipal Association, which helped draft the bill, told lawmakers HB 1026 would amend RSA 674:72 and RSA 674:31 to restore municipal authority and to make clear that manufactured housing is not treated as an ADU for the purpose of placing two like‑sized units on a single‑family parcel. Deshais said the change is intended to avoid two manufactured units of identical size being asserted as "principal" and "accessory," which she said was not the ADU statute’s intent.
Industry and community groups urged the committee to reject the proposal. A representative of the New Hampshire Manufactured Housing Association said manufactured homes should be eligible as ADUs because they expand affordable options and that defining ADUs by construction type would undermine property owners’ choices. Abby Bronson of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund said the bill would effectively shut off a low‑cost ADU option for homeowners and risked discriminating by construction method rather than by use.
Committee members pressed on technical points including tax assessment, whether the existing ADU law already allows towns to restrict manufactured ADUs, and whether framing the change as a restoration of municipal authority is necessary. Witnesses and the sponsor said there is confusion among local officials and that HB 1026 is intended to create plain language that planners and owners can apply consistently.
The hearing record shows competing policy priorities: municipal officials seeking clarity and local control, and housing advocates warning that limiting manufactured homes as ADUs could reduce lower‑cost housing choices. The committee did not take a formal vote on HB 1026 during the session.
