CONCORD, NH – The Housing Champions program, which provides grants to cities and towns as incentives to build affordable housing, will continue after the New Hampshire Senate did not approve a House-endorsed repeal.
The Senate found the repeal inexpedient to legislate Thursday, agreeing with the Commerce Committee, which voted 5-0 on not moving forward with the bill April 15. The full Senate vote was part of Thursday’s consent calendar vote and there was no discussion.
“Since its inception, more than half of the state’s total permitted units have come from 28 Housing Champion communities,” the Commerce Committee decision, included in the Senate Calendar, said. “Given the program is still in its infancy, and housing remains a top priority for many residents and businesses, the Committee felt this bill was not necessary at this time.”
The repeal effort was introduced by Rep. Matt Drew, R-Manchester, and co-sponsored by several other Republican reps. Though cited by supporters as a successful incentive to cities and towns to support affordable housing creation, Drew called it a “state-funded incentive to get cities and towns of subsidize politically favored projects.”
Before the House voted 185-166 to repeal Housing Champions program in February, Rep. Joe Alexander, R-Goffstown, one of the program’s creators, urged members to vote for the repeal, saying the money hasn’t been used to lower property taxes, and “most of the Housing Champions [property] taxes continue to rise at unsustainable levels.”
But at the Commerce Committee meeting, also in February, advocates cited its success in helping boost building permits for affordable housing over the past couple of years, as well as supporting infrastructure upgrades in Housing Champion municipalities. Costly water and sewer needs are often cited as the biggest obstacles to building more housing.
The program, administered by the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs has awarded $5 million in grants over two years to 11 towns and cities after they met criteria that removed barriers to housing development, including building housing, changing zoning and policy to enable more housing, or making plans to improve infrastructure. The initial $5 million for the program came from American Rescue Plan Act money, with $1.5 million awarded for workforce housing development and $3.5 million for infrastructure improvements that support any kind of housing development.
The program was not funded in the 2025-26 FY budget, which went into effect last year, but is still administered and allocating the money granted in its first two years.
The program designates Housing Champion status to towns and cities that score enough points on a matrix of pro-housing actions, making them eligible to apply for incentive grants. Municipalities that are named Housing Champions – there are 28 now – are eligible for both housing production grants after workforce housing is built, as well as infrastructure grants for planned work that will allow more housing to be developed.
“The Housing Champions program is already delivering results,” Nick Taylor, director of Housing Action NH, said in a statement after the Senate committee vote. “Municipalities are updating their regulations to allow for more housing, and communities are using these incentives to modernize water, sewer, and safety infrastructure that directly supports new homes.”