The housing shortage is not going away anytime soon. According to the latest estimates, Maine needs to build 84,000 new homes and New Hampshire needs to build 60,000 new homes by 2030. That’s only five years from now, and on the surface, the task seems insurmountable.
However, there is new reason to hope. Both states recently enacted laws that address the shortage by incentivizing affordable housing development, removing outdated restrictions, speeding up the approval process, and more. Let’s take a look at some highlights:
MAINE
The 132nd Maine Legislature passed some of the most impactful, bipartisan housing reform bills in the State’s history before adjourning on June 25, all of which have been signed by Gov. Janet Mills. These include:
LD 1829: Removes barriers to affordable housing development by relaxing zoning restrictions, granting height bonuses for affordable housing, eliminating permit caps in growth areas, reducing minimum lot sizes to promote infill development, and making other changes. It also makes it easier for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units on their properties.
LD 997: Permits mixed-use development in commercial zones to include residential housing.
LD 427: Requires minimum parking requirements not exceed one parking spot per housing unit.
LD 146: Streamlines the state’s Historic Property Rehabilitation Tax Credit by removing timeline barriers that discourage rehabilitating older homes and returning them to the housing market.
LD 1184: Mandates annual housing production reporting from municipalities.
In addition, the 2026-27 state budget establishes Maine’s first-ever affordable housing production fund, which will be funded by an increase in the real estate transfer tax rate on the sale of properties valued at more than $1 million. It also exempts first-time homebuyers and those who sell to them from paying the real estate transfer tax altogether if they use one of MaineHousing’s first-time homebuyer mortgage programs.
The tax changes, which take effect Sept. 18, are expected to raise more than $35 million for affordable housing development by 2027.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The General Court of New Hampshire passed a number of housing bills before adjourning on June 26. Housing legislation signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte includes:
SB 165: Increases the audit threshold for consumer cooperatives from $100,000 to $1 million, lowering costs for resident-owned communities.
HB 577: Allows detached accessible dwelling units measuring 950 square feet or less to be built without special permits and requires municipalities to approve either an attached unit or a detached unit if it meets zoning requirements.
HB 631-FN: Allows the development of apartments and duplexes in commercial zones.
HB 457: Prohibits municipalities from creating zoning ordinances that restrict the number of residents to one per unit; each municipality must now allow at least two.
SB 284: Requires minimum parking requirements not exceed one parking spot per housing unit.
SB 282: Reduces the number of required staircases in developments below four stories to a single staircase.
In addition, the 2026-27 state budget includes legislation to expedite the permitting process for new housing construction by requiring that reviews conducted by the N.H. Department of Transportation and the N.H. Department of Environmental Services be completed within 60 days.