In June, the New Hampshire General Court wrapped up a busy 2025 legislative session. Over 1,000 bills on a range of issues were considered, but voters consistently made clear that one issue should take priority: the lack of affordable housing.
Now, Gov. Ayotte has signed several bills to help address our state’s housing shortage. We applaud the bipartisan efforts this year to increase affordable housing options, but we want to highlight one bill in particular: SB 165. This bill, championed by Sen. Kevin Avard and recently signed into law by the governor, increases the audit threshold for consumer cooperatives.
But why does an audit threshold matter so much for affordable housing?
It’s because SB 165 will help keep costs low for Resident-Owned Communities (ROCs). In case you aren’t familiar, ROCs are manufactured-home communities that have been purchased cooperatively by their residents. They represent the most affordable homeownership opportunities available in New Hampshire. In fact, it is currently less expensive to own a home in most of New Hampshire’s 152 ROCs than it is to rent an apartment of similar size.
Prior to SB 165, state law required that consumer cooperatives — which include ROCs — conduct an annual audit if their income exceeded $250,000. This threshold, which hadn’t been updated in over 30 years, meant that virtually all new ROCs were required to spend up to $10,000 annually on audits. Not only did this costly requirement raise lot rents for individual homeowners, but it was also difficult to find accountants willing to conduct audits at that revenue level.
SB 165 fixes this by increasing the audit income threshold from $250,000 to $2 million, aligning with nonprofit audit requirements. This law will save ROCs real money, allowing them to continue doing what they do best: keeping this unique form of homeownership as affordable as possible. At the same time, the law preserves alternative oversight mechanisms to maintain accountability and transparency for ROC homeowners.
While we are excited about this new law, we know there is more work to be done. The median cost of a home remains over $500,000, and new data shows that Granite Staters must earn $35 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. It is critical that we continue to give Granite Staters more quality, affordable housing options — and that must include manufactured housing.
This year, our legislators had an opportunity to do just that with HB 685. The bill, led by Rep. Joe Alexander, was simple. It required that manufactured homes — a high-quality housing option built with the same materials as site-built homes but at a fraction of the cost — be allowed anywhere that site-built housing is permitted.
Despite being a quality, affordable, and attractive option, misinformation and misunderstanding about manufactured housing persist. Additional education is necessary to clarify what manufactured housing is and what it isn’t.
Unfortunately, this year, HB 685 failed to make it to the governor’s desk. For young people looking to build their lives here, that means fewer affordable starter-home options. For older Granite Staters looking to downsize, it means fewer single-floor options to age in place.
We are disappointed that HB 685 did not move forward, but we look forward to continuing this conversation in 2026.
