2023-02-16. This written testimony was submitted to the New Hampshire House in support of HB1399 (2024), a bill “allowing municipalities to permit 2 residential units in certain single-family residential zones.”
Greetings, members of the Special Committee on Housing.
Thank you for allowing me to submit testimony for HB1399 (“Allowing municipalities to permit 2 residential units in certain single-family residential zones.”) today. I support this bill.
I had been a renter my entire life until last year when I bought a 3-unit home in Manchester. I am now a homeowner, a landlord, and a real estate investor. So I understand multiple sides of the housing issue. And, though building more housing could in the short term harm my investment—more competition may lead to reduced rental income—I firmly believe that in the long term, building more housing is far more beneficial.
Rents and property values have increased at an unbelievable pace over the past few years. My home’s purchase price and appraisal was $525,000, yet only a couple years ago the City had assessed it at $390,000. In 2010, a home such as this was worth about $180,000. That is almost a trebling in value in less than 15 years. Rents have gone up comparably. In 2016, I paid $800/month for a one-bedroom with utilities included. When I moved out in 2023, my rent was $1,450 and the landlord was soon raising it to $1,600. It doubled in seven years.
If something is not done to create more housing, far more radical solutions will come to pass. We already had a rent control bill this year. Other states have implemented rent increase caps, tax penalties for landlords who leave units vacant, and even more extreme solutions. If we want to stave off these kinds of attacks on private property rights, the solution is simple: Simply build more housing.
And this bill is one obvious way of doing just that.
I also believe this is a fundamental private property rights issue. Owners of private property should be allowed to build what they wish on their property, so long as it is not affecting their neighbors’ rights to quiet enjoyment of their own properties. Many homeowners nowadays are concerned with protecting their so-called property values, which more often than not are directly at odds with the right to use one’s property as one sees fit. This pits neighbor against neighbor, with everyone insisting they can tell each other what they can and cannot do on their own property, lest it harm the property values of everyone else. Respecting private property rights falls by the wayside.
As we have now seen, restrictive zoning to protect property values has now caused a nationwide housing crisis. Allowing single-family homes, wherever the infrastructure can tolerate it, to be converted into 2-unit homes, will go a long way toward solving this.
As I said, I support this bill, but I do not believe it goes far enough. As several people testified, it has too many restrictions which will disqualify too many properties. These restrictions should be scrutinized by a subcommittee to see if they are truly needed, and most of them removed.
If this bill is sent to a subcommittee or interim study, I would be more than happy to participate in those meetings.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. ▰
In liberty—
Jeremy J. Olson
Manchester Ward 11