Johanna Richardson tugged on her purple felted vest as she spoke.
The handmade item is an example of one of the many things Richardson, 72, does to supplement her social security check and make rent in Marlborough. She anticipates she may need to keep her knitting and felting business running into her 80s and 90s to support herself.
She can’t imagine ever being able to afford her own property or house again. What could help her, she told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, is the possibility of living in a tiny home on wheels on someone else’s land.
Her daughter is building a home in Keene, she added, and she likes the idea of being able to live in a tiny house on wheels in the backyard.
“Being able to hook up my own self-contained custom tiny home on wheels on someone else’s property allows me to live independently while providing the landowner assistance and security in knowing that someone is on the property,” Richardson said.
House Bill 1681 could make Richardson’s dream possible. It would classify so-called “innovative housing structures” — such as tiny homes, tiny homes on wheels and yurts — in state law as permanent housing, like a single-family home or accessory dwelling unit.
They’d be capped at 600 square feet and subject to the same building standards and local zoning oversight as any other residence.
Supporters framed these structures as a more affordable option amid New Hampshire’s housing crisis.
“This legislation really could help with people being able to afford something that isn’t going to break the bank,” said Mike Danis, a contractor from New Ipswich. He owns Tiny Houses of New Hampshire, a business that he has previously pitched to legislators as a tool to build more housing.
It would allow people to afford housing while saving for a larger home, own their residence or use a tiny home on wheels as a sort of mobile accessory dwelling unit, Danis said. New Hampshire passed a law last year allowing accessory dwelling units, also called granny flats or in-law apartments, to bypass the review of local zoning boards.
Tiny homes can be several hundred dollars cheaper to build per square foot than a full-sized house.
Tiny homes and the like are already allowed in New Hampshire, but people can struggle to obtain financing for them, said the bill’s chief architect, Rep. Michael Aron of South Acworth.
Solidifying them as a housing option in state law, subject to all the same building code requirements, could make lenders more inclined to grant mortgages and loans, Aron said.
Some communities have embraced tiny homes. In Dover, for example, one couple built a 44-unit tiny-home community to provide affordable housing for their employees.
Assessors and state senators shared Aron’s goal but said they were concerned over how these structures would be taxed after they had been on a single property for 180 days.
“If at Day 179 the structure is relocated elsewhere — because they are movable in many instances — for a few days and then returned, does that restart the 180-day clock, giving the owner year-round housing, property-tax free?” asked Sen. Denise Ricciardi, a Bedford Republican. “That could be a nightmare and a burden to the taxpayer.”
Danis said he’s not concerned about people temporarily moving their tiny houses to avoid taxation. The process of transporting one is so expensive and complicated that it wouldn’t be reasonable, he said.
“It’s not like a camper where you kind of hook it up and in a flash you can unhook it,” Danis said. “That would cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. You’re better off just to pay the property tax bill on it at that point.”
Still, senators indicated they want major changes made to the taxation piece of the bill before passing it.
If it were enacted, the law is unlikely to have a tangible impact on New Hampshire’s housing supply but could provide a more affordable — and mobile — option on the individual level.
“It’s not any kind of a silver bullet that’s gonna help with tons of housing. I can’t see thousands of people buying tiny houses,” Danis said. “But I think there’s a market for it and I think there’s people who would like to do it.”
What’s next: The Senate Commerce Committee will make its recommendation on HB 1681 in the coming weeks. Then, it’ll head to the full Senate for a vote.
