New Hampshire HB 1136: relative to accessory dwelling units.

Bill Text

HB 1136 - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

 26-2289

 06/07

HOUSE BILL 1136

AN ACT relative to accessory dwelling units.

SPONSORS: Rep. Turcotte, Straf. 4; Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. B. Boyd, Hills. 12; Rep. Perez, Rock. 16; Rep. Terry, Belk. 7; Rep. Sirois, Hills. 32; Rep. Foote, Rock. 13; Rep. Nelson, Rock. 13

COMMITTEE: Housing

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ANALYSIS

This bill:

 I. Allows municipalities to authorize accessory dwelling units by matter of right, conditional use permit, or special exception.

 II. Permits municipalities to allow more than one ADU per single-family dwelling.

 III. Clarifies that if a zoning ordinance contains no ADU provisions, one ADU shall be deemed a permitted accessory use without municipal conditions other than building permits, if required by municipal ordinance.

 IV. Expands ingress and egress standards to apply to all ADUs, not just attached units, and prohibits municipalities from limiting the choice of access method.

 V. Allows municipalities to enforce local septic pumping ordinances while maintaining the prohibition on requiring separate systems for principal and accessory units.

 VI. Affirms municipal authority to require owner occupancy of one unit, without specifying which unit, and to establish reasonable enforcement regulations.

 VII. Distinguishes between attached and detached ADUs for purposes of aesthetic regulation and size limits; attached ADUs may be regulated for aesthetic continuity with the principal dwelling; detached ADUs may be subject to aesthetic standards only if such standards apply to the principal dwelling; and municipalities may set minimum and maximum size limits, but may not restrict ADUs to less than 750 square feet.

 VIII. Allows municipalities to impose a familial relationship between occupants of the ADU and the principal dwelling.

 IX. Allows municipalities to prohibit ADUs associated with townhouses, manufactured housing or rented/leased land.

 X. Prohibits condominium conveyance of an ADU separate from the principal dwelling unless expressly allowed by the municipality.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 26-2289

 06/07

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT relative to accessory dwelling units.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 Accessory Dwelling Units Definitions. Amend RSA 674:71 to read as follows:

 674:71 Definitions. 

 As used in this subdivision:

 I. "Accessory dwelling unit" means a residential living unit that is located on a lot containing a single-family dwelling that provides independent living facilities for one or more persons, including provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation, on the same parcel of land as the principal dwelling unit it accompanies. Accessory dwelling units may be constructed at the same time as the principal dwelling unit.

 II. "Attached unit" means a unit that is within or physically connected to the principal dwelling unit[, or completely contained within a preexisting detached structure]. 

 III. "Detached unit" means a unit that is neither within nor physically connected to the principal dwelling unit[, nor completely contained within a preexisting detached structure]. 

 2 Accessory Dwelling Units. Amend RSA 674:72 to read as follows:

 674:72 Accessory Dwelling Units.

 I. A municipality that adopts a zoning ordinance pursuant to the authority granted in this chapter shall allow one accessory dwelling units in all zoning districts that permit single-family dwellings either as a matter of right, by conditional use permit pursuant to RSA 674:21 or by special exception. [One accessory dwelling unit, which may be either attached or detached, shall be allowed as a matter of right.] The municipality shall allow one accessory dwelling unit without additional requirements for lot size, except as described by this section, setbacks, aesthetic requirements, design review requirements, frontage, space limitations, or other controls beyond what would be required for a single-family dwelling without an accessory dwelling unit. The municipality may not impose greater requirements for a septic system for a single-family home with an accessory dwelling unit than is required by the department of environmental services, except that any local septic pumping ordinances shall apply. The municipality[ is not required to] may allow more than one accessory dwelling unit for any single-family dwelling. The municipality may prohibit accessory dwelling units associated with multiple single-family dwellings att