It’s Not Just a Housing Issue, New Hampshire.
It’s a health issue, an economic issue, and a moral one.
Across New Hampshire, families are making impossible choices: live in unsafe, overcrowded, and unhealthy housing—or risk having nowhere to go at all. From Berlin to Keene, Nashua to North Conway, the message is clear: the Granite State is in the midst of a housing crisis that is not just about supply and demand, but about the stability, safety, and dignity of our communities.
The NH Children’s Health Dashboard shows that living in an Older Home, defined as one built between 1940 and 1969, is the leading condition linked to poor health outcomes for children and families, and that Owner Occupied Substandard Housing is the twelfth strongest.
Why? Older homes are more likely to contain lead paint, and protecting children from lead exposure is important because it can affect their health for their whole lives. There is no “safe” blood lead level in children. Substandard housing can mean too many people living in one place, not having basic things like water and proper toilets, and high costs. These problems are associated with bad outcomes for children and their families, like poverty, being left out of society, and poor health.
In addition to the Dashboard’s comprehensive data overview, the New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation commissioned a professionally conducted qualitative assessment to gain deeper insights into the conditions, gathering input from parents, guardians, and experts.
This recent assessment involved 22 key informant interviews with individuals across the state who have expertise in issues affecting children, and ten focus groups engaging 64 parents and guardians of children aged birth to 17.
In these interviews and focus groups, residents, parents, and service providers spoke candidly about their struggles to find and keep safe, affordable housing. From seasonal short-term rentals pricing out locals, to crumbling apartments with lead paint and no heat, to mounting fears of eviction for simply asking a landlord to fix a leak—the lived reality stands in stark contrast to the state’s image of quiet prosperity.
This is not just a housing issue, it’s a health issue, an economic issue, and a moral one.
When Housing is Out of Reach
The story begins with a fundamental shift in who can afford to live in New Hampshire. Local informants across the state cite the impact of tourism, remote work, and out-of-state investment.
“We are in a high tourist industry area. During COVID, lots of homes got bought up,” noted a key informant from Carroll County during one of our assessment interviews.
“People who can work remotely can live anywhere and have taken up a lot of housing,” echoed a service provider in Rockingham and Strafford counties.
“You can’t compete with out-of-state money that buys up apartments,” added a Merrimack County key informant.
Even where housing is available, much of it is tied up in seasonal rentals, leaving year-round residents with limited options.
A key informant representing a statewide organization said, “I think we have plenty of housing units, but too many are for seasonal rental. From Laconia through the ski towns, I see hundreds of seasonal rentals on the way to the store. I’d love to see policies that require developers to include some number of housing units for year-round rentals among those seasonal rentals, but I don’t know how you get that kind of zoning change.”
Rents That Break the Budget
Market rents across New Hampshire now far outpace what many families can afford. Focus group participants reported rent for a two-bedroom apartment ranging from $1200 to $1500 in Berlin, Lancaster, and Claremont to $1800 to $2000 in Manchester, Nashua, Keene, Concord and Lebanon.
“We have minimal affordable housing. It is a crisis here. Keene Housing is in the midst of building another project and there are big efforts going on for more affordable housing. But the whole middle-class piece is missing. Even if housing is available, the cost is prohibitive for those that don’t qualify for assistance. There is no middle range of homes available. Our homeless situation is increasing,” commented a key informant from Keene.
As noted, high rents have fueled homelessness and housing instability.
“Homelessness is huge! I know a single mom with three kids who is homeless. They are couch surfing,” said one Keene focus group participant.
Substandard Conditions, Fear of Eviction
Even for those who find housing, conditions are often poor. Families describe mold, lead, leaks, and absentee landlords—with fear of eviction preventing them from speaking out.
“People are making sacrifices in terms of where they live. When you don’t have a lot of money, you don’t have a lot of choice about where you live in the community. For example, we have a lot of asbestos and lead in our community and a lot of bad landlords. And you are just stuck,” a Rochester focus group participant said.
“We see people paying $2,500 a month for an apartment not worth nearly that. Bed bugs, lead, leaking ceiling due to second floor plumbing leaks. New construction is for luxury apartments,” a Hillsborough County key informant noted.
Several participants explained that there is tremendous fear of eviction if tenants complain to their landlords and demand that problems with their units be addressed. Some have resorted to fixing problems at their own expense.
“Our place flooded, like Niagara Falls,’ a parent in a Rochester focus group related. “Now, we have multiple layers of old moldy flooring. But you don’t want to complain too much, you know? When my youngest tested positive for lead, they came in and painted everything white, the walls, the trim, the baseboards, everything. Now, it is all peeling. So, my husband and I are trying to decide if we should fix these things ourselves.”
“We have lots of older homes here. Lots of lead. And people can’t say anything to their landlords about mold or water or their heating not working because they have no other place to go. They are putting up with these conditions in order to have a place live” a Carroll County key informant said. “They can’t speak up to their landlords whose attitude is, ‘You are a problem, and I can rent to someone else. There is a long line of people behind you.’ These are not small issues. They are serious.”
The Impact on Children and Families
Unstable housing has deep consequences for families, especially children. Without a permanent address, families lose access to services. Constant moves disrupt health care, schooling and emotional well-being.
A statewide key informant told us, “Not having affordable housing introduces instability and uncertainty which affects kids’ sense of safety. To not be sure you will live in the same place in the future is scary.”
Another commented, “I don’t know how families are doing it. When there is housing instability and they have to move to another town, it affect the kids’ health, stability, academics and their level of stress.”
“There are a lot of people couch surfing, which also affects benefits because you have to have an address to get benefits,” a Lancaster parent noted.
Barriers Beyond Rent
Finding housing is just the beginning. High deposits, credit checks, and past records lock many people out.
“You need three times the rent, a credit check, and have to pay to turn everything on,” a Claremont focus group participant told us.
“I was a felon when I was 19 and I got turned down for multiple apartments,” a parent from Lebanon said. “I was so intimidated. Finally, I had to appeal because I have a child, and we need a place to live. But even a felony from 10 years ago, it’s still on your record.”
For those in recovery, housing barriers can prevent them from reuniting with children.
“We were working with a single mom,” a service provider in Lebanon told us. “She hadn’t had any success with out-patient treatment. She finally gets a spot in residential treatment. The kids are not in the home because of her substance use. While she was in treatment, the movers didn’t get her stuff out of her previous apartment in time, and she got an eviction notice. She did great in treatment and is on the road to recovery. She has to have an apartment to regain custody of her children, but she is now ineligible for Section 8 housing because of the eviction notice.”
Homeownership and Kinship Care: The New Strain
Even homeowners are feeling the pressure—especially grandparents unexpectedly raising grandchildren. These kinship caregivers often face home repair needs, rising property taxes and increasing utility bills.
“Most people can’t afford to own but those who do, their taxes keep going up,” a Belknap County key informant commented.
“I own my home but in having to pay for food and clothes and health care and all, I don’t have money to keep up with the work on my house and, over time, the small things become big things. A small leak becomes a much bigger issue,” a Rochester parent confided.
“Even if you own, the cost to maintain and heat a home is outrageous,” a Concord focus group participant said.
Individuals providing care to grandchildren participated in five of the focus groups. Among the focus group participants, grandparents were more likely to be homeowners. Most bought their homes many years ago, when costs were lower. Most were planning for retirement. However, the unanticipated expense of raising their grandchildren has had an impact on their housing and overall finances.
“My husband and I spent three years building our retirement home, but we did it without a mortgage. Then we got a call saying, ‘You have to take these children.’ With the cost of food and clothing for four kids and all the services they need to address their trauma, we had to take a mortgage out on the house, and we are up to our eyeballs in credit card debt,” a North Conway focus group participant told us.
What Needs to Change
Despite the challenges, participants in our focus groups and key informant interviews voiced ideas and hope for solutions:
- Require new housing developments to include affordable units
- Remove barriers like long waitlists for housing programs
- Increase funding for housing vouchers
- Strengthen tenant protections
- Support kinship caregivers with stable aid
- Enforce housing health and safety codes
- Lessen the state’s reliance on local property taxes to keep tax increases to a minimum
What Can You Do?
The New Hampshire Children’s Health Dashboard offers data, insight, and tools for anyone ready to act. Explore housing-related health measures, learn what drives disparities, and dig into local conditions in the “Now What?” section of the Older Home and Owner Substandard Housing pages.
You’ll find evidence-backed levers for change—and ways to build momentum from the ground up.
For more information on the Children’s Health Dashboard, contact Alisa Druzba, Director of Research and Community Impact, at ad@nhchildrenshealthfoundation.org.