How can we solve the housing crisis?
It should be no secret that New Hampshire is in a housing crisis. The only solution is more housing, yet at every turn there are obstacles: zoning regulations, NIMBYism, greed and cost being just a few. I would love nothing more than for towns to rid themselves of their restrictive regulations, not for more single-family properties on large acreage, but for multi-family housing in the way of condos and apartments.
I would love it if folks would not carry stereotypes of “those people” who may live in low-income properties if more were to be built. I would love it if landlords refused to raise their rents beyond that necessary to cover costs, lowered rents and were banned from evictions. I would love it if builders didn’t look for the next project in terms of their profit, but the needs of the community.
Even if all these loves of mine were to become a reality, it would still not confront what I think needs to change in our housing mindsets — communal living. Countless single family homes sit idly with one or two or more bedrooms empty, waiting for the one to two times a year that children or family visit from out of town.
If this describes your home, please consider what it might take to fill those rooms. It could be a friend or group of friends that choose to move in together, thus opening up an entire home for rent or sale to more people. Imagine if across this state and nation folks didn’t tolerate half-empty homes, but consolidated and filled them. We would no longer have a housing crisis. The only thing holding us back is the imagination and will to change.
Justin Charles
Rindge