Mortgage discharge
legislation moves forward
Last week, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 437, which would bring much-needed relief for some buyers and sellers who, during a title examination, discover a mortgage was not discharged properly. Those situations have led to lengthy delays, unnecessary expenses, and the failure of transactions to close.
The legislation states that after Jan. 1, 2028, all undischarged mortgages in which the term is not stated will be deemed discharged, without the necessity of any further action, 35 years from the date of recording of the mortgage, unless an extension of the mortgage, or an acknowledgment or affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied, is recorded. Similarly, if the mortgage term is stated, the discharge will be assumed five years after that date.
NHAR testified in support. The Senate should take up the bill next month.
Towns will need to demonstrate health and safety risk
House Bill 410 would restrict a municipality’s ability to adopt certain ordinances related to zoning unless there is a compelling governmental interest in protecting health or safety. A town would need to provide evidence, such as written findings of fact, scientific studies, or other quantitative and empirical evidence, to support its finding that public health or safety are at risk.
Among the specific ordinances which would require this higher level of health and safety finding would be:
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any minimum square footage requirement for a dwelling or unit in excess of 200 square feet;
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any lot size requirement greater than 5 gross acres per primary dwelling unit, or greater than 0.5 gross acres per primary dwelling unit if the lot is served by off-site municipal water and sewer systems;
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any road frontage requirement greater than 200 feet per primary dwelling unit, or greater than 50 feet if the lot is served by off-site water and sewer system.
If enacted, a town could not enforce such an ordinance unless it has been narrowly tailored and supported by compelling evidence that it is needed to protect health and safety.
Prohibiting towns from mandating blood relations
Under current law, cities and towns have argued that they have authority to mandate that occupants of a housing unit be related by blood or marriage. House Bill 457 proposes to make it clear that such requirements are not permitted. The bill adds a line in NH’s equal housing opportunity law to say, “Cities, towns, and municipalities shall not mandate that occupants of housing units be related by blood or marriage.” NHAR supports the bill.
The bill has passed the House and is expected to be taken up in the Senate next month.
News from Washington: FinCen halted
On March 21, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an interim final rule making significant changes to the Beneficial Ownership Information reporting rule (BOI Rule) under the Corporate Transparency Act. Under the new interim rule, U.S. companies and persons are not required to report to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act, effective immediately. Most businesses, including real estate brokers, had fallen under the requirements to file.
Given the interim rule changes, FinCEN is seeking comments for a 60-day period regarding the interim rule and will issue a final rule at a later date. However, the exemption from reporting business ownership information for U.S. companies and U.S. persons took effect on March 21, 2025.
NAR will continue to track the BOI Rule and provide updates on the final rule once it has been issued.
Quote of the Week
“These aren’t rocket-science changes. They’re based on common sense. You start removing some of those obstacles and it’ll have some impact on housing stock here.”
–Tim Sink, CEO of the Concord Chamber of Commerce, commenting on the city’s efforts to reform zoning, remove unnecessary bureaucratic ordinances, and attract more business. (“Open up some doors: Concord urged to make itself more attractive to developers,” Concord Monitor, March 28, 2025)
For more information, contact New Hampshire Realtors CEO Bob Quinn: bob@nhar.com.