Building Permits on Class VI Roads Under Attack in New Hampshire

One of the most consequential land use bills to surface in the 2026 New Hampshire legislative session is HB 1098. It seeks to repeal a recently enacted reform before it has a chance to benefit property owners. The bill targets Chapter 256, Laws of 2025 (SB 281), which replaced decades of uncertainty with clear, statewide rules governing building permits on Class VI roads and materially improved the position of property owners.

Chapter 256 addresses a long-standing and practical problem: property owners seeking building permits on Class VI roads were subject to a patchwork of arbitrary municipal decision-making that varied widely from town to town and often from applicant to applicant. Outcomes frequently turned not on clear standards, but on local custom, institutional reluctance, or the personal views of a particular board.  At least one town had a de facto policy prohibiting building permits on Class VI roads altogether.

Chapter 256 put an end to that regime. Rather than allowing discretionary permit denials based solely on the existence of a Class VI road, the law established a straightforward, waiver-based approach. Property owners could proceed with construction if they formally acknowledged that the municipality would not maintain the road or provide services and that they assumed the associated risks. They also would be required to demonstrate the lot and the proposed buildings were insurable. In short, the law shifted responsibility to the property owner while removing municipal gatekeeping. After all, municipalities do not maintain Class VI roads.

HB 1098 would reverse that progress entirely. By restoring open-ended municipal discretion, it would resurrect the same unpredictability and uneven treatment that prompted the reform in the first place. The problems Chapter 256 was meant to solve would not merely remain unresolved; they would be re-entrenched as a matter of statute.

The timing of HB 1098 is particularly interesting. Chapter 256 has an effective date of July 1, 2026. HB 1098 lists an effective date of January 2, 2026, yet it cannot be enacted until after the legislative session begins. The evident legislative objective is to prevent Chapter 256 from ever taking effect. If enacted in time, HB 1098 would nullify a helpful reform before property owners could take advantage of it.

Context matters. Chapter 256 was part of a broader legislative effort to reduce barriers to housing construction and land use, an effort publicly acknowledged when it became law. It reflected a policy judgment that property owners, not municipalities, should bear the risks of building on roads municipalities do not maintain, and that informed adults should be permitted to make that choice.

HB 1098 would move New Hampshire back toward a system in which outcomes depend less on law and more on local discretion, personalities, and shifting political winds. That approach also carries a serious cost to property owners: unbuildable land has little economic value.

For assistance with roads, building permits, easements, real estate, or civil litigation, please contact Alfano Law at (603) 856-8411 or by filling out our Contact Form.  The firm offers free or low-cost initial consultations for most matters.