Tiny Homes: Addressing Housing and Educational Opportunity Inequities in New Hampshire’s HB588

With the rise of unemployment amidst the economic recession created by the spike in COVID-19 cases in the United States, homelessness has become an increasingly pressing issue; from early 2018 to early 2019 alone, the national homeless population has grown by 15,000 people. [1] Furthermore, the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey found that twenty-three million Americans report a deficit in their food intake and 1 in 4 renters reported that they were behind on rent. [2] However, despite the growing financial burden of the economic recession, its disproportionate influence on low-income and racial minority households, and the steady growth in systemic wage gaps, there is still significant controversy surrounding a proposed New Hampshire law that might help to mitigate housing inequities. HB588, a copy of the 2020 bill SB482 which died during the COVID-19 shutdown, would allow “tiny houses” — 100 to 400 square foot dwelling units — to reside next to regular homes in every New Hampshire county. [3] A version of this bill was passed in 2016 but allowed counties to refuse the occupancy of tiny houses, but HB588 would make this allowance universal. I argue that HB588 should be passed because it enforces the constitutionally-guaranteed assertions under the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and addresses the educational gap in different socioeconomic communities under the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974. 

As the use of state lines tends to segregate communities of color from white neighborhoods, the passage of HB588 to allow affordable housing through tiny homes would address the absence of people of color in white neighborhoods, where homes tend to be valued at higher prices. Under the Federal Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability,[4] the rejection of affordable dwelling spaces in all New Hampshire counties would allow for white communities to reject the presence of people of color in their neighborhoods. Racial minorities tend to be forced into lower-value homes, so rejecting tiny homes on the basis of maintaining high property values could serve to exclude low-income people, who are disproportionately people of color, from certain residential areas. Therefore, since homes in white neighborhoods have appreciated in value up to $200,000 more than homes in neighborhoods of color, I argue that HB588 rightfully addresses the concerns of the Federal Housing Act by providing buyers and renters of color the equal opportunity to reside in communities they otherwise would not be able to afford. 

Because property taxes play a major role in school funding, allowing tiny homes in wealthy neighborhoods would allow renters and buyers of color to populate communities with well-funded public schools, ensuring equal opportunity in education established by the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974. The Equal Educational Opportunities Act asserts that no student can be denied a public education on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability,[5] but it does not enforce the creation of equal public education systems that address the systemic inequities between wealthier and poorer schools. For example, Lebanon, CT is 90% white and spends roughly $22,000 per pupil each year, whereas the nearby city of Winham, CT is only 25% white and spends $3,000 less per pupil each year.[6] Furthermore, higher-income towns — which tend to be less diverse — tend to also have greater access to guidance counselors, school psychologists, updated textbooks, and modern technology.[7] Therefore, there is a huge disparity between the quality of education of high property-value neighborhoods and comparatively lower property-value neighborhoods, hence the resistance to tiny houses, which are believed to diminish the quality of towns by decreasing home values and thus draining money from these better-funded school systems. I argue, however, that the existence of these tiny homes will allow for not only decreased homelessness, which 3,982 students and adults experienced in New Hampshire in 2019,[8] but also resolve the systemic educational inequities that have not been fully addressed by the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.

Given the affordability and eco-friendliness of tiny homes, the fear of HB588 decreasing property values of neighboring homes serves merely to segregate lower-income and socioeconomically-disadvantaged racial groups from entering specific high-income communities and obtaining a higher quality education. By its fulfillment of the promises made in the Federal Housing Act of 1968 and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974, HB588 is constitutional as it serves to provide housing access to lower-income families and educational options from which they were previously excluded. 

[1] Joseph Llobrera et al., “New Data: Millions Struggling to Eat and Pay Rent,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, September 23, 2020.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Brown, Anna. “Tiny House Law Proposed in N.H.” Concord Monitor. Concord Monitor, February 24, 2021. 

[4]  Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act: HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),” 2020.

[5] United States Department of Justice, “The Equal Educational Opportunities Act in Action,” The Educational Opportunities Act in Action, April 7, 2017.

[6] Alvin Chang, “How Segregation Keeps Poor Students of Color out of Whiter, Richer Nearby Districts,” Vox (Vox, July 25, 2019).

[7] American Psychology Association, “Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Education: Psychology’s Contributions to Understanding and Reducing Disparities,” APA (APA Council of Representatives, n.d.), accessed August 3, 2012.

[8] United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, “New Hampshire Homelessness Statistics,” Homeless in New Hampshire Statistics 2018. Homeless Estimation by State | US Interagency Council on Homelessness, accessed February 25, 2021.