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FY27 Budget Guide Capital Improvement Plan Property Taxes
Adopted by City Council 9–0 · February 2026

Portsmouth Has a Housing Action Plan

A structured list of action items across 13 categories — on the record. The City's triage and prioritization process is due to the Council by July 2026. Progress Portsmouth tracks every item so you don't have to.

Explore the action items →
What rents cost today Housing meetings tracker Media coverage & analysis
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For employers & business owners
Housing & Your Business
How the Housing Action Plan affects your workforce — plus an employee survey template you can deploy this week. Includes a ready-to-use Google Forms survey for gathering worker housing data.
Open the guide →
Data tracker
Portsmouth Housing Pipeline
Active and proposed housing projects — from early concept through occupancy. Updated as projects move forward.
Explore the data →
362 pages of zoning law. Plain English. You're welcome. →
Townhouses on Lincoln Avenue, Portsmouth NH
Lincoln Avenue townhouses — an excellent housing type that would require a zoning variance to build today.
Why it matters

Portsmouth's zoning rules make it illegal to build the housing we already have.

The city's existing zoning restricts the kinds of homes that made Portsmouth a great place to live. Enabling more homes of all types — and modernizing the rules that prevent them — is the central challenge of the Housing Action Plan.

For homeowners & developers

Opportunities worth exploring

Practical guides to what's possible in Portsmouth today

Prefab ADU cottage
Homeowners
Room on your lot? Add an ADU.

Permitted by right in all single-family zones — no variance needed. We condensed 40 pages of city rules to one.

Read the guide →
Co-living interior
Developers
Explore co-living projects

Allowed in downtown, gateway, and character districts — an innovative model for residents who want less space and more community.

Read the primer →
Stay in the loop

Housing news that actually matters

Portsmouth's housing decisions move fast. Our newsletter goes out when something happens — not on a schedule. No filler, no fluff.

Want to help advocate for housing in Portsmouth? Send us your name and email.
Deep dive: research & data
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