Then he was shocked to learn last week that his landlord wanted to raise the rent on his $1,824 two-bedroom unit by $998 a month for 12 months or $459 a month for a 23-month lease extension.

After talking with the leasing company, Scaggs received a revised offer on Friday of $2,283 a month. He will pay $459 more a month – 25% more — whether he extends his lease for 11, 12 or 23 months.

“We’ll be balancing the cost of moving with the cost of staying and going from there,” said Scaggs, a Rivier University student working on getting his doctorate in psychology. “It seems to be an unfortunate reality in the current rental market that, if left unchecked and unregulated, will continue to burden renters that are just trying to get by.”

Child care and escalating rents continue to weigh on families’ budgets and put more pressure on the state’s shrunken workforce. Monthly rents have crossed $3,000 in Portsmouth and topped $5,000 in Salem.

“We have heard of rental increases of many hundreds of dollars a month being imposed in some cases,” said Rob Dapice, executive director and CEO at New Hampshire Housing. “It’s not the first time we’ve heard of a jaw-dropping increase.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised at a $500 increase anymore,” said Betsey Andrews Parker, CEO of the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, which helps administer fuel assistance and federal rental funds.

Debbie Valente, president of the New Hampshire Property Owners Association, said landlords generally are raising rents by $100 to $150 a month.

“It’s time for property owners to recoup some of their losses,” said Valente, whose group represents more than 1,300 landlords.

Housing is a key ingredient in a region’s economic success.

“Having stable housing contributes to the overall success of individuals and families while also attracting businesses who can then pay competitive wages, creating a positive impact in any community,” said Ryan Clouthier, deputy director at Southern New Hampshire Services, which distributes government assistance and helps people gain employment.

“Many people are forced to prioritize their needs to ensure they maintain their current housing,” Clouthier said. “Our staff often see situations where clients will prioritize rent over food, heat or medication. This is a difficult situation and finding a more affordable unit to rent in today’s market is extremely difficult.”

Help for renters, landlords

More than 13,000 New Hampshire households have gotten approval to share more than $110 million in emergency rental assistance funds from federal pandemic efforts as of Feb. 27, according to New Hampshire Housing.

The New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program provides rent and utility assistance to eligible households who have suffered financial hardship during the pandemic.

Clouthier called that program “lifesaving,” benefiting both tenants and landlords.

“We are seeing clients come to us in financial situations they’ve never been faced with before,” he said.

“Countless situations where families, children, elderly are all on the verge of losing their housing with nowhere to go, and this program is able to provide the assistance they need to stay housed,” he said.

Some landlords have struggled financially because they weren’t able to collect rent. The aid meant landlords could retain their properties and keep “much-needed affordable housing in our community,” Clouthier said.

The emergency rental assistance has been “incredibly helpful,” Parker said.

“It has bridged more gaps than I think people realized,” she said. In Strafford County alone, more than 1,900 households received a total of $13 million.

During the last six months of 2021, New Hampshire had the 11th-lowest percentage of tenants behind on their rent payments at any given time. That rate — 11.2% — amounted to 23,387 renters, according to Stessa, a digital platform that tracks real estate assets for property investors.

Seacoast rents

Parker sees sizable monthly rent hikes along the Seacoast.

Someone she knows is paying $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in Somersworth. Another person is paying $1,700 for a two-bedroom unit in Somerville, Mass., within walking distance of a subway station, Parker said.

The ramifications of rent hikes are widespread.

People are working second jobs, getting rid of their cars, doubling up families where allowed and seeking federal fuel assistance for the first time, Parker said.

“Try going north here anytime on the Spaulding (Turnpike) and try to get past the Rochester toll,” Parker said. “Many, many more people are commuting from the northern parts of the county where it’s still affordable.”

That means they need reliable cars and have to spend more on gas and tolls, Parker said.

And speaking of her own agency, Parker said, “Our workforce, unfortunately, is moving further and further away from where we offer services. You can’t do child care remotely.”

Evictions return

After the federal government banned evictions for months during the pandemic, New Hampshire eviction case levels in February were on par with February 2020, the month before the pandemic caused widespread closures in the country.

There were 134 eviction notices filed in courts around the state for the week ending Feb. 18, the highest week of 2022. Before the pandemic, the same seventh week of 2020 had 102 eviction notices and another 149 for the week ending Feb. 21, 2020.

New Hampshire Legal Assistance helped convince the Legislature to pass a law that gives tenants more time to pay back rent and stave off eviction, said Stephanie Bray, managing attorney and foreclosure relief project director in the Claremont office.

That law took effect last July.

Housing vouchers

Low-income residents may qualify for housing vouchers that pay a portion of their rent. But if rents rise too high, the tenant may need to pick up some or all of it.

One person who was priced out “ended up buying a camper trailer and living in that,” Bray said.

Federal guidelines limit how much the vouchers can be worth depending on locality, but more people are being called to contribute more for their monthly housing, Dapice said.

“Most people don’t have the means to pay the additional rent,” Dapice said.

Despite a rebound in much of the state’s economy, not everyone has seen their work and child care situations return to pre-pandemic times.

“Anecdotally, what we’re hearing from people in trouble, whether it’s paying rent or paying a mortgage, they might be back at work but not have as many hours,” Dapice said. “Child care is a significant factor in people’s ability to work full-time as well.”