New Hampshire renter rights: the basics for first-time renters

Last reviewed: October 2026 · First Apartment Kit

New Hampshire's renter rules are spread across RSA 540 (evictions), RSA 540-A (prohibited practices and security deposits), and RSA 48-A (minimum housing standards). Most apartments count as “restricted property,” which means a landlord needs a legal reason to evict. This guide summarizes those statutes as published by the New Hampshire General Court, plus the Judicial Branch's landlord-tenant pages.

Quick facts

Security deposit max	1 month's rent or $100, whichever is greater
Deposit returned within	30 days, with an itemized list of damages
Interest on deposit	Yes, if the landlord holds it 1 year or longer
Late fee cap	No state cap found — check your lease
Rent increase notice	At least 30 days in writing (to use a refused increase as grounds to evict)
Eviction reasons	Most rentals need a legal reason (“good cause”)
Landlord entry	Only with your prior consent, except emergency repairs
Unpaid rent notice	Demand for rent + 7-day eviction notice; paying all back rent plus $15 before the hearing stops it

Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.

Security deposits

Cap: one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater.
Receipt and condition list: unless you paid by check, the landlord must give you a signed receipt saying where the deposit is held. Either way, you must be told you can give the landlord a written list of anything needing repair within 5 days of moving in. Do it, and keep a copy.
Held in trust: the deposit stays your money and can't be mixed with the landlord's own funds.
Interest: if the landlord holds your deposit for a year or more, you're owed interest at the rate paid on regular savings accounts at the bank where it's kept.
Return: within 30 days after the tenancy ends, with interest. Deductions for damage beyond reasonable wear and tear need a written, itemized list and evidence the repairs were or will be done, such as receipts or estimates. Unpaid rent or other lawful charges must also be itemized.
If the landlord doesn't comply: the landlord can owe you twice the deposit plus interest, minus legitimate charges. Give your new address. If you don't, the landlord isn't penalized, and an unclaimed deposit becomes the landlord's after 6 months.

Rent increases and late fees

New Hampshire doesn't cap rent. For most apartments (restricted property), refusing a rent increase can be “good cause” for eviction only if the landlord gave you written notice of the amount and effective date at least 30 days before the increase. The state laws reviewed here don't cap late fees, so read your lease.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

Restricted vs. nonrestricted: nonrestricted property is a single-family house whose owner has no more than three such houses, a unit in an owner-occupied building with four or fewer units, or a house a bank took through foreclosure. Everything else rented as a home is restricted, and the landlord can end the tenancy only for reasons listed in the law: unpaid rent, substantial damage, breaking a material lease term, behavior that threatens health or safety, or other good cause, including a legitimate business or economic reason.

New for July 1, 2026: for leases of 12 months or longer (or shorter leases renewed to a total of 12 months), the lease simply ending can now be a reason to evict, but only if the landlord gave written notice at least 60 days before the end date and files in court within 6 months after the lease expires. Retaliation and discrimination defenses still apply.

Notice periods: most eviction notices for residential tenancies are 30 days; notices for unpaid rent, substantial damage, or health-and-safety behavior are 7 days. A tenant can end a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' written notice. If the end date isn't a rent day, you owe rent through the next rent day unless the lease says otherwise.

When the landlord can come in

New Hampshire law says a landlord may not willfully enter your home without your prior consent, except to make emergency repairs (which includes responding to a pest infestation within 72 hours of learning of it). In turn, you can't willfully refuse access for needed repairs or other reasonable, lawful purposes at a reasonable time after adequate notice. For checking whether bed bugs have spread from a neighboring unit, the landlord must give 48 hours' written notice.

Repairs and living conditions

Where a town hasn't adopted its own housing code, state law (RSA 48-A:14) bans renting a home with problems such as pest or bed bug infestations without a remediation program, defective plumbing or sewage backups, dangerous wiring, leaking roofs or walls, falling plaster, big holes in floors or walls, unsound stairs or railings, inadequate water or hot water, gas leaks, or heating that doesn't work properly. Landlords must also investigate a reported infestation within 7 days.

Rent withholding as a defense: if you're sued for nonpayment, you have a defense if the home has a substantial fitness violation that materially affects habitability and, while you were current on rent, you gave notice and the landlord didn't fix it within 14 days (or sooner in an emergency). You must prove this by clear and convincing evidence, and the court will have you pay withheld rent into court. New Hampshire has no general repair-and-deduct law, so get advice before withholding.

Write it all down from day one. The 12-page First Apartment Move-In Kit has a first-week timeline, lease and building facts, a utilities board, room-by-room unpacking, and a first-month money sheet — so your lease facts, notice dates, and move-in notes live in one place. $9.99 on Etsy. Undated.

Get the kit — $9.99 on Etsy

Eviction basics

Only a court can evict you. Shutting off utilities, locking you out, or removing your belongings without a court order is illegal. You can file a free RSA 540-A petition in district court for an order and damages (at least $1,000 for violations covered by the state consumer protection remedy).

For unpaid rent, the landlord serves a demand for rent and a 7-day eviction notice stating the reason. You can stop the case at any time before the hearing by paying all rent owed, other lawful charges, $15 in liquidated damages, and the landlord's filing and service costs. You can do this up to 3 times in 12 months. After the notice expires, the landlord gets a Landlord/Tenant Writ, served by the sheriff. You must file an Appearance by the return date on the writ (the Judicial Branch says that is 7 days from service, and it is not the hearing date). If you file, a hearing is held in about 10 days. If you don't, the court issues a default, and a writ of possession can follow in as little as 5 business days.

The Judicial Branch's Eviction Diversion Program offers free mediation before a case is filed: 603-271-6418.

Retaliation and discrimination

Unless you owe a week's rent or more, it's a defense to eviction that the landlord is retaliating because you reported a code or RSA 540-A violation, used your legal remedies, or met with other tenants. Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking also have protection from eviction based on that abuse.

New Hampshire law (RSA 354-A:10) bans housing discrimination based on age, sex, gender identity, race, religion, color, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, or national origin. The New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights takes complaints.

City and county rules

Cities and towns can adopt their own housing codes under RSA 48-A, and where they do, those local standards apply instead of the state minimums. Check with your city's code enforcement or health officer.

Move-in checklist for New Hampshire renters

☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar

Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.

Where to get help in New Hampshire

NH Judicial Branch — Landlord/Tenant (District Division) — forms, Appearance, and the eviction video; info center 1-855-212-1234.
NH Commission for Human Rights — housing discrimination complaints.
NH Attorney General — Consumer Protection & Antitrust Bureau — deposit violations are also consumer-protection violations.
Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.

More help

Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):

603 Legal Aid — free legal help for eligible renters, 1-800-639-5290 (nonprofit).

Official sources

These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.

Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.

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