Your Rights as a Tenant

What a New Hampshire landlord may and may not do, your security deposit, repairs and heat, rent increases, and what happens in an eviction, step by step, with the law for each.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

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At a Glance

In New Hampshire only a court can make you leave your home: a landlord may not lock you out, shut off your utilities or hold your belongings to force you out. For most rentals, a security deposit can be no more than one month’s rent or $100, whichever is more, and it comes back within 30 days after you move out, less the cost of any damage beyond normal wear and tear. Your home must meet basic standards for heat, water, plumbing and safety. If you get an eviction notice or court papers, read the dates and get free legal help right away.

What is happening?
- You were locked out, or a utility was shut offThat is against the law. Ask the district court to order it stopped; there is no filing fee.
- Something needs repairTell your landlord in writing. If it is not fixed, ask your town whether it has a housing code and who enforces it.
- You got an eviction notice or court papersRead the dates, and get free legal help now. Only a court can make you leave.
- You are moving outYour deposit comes back within 30 days, with a written list of any deductions.
Keep copies of your lease, rent receipts, letters and photos.

Step by Step

Your rights as a tenant

Only a court can make you leave
A landlord may not:
- shut off or interrupt a utility, such as water, heat, electricity or gas, except briefly while repairs are made or in an emergency;
- lock you out, or keep you from your home or your belongings, except through the court;
- enter your home without your consent, except to make emergency repairs or with a court’s order.
You, in turn, may not damage the landlord’s property or keep the landlord from making necessary repairs, at a reasonable time after notice that is adequate for the situation.
If a landlord breaks these rules, you can file a petition in the circuit court’s district division where the home is. There is no filing fee, you do not need a lawyer, and the clerk has the forms. The court holds a hearing within 30 days of the filing or 10 days after the landlord is served, whichever is later, and can order the landlord to stop at once if you face immediate harm. It can also award you damages, and order the landlord to pay your costs and attorney’s fees.
Landlord and tenant cases (Judicial Branch)
The law: RSA 540-A:2, RSA 540-A:3, RSA 540-A:4
Your security deposit
- The limit: one month’s rent or $100, whichever is more.
- A receipt stating the amount and where the deposit is held, unless you paid by check.
- Within 5 days of moving in, give your landlord a written list of anything in the home that needs repair, and keep a copy. Your landlord must tell you that you can.
- When you move out, the landlord returns it within 30 days, with any interest. A landlord who keeps any of it for damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, unpaid rent or other charges must give you a written, itemized list.
Give your landlord your new address when you leave. A landlord who does not return a deposit as the law requires can owe you twice the amount wrongly kept.
The law: RSA 540-A:5, RSA 540-A:6, RSA 540-A:7, RSA 540-A:8
Repairs, heat and a safe home
Where your town has no housing code of its own, the law sets the minimum: no insect, rodent or bed bug infestation left without an inspection and treatment program; no defective plumbing or sewage back-up; no exposed wires or other danger of shock or fire; no roof or walls that leak; no falling plaster, large holes, or unsound porches, stairs or railings; enough water and working hot water equipment; no gas leaks; and heat that can keep every room at an average of at least 65 degrees. Towns with a housing code enforce their own standards.
Tell your landlord in writing what needs fixing, and keep a copy. If it is not fixed, ask your town or city whether it has a housing code: where it does, a town board or officer enforces it and can find a home unfit to live in. A landlord must look into a report of bed bugs or other pests within 7 days.
The law: RSA 48-A:14, RSA 48-A:3, RSA 540-A:3, RSA 540:13-d
Rent increases, the end of a lease, and retaliation
When a landlord needs a reason. For most rentals, a landlord can end your tenancy only for a reason the law lists: unpaid rent, substantial damage, breaking a material term of the lease, behavior that threatens others’ health or safety, or other good cause, which can be a legitimate business or economic reason. A lease of 12 months or longer, counting renewals, can also end at its term, if the landlord gave you written notice at least 60 days before and goes to court within 6 months after the lease ends. The exceptions, where no reason is needed: a single-family house whose owner owns no more than 3, a unit in a building of 4 units or fewer that the owner lives in, and a single-family house a bank or other lender took through foreclosure.
Rent increases. Refusing a rent increase can be good cause to evict, but only if the landlord gave you written notice of the amount and the date at least 30 days before it takes effect.
Retaliation. A landlord may not evict you for reporting a code violation, for going to court under the tenant protection law, or for meeting with other tenants, unless you owe a week’s rent or more. An eviction, a rent increase or a big change in your terms within 6 months of that is presumed to be retaliation, and the court can award you up to 3 months’ rent.
The law: RSA 540:1-a, RSA 540:2, RSA 540:11, RSA 540:11-b, RSA 540:13-a, RSA 540:13-b, RSA 540:14

If you are facing eviction

If you get an eviction notice or court papers
- The eviction notice must be in writing and say why. It gives you 7 days to leave for unpaid rent, substantial damage or a threat to others’ safety, and 30 days for other reasons. It does not make you leave by itself: if you stay, the landlord must go to court.
- For unpaid rent, the case is dismissed if, before the hearing, you pay all the rent you owe, other lawful charges, $15 and the landlord’s filing and service costs. You can do this up to 3 times in a 12-month period.
- Before any court case, the court’s free Eviction Diversion Program offers a mediator to help you and your landlord reach an agreement.
- If you are served court papers (a Landlord/Tenant Writ), file an Appearance by the return date on the writ, and an answer with your defenses no more than 5 days after it. If you do not, you can lose without a hearing.
- If you lose, the court may give you up to 60 days to move, or 75 in limited cases you must prove, if you pay the rent each week in advance and have not defaulted. To appeal, file a notice of intent to appeal within 7 days of the decision, and pay rent as it comes due.
Landlord and tenant cases (Judicial Branch)
The law: RSA 540:3, RSA 540:9, RSA 540:13, RSA 540:13-c, RSA 540-A:3

Common Questions

Do the deposit rules apply to every landlord?

The deposit rules apply to most landlords. They do not apply to someone who rents out a single-family home and owns no other rental property, or who rents units in a building of 5 units or fewer that they live in themselves, unless the tenant is 60 or older.

Do I get interest on my deposit?

It stays your money, held in trust. If it is held for a year or longer, the landlord pays you the interest it earned.

Can I hold back rent until repairs are made?

If you are evicted for not paying rent, the court may refuse the eviction when the home has a serious health or safety violation that you reported in writing while you were not behind on rent, and the landlord did not fix it within 14 days. The court may require you to pay the rent into court meanwhile. Holding back rent is risky: talk to legal aid before you do.

How do I end a month-to-month tenancy myself?

Moving out yourself. To end a month-to-month tenancy, give 30 days’ written notice. A victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking can end a lease early, with written verification, if the abuse happened within the last 150 days, and must then leave within 30 days. For most rentals, a landlord may not end a tenancy solely because a tenant is a victim, once the tenant gives written verification.

What happens to things I leave behind?

After you leave, your landlord must store anything you left behind, with reasonable care, for 7 days, and let you take it without paying rent or storage fees.

Who Can Help

Get help as early as you can, before a deadline passes. Your town or city can tell you whether it has a housing code and who enforces it. For an eviction, a lockout or a deposit:

Free civil legal aid. New Hampshire Legal Assistance helps people with low income and limited assets, and adults 60 and over, mainly with housing (including property tax deeding), domestic violence and family law, and public benefits. Apply through 603 Legal Aid, online or at 1-800-639-5290; it also publishes self-help articles.

603 Legal Aid