Pet Addendum in New Hampshire

Adds pet terms to a lease. Assistance animals for people with disabilities are not pets: no pet fee or pet rent may be charged for them under federal fair housing rules.

What New Hampshire law says

Pet deposits and fees	A 'security deposit' means all funds beyond the monthly rent that the tenant pays the landlord for any purpose, so a pet deposit counts toward the deposit cap of one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater. The statute does not separately address pet fees or monthly pet rent. The deposit rules do not apply to a person who rents out a single-family home and owns no other rental property, or to units in an owner-occupied building of 5 units or fewer (other than a unit in such a building occupied by someone 60 or older). Source: RSA 540-A:5, II; RSA 540-A:6, I(a)
Service & support animals (state law)	Service animals may accompany their handler or trainer into any housing accommodation. Under state law a service animal performs work or tasks for a person with a disability; providing emotional support, comfort, or companionship does not count. It is a misdemeanor to fit an animal with a vest, harness, sign, or tag representing it as a service animal when it is not, or to impersonate a person with a disability to obtain service-dog accommodations. Disability discrimination in rentals is prohibited by the state fair-housing law. No state statute sets emotional support animal documentation rules or pet-fee limits. Emotional support animals are handled as reasonable-accommodation requests under the federal Fair Housing Act and RSA 354-A. RSA 167-D's 'housing accommodation' excludes owner-occupied single-family homes renting no more than one room. Source: RSA 167-D:1, 167-D:2, 167-D:4, 167-D:8, 167-D:10; RSA 354-A:10

Pet deposits and fees

A 'security deposit' means all funds beyond the monthly rent that the tenant pays the landlord for any purpose, so a pet deposit counts toward the deposit cap of one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater. The statute does not separately address pet fees or monthly pet rent.

The deposit rules do not apply to a person who rents out a single-family home and owns no other rental property, or to units in an owner-occupied building of 5 units or fewer (other than a unit in such a building occupied by someone 60 or older).

Source: RSA 540-A:5, II; RSA 540-A:6, I(a)

Service & support animals (state law)

Service animals may accompany their handler or trainer into any housing accommodation. Under state law a service animal performs work or tasks for a person with a disability; providing emotional support, comfort, or companionship does not count. It is a misdemeanor to fit an animal with a vest, harness, sign, or tag representing it as a service animal when it is not, or to impersonate a person with a disability to obtain service-dog accommodations. Disability discrimination in rentals is prohibited by the state fair-housing law. No state statute sets emotional support animal documentation rules or pet-fee limits.

Emotional support animals are handled as reasonable-accommodation requests under the federal Fair Housing Act and RSA 354-A. RSA 167-D's 'housing accommodation' excludes owner-occupied single-family homes renting no more than one room.

Source: RSA 167-D:1, 167-D:2, 167-D:4, 167-D:8, 167-D:10; RSA 354-A:10

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PET ADDENDUM to the lease for [rental address] dated [lease date]

Tenant: [tenant name] Pet(s): [type, breed, name, weight]

Pet deposit: $[pet deposit] (counts toward any state deposit limit where the law says so). Monthly pet rent: $[pet rent]

The tenant keeps the pet under control, cleans up after it, and pays for damage it causes beyond normal wear and tear.

Signatures and dates: [signatures]

Pet Addendum for other states · New Hampshire tenant rights

General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.