What a Landlord Cannot Do in New Hampshire
The main limits New Hampshire law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a New Hampshire landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Prohibited. Landlord may not willfully interrupt or terminate any utility (even one it doesn't control), except temporarily for repairs or emergencies, and may not lock out or deny access to the tenant or the tenant's property except by judicial process. Tenant petitions the district division (RSA 540-A:4, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-4.htm): hearing within 30 days of petition or 10 days after service (whichever later); ex parte temporary orders available for immediate irreparable harm; each day of violation after a temporary order is a separate violation. Remedies follow RSA 358-A:10: actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, 2-3x if willful or knowing, plus costs and attorney's fees (https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-A/358-A-10.htm). If the unit was re-let after an unlawful lockout, damages are at least $3,000. |
|---|---|
| Landlord entry notice | Landlord may not enter without the tenant's consent except for emergency repairs or under a court order. Tenant may not unreasonably refuse entry at a reasonable time after 'notice which is adequate under the circumstances' (no fixed number of hours). Bed bug evaluation entry requires 48 hours' written notice; emergency entry for infestations within 72 hours of notice counts as emergency repair. Paragraph V was reworded effective Oct. 8, 2026 (2026 ch. 308) so tenants may not refuse access for necessary repairs or other reasonable and lawful functions. Source: RSA 540-A:3, IV-V |
| Landlord retaliation | Defense to eviction if retaliatory for: reporting (in good faith) a code or RSA 540-A violation to the landlord or an enforcement agency; filing an RSA 540-A action or using RSA 540:13-d; or meeting/organizing with other tenants. Rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the landlord evicts, raises rent, or substantially changes terms within 6 months of the protected act. Defense unavailable if tenant owes one week's rent or more (RSA 540:13-a, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-13-a.htm). Presumption doesn't apply if the court finds the complaint was primarily meant to prevent eviction. A tenant who wins a retaliation defense may recover up to 3 months' rent (RSA 540:14). Source: RSA 540:13-a; RSA 540:13-b |
| Security deposit limit | One month's rent or $100, whichever is greater. Deposit rules do not cover a person who rents out a single-family home and owns no other rental property, or who rents units in an owner-occupied building of 5 or fewer units, except for units occupied by someone 60 or older (RSA 540-A:5, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-5.htm). Landlord must give a signed receipt stating the amount and where the deposit is held (not required if paid by check), and tell the tenant to note conditions needing repair within 5 days of occupancy. Deposit is held in trust, not commingled; may instead post a bond with the city/town clerk. Source: RSA 540-A:6, I(a) |
| Penalty for withholding | Landlord who fails to return the deposit/interest or itemize as required is liable for twice the amount of the deposit plus any interest due, less amounts already paid and lawful deductions. Violations of the cap, receipt and trust/bond rules (RSA 540-A:6, I-III) are deemed Consumer Protection Act violations under RSA 358-A:2. Lease waivers of these rights are void. Source: RSA 540-A:8, I |
| Late fees | No statutory cap or grace period found. RSA ch. 540 contains no late-fee provision; RSA 540:9 refers only to 'other lawful charges contained in the lease' and the $15 liquidated damages paid to cure a nonpayment case. No official AG/court page confirming the absence of any other late-fee rule was found. |
| Rent control / increase limits | No statewide rent control or rent-increase cap in RSA ch. 540. On restricted property, a tenant's refusal of a rent increase is good cause for eviction only if the landlord gave at least 30 days' written notice of the amount and effective date. Local rent control: no statute expressly preempts it, but none authorizes it either. The general bylaw and ordinance powers of towns (RSA 31:39) and cities (RSA 47:17) list specific subjects and do not include regulating rents, so no New Hampshire city or town has clear authority to adopt rent control. Town powers: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/III/31/31-39.htm (as amended through 2025, 61:1); city powers: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/III/47/47-17.htm. HB 1619 (2026), which would have expressly banned rent control, was sent to interim study by the House (House Record, March 6, 2026, p. 25), so it did not become law. |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | No. New Hampshire's fair housing law covers age, sex, gender identity, race, religion, color, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability and national origin (and sexual orientation in advertising), but not source of income or housing vouchers. RSA 540:9-a addresses payment of rent by municipal welfare voucher in eviction cases, not refusal to rent. Source: RSA 354-A:10 |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific camera statute, but it is a class A misdemeanor to install or use, without consent, any device to observe, photograph, record, or transmit images or sounds in a private place (which includes the interior of one's dwelling), or from outside a private place to capture images, location, movement, or sounds not ordinarily perceptible outside it. A landlord may not enter without the tenant's prior consent except for emergency repairs or under a court order. Visible cameras in common areas are not specifically regulated by state landlord-tenant law; the privacy statute turns on whether the place is one where a person may reasonably expect to be safe from surveillance. |
| Other rental fees | Limited. A landlord may not require rent or other lease payments to be made only by electronic funds transfer (including automatic recurring transfers); at least one non-electronic payment method must be allowed. Application-fee disclosure and refund rules also apply. No general statute caps move-in or convenience fees or requires all-in rent disclosure. The electronic-payment rule (para. X) is excluded from the RSA 358-A civil-penalty remedies (RSA 540-A:4, IX(d)). Source: RSA 540-A:3, VIII, X |
Can I sue my landlord in New Hampshire? · All 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.