What do New Hampshire landlord tenant laws say about entry, pests, repairs and deposits?

New Hampshire landlord tenant days and hours, with sources

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What repairs is a landlord responsible for in New Hampshire?

RSA 48-A:14 binds a landlord renting a residential dwelling in a municipality which has not adopted ordinances, codes or bylaws under chapter 48-A, and lists eleven conditions the rented premises may not be kept in, such as a roof or walls that leak consistently; paragraph IV reads: “The roof or walls leak consistently;” (New Hampshire RSA 48-A:14) Read 2026-10-30 on the General Court's RSA site.

Paragraph I of 48-A:14, in the same not adopted municipalities, bars premises infested by insects and rodents where the landlord is not conducting a periodic inspection and eradication program. The other paragraphs cover plumbing and sewage back-up, electrical hazards, falling plaster, holes in floors, walls or ceilings, porches, stairs and railings, garbage in common areas, water and water heating, gas leaks, and heat.

When a New Hampshire rental has a leaking roof or wall, a plumbing back-up or a broken railing, you can post that repair job on InstaBids and compare written bids on one scope.

How long does a landlord have to make repairs in New Hampshire?

The 14 days sit in RSA 540:13-d, I(b), as one condition of a tenant's defense to a possession action for nonpayment of rent where a fitness violation materially affects habitability, counted from receipt of written notice: “The landlord failed to correct the violations within 14 days of the receipt of such written notice or, in an emergency, as promptly as conditions require; and” (New Hampshire RSA 540:13-d) Read 2026-10-30.

That nonpayment defense, for a violation that materially affects habitability, also needs violations not caused by the tenant, a member of the tenant's family or another person on the premises with the tenant's consent (540:13-d, I(c)), and repairs not prevented by extreme weather or by the tenant's refusal of reasonable access (540:13-d, I(d)); the landlord's 14 days run from receipt of the written notice.

Once a tenant's written notice of a habitability problem arrives, you can describe that repair on InstaBids with photos and get written bids to compare side by side.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in New Hampshire?

RSA 540-A:3, IV sets prior consent, not an hour count: “No landlord shall willfully enter into the premises of the tenant without prior consent, other than to make emergency repairs.” (New Hampshire RSA 540-A:3) Read 2026-10-30.

Paragraph V-d says a landlord may only enter a tenant's dwelling unit without the consent of the tenant in two cases: to make emergency repairs under paragraphs IV and IV-a, or with an order authorizing the entry from a court of competent jurisdiction under RSA 540-A:4.

For a repair that needs access to an occupied unit, you can post the job on InstaBids with your tenant access plan written into the scope, so every contractor bids on the same terms.

Who pays for pest control in a rental in New Hampshire?

RSA 540-A:3, V-a names no payer; it bars the landlord from failing to investigate within 7 days: “No landlord shall willfully fail to investigate a tenant's report of an infestation of insects, including bed bugs, or rodents in the tenant's rented or leased premises, within 7 days of receiving notice of such alleged infestation from the tenant or a municipal health or housing code authority, or fail to take reasonable measures to remediate an infestation.” (New Hampshire RSA 540-A:3) Read 2026-10-30.

Under paragraph IV-a, entry by the landlord to evaluate, plan or carry out emergency remediation of an infestation of rodents or insects, including bed bugs, counts as emergency-repair entry when it took place within 72 hours of the landlord first receiving notice of the infestation.

Where the municipality has not adopted its own codes under chapter 48-A, RSA 48-A:14, I bars premises infested by insects and rodents where the landlord is not conducting a periodic inspection and eradication program.

To get written bids on insect, rodent or bed bug treatment for a rental unit, you can post the pest control job on InstaBids and compare them side by side.

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in New Hampshire?

RSA 540-A:7, I sets 30 days from the termination of the tenancy, except as provided in RSA 540-A:6, IV(c): “Except as provided in RSA 540-A:6, IV(c), a landlord shall return a security deposit to a tenant and pay the interest due, if any, within 30 days from the termination of the tenancy.” (New Hampshire RSA 540-A:7) Read 2026-10-30.

Under 540-A:5, I a person renting a single-family residence who owns no other rental property, or rental units in an owner-occupied building of 5 units or less (except a unit occupied by a person 60 or older), shall not be considered a landlord for these deposit sections.

Under 540-A:7, I the landlord may deduct the costs of repair from the security deposit for damages to the premises, excluding reasonable wear and tear, and the landlord shall provide the tenant with a written, itemized list of any damages that names the nature of each repair and evidence it has been or will be completed.

Under RSA 540-A:8, I(b), a landlord who does not comply with 540-A:6, IV or 540-A:7 is liable to the tenant in damages of twice the sum of the deposit plus any interest due, less payments made and charges owing. Under 540-A:8, II there is no such liability where the failure is due to the tenant not giving the landlord a new address upon termination of the tenancy.

For move-out cleaning and damage repairs after a tenant leaves, you can post the job on InstaBids with photos and compare written bids from contractors on the same list.

When can a tenant withhold rent over repairs in New Hampshire?

RSA 540:13-d, I says no action for possession based on nonpayment of rent shall be maintained for residential premises, other than for vacation or recreation, in substantial violation of the RSA 48-A fitness standards or local codes where the violation materially affects habitability, if the four conditions of I(a) to I(d) hold. Read 2026-10-30; the first is that the tenant, while not in arrears, gave notice of the violation to the person to whom rent is customarily paid.

If the court grants a continuance on that defense under 540:13-d, II: “At the time such continuance is ordered, the court shall require the person claiming a defense under this section to pay into court any rent withheld or becoming due thereafter as it becomes due.” (New Hampshire RSA 540:13-d)

When a tenant raises a heat, water heating or gas leak problem, you can post that repair on InstaBids and compare written bids on the exact work needed.

Who does New Hampshire landlord tenant law cover?

RSA 540:1-a, IV says the provisions of chapter 540 shall not apply to eight kinds of occupancy, read 2026-10-30: transient rooming or boarding house guests under 90 consecutive days, hotel and vacation rooms, dormitories, nursing homes and group homes, an owner's own single-family home where the occupant has no lease, RSA 540-B and 540-C units, fraternal student housing, and live-in caregivers.

For the deposit sections, RSA 540-A:5, I says a person who rents a single-family residence and owns no other rental property, or rents units in an owner-occupied building of 5 units or less, shall not be considered a landlord, except for a unit occupied by a person 60 years of age or older.

Whether you run apartments, a rooming house or a single-family rental, you can describe each maintenance job once on InstaBids and get written bids to compare.

New Hampshire RSA rules a property manager works to

What to put in a written repair scope for a New Hampshire rental

• The condition in plain words, with photos, named against the RSA 48-A:14 list where the municipality has not adopted its own codes under chapter 48-A: for example a roof or walls that leak consistently (48-A:14, IV).
• The date the landlord received the tenant's written notice of the violation, since the RSA 540:13-d nonpayment defense, for a violation that materially affects habitability, turns on correction within 14 days of its receipt (540:13-d, I(b)).
• For pests: the date of notice of the infestation, the 7 days to investigate under 540-A:3, V-a, and the reasonable measures to remediate written into the job.
• The access plan: the tenant's prior consent to entry, or the emergency repairs that 540-A:3, IV allows without it.
• For move-out repairs: the termination of the tenancy date, and the written, itemized list of damages the landlord shall provide, since under 540-A:7, I the landlord returns a security deposit within 30 days, except as provided in RSA 540-A:6, IV(c).

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Calling New Hampshire contractors one by one, or one written scope?

Calling contractors one by one gets as many ideas of the repair as calls. With one written scope that names the condition against the RSA 48-A:14 list, where the municipality has not adopted its own codes, such as a roof or walls that leak consistently, you describe it once, contractors bid in writing on that scope, and you choose who gets your number.

Property managers can post a rental job on InstaBids today.

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Sources

• New Hampshire RSA 540-A:6, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 540-A:7, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 540-A:5, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 540-A:8, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 540-A:3, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 540:1-a, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 540:13-d, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us
• New Hampshire RSA 48-A:14, read 2026-10-30: www.gencourt.state.nh.us