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New Hampshire residential lease agreement

Answer the questions, download the lease. Free, no account, and it holds your figures to what New Hampshire allows.

What New Hampshire law does to your lease

These are the figures the builder holds you to. Each one is the statute's, not ours, and the citation is there so you can read it yourself.

RuleNew HampshireWhere it says so
Most a landlord may take as a deposit1 month's rentThe ceiling is one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater.RSA 540-A:6, I(a)
Earliest a late fee may be chargednot sourced yet-
Most a late fee may benot sourced yet-
Notice before the landlord may enterNone required by statuteNew Hampshire gives a landlord no notice-and-enter right at all: entering without the tenant's consent is unlawful except to make emergency repairs. What the access clause of this lease buys is the tenant's advance consent on the notice it names, and a tenant who objects to a particular entry is entitled to be listened to.RSA 540-A:3, V
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy30 daysOn residential property a New Hampshire landlord needs one of the causes RSA 540:2, II lists, good cause among them, and cannot simply end the tenancy. 30 days is the general notice and 7 days is enough for nonpayment or a serious violation.RSA 540:2, 540:3, 540:11

The clause most landlords get wrong

Rent stated as a base figure with mandatory fees bolted on beside it. If a fee is not optional, it is rent, and several states now say so outright: the lease has to carry one total figure that the landlord may not charge above. The builder asks for the total and then asks how much of it is fees, which is the same information in the order the law wants it.

The second is the assistance animal. A no-pets clause that does not carve one out is a fair-housing problem, not a pet problem, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for one. Your lease says so whether or not you allow pets.

After it is signed

Download the PDF and it is yours, account or not. If you want the tenant to sign it without printing anything, a free Kouzr account sends it for signature, files the executed copy against the tenancy, and keeps it beside the listing, the rent record and the deposit accounting, so the paperwork for that home is in one place when the tenancy ends.

Is this New Hampshire lease legally binding?

A written lease signed by the landlord and every adult tenant is a contract, and this one is built to say what New Hampshire requires a residential lease to say. What it is not is legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it. It is a form you complete yourself, the same category as the fill-in-the-blank lease sold in an office supply shop, and it is worth having a lawyer in your state read it before you rely on it, especially on a property you will hold for years.

How much can a landlord charge as a security deposit in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire caps every deposit taken together at 1 month's rent (RSA 540-A:6, I(a)). That is the total of the security deposit, any pet deposit, and any last month's rent held as a deposit, not each of them separately. The builder holds your figure to that ceiling and tells you when it has. The ceiling is one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater.

Can a landlord charge a late fee in New Hampshire?

We have not sourced a late fee rule for New Hampshire. Several states set a grace period, a percentage ceiling, or both, and a fee a court finds punitive rather than compensatory is unenforceable in every state. Keep it to a reasonable estimate of what a late payment actually costs you.

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

New Hampshire sets no statutory notice period (RSA 540-A:3, V), so whatever the lease says is what governs. The builder writes 24 hours in by default, which is what most states require and what a court reading an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment is likely to call reasonable. Emergencies need no notice anywhere.

How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in New Hampshire?

30 days of written notice from either side (RSA 540:2, 540:3, 540:11). The builder writes that figure into the term clause. A lease may agree on longer notice than the statute; one that gives less is unenforceable to that extent, and the statutory period governs instead. On residential property a New Hampshire landlord needs one of the causes RSA 540:2, II lists, good cause among them, and cannot simply end the tenancy. 30 days is the general notice and 7 days is enough for nonpayment or a serious violation.

Do I have to include a lead-based paint disclosure?

Only if the home was built before 1978, and then yes, everywhere in the country. Federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint, hand over any report they have, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet before the tenant is committed to the lease (42 U.S.C. 4852d). Enter the year built and the builder attaches it for you.

Can I have the tenant sign it online?

Yes. Download the PDF and sign it however you like, or make a free Kouzr account and send it to the tenant for signature from here: they get a link, sign on a phone, and the executed copy files itself against the tenancy alongside rent and the deposit record. The PDF is free either way and does not require an account.

Kouzr is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. The builder produces a form you complete yourself, and no lawyer has reviewed the document it assembles. Have one admitted in New Hampshire read it before you rely on it.