New Hampshire Lease Agreement: What to Include

A New Hampshire residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from New Hampshire's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: 1 month rent or $100, whichever greater, for covered landlords. New Hampshire requires landlords to pay interest on held deposits — check the current statutory rate and any escrow requirements before you hold tenant funds. Return deadline after move-out: 30 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: No statewide fixed hours; reasonable notice recommended. Late fees: No statewide fixed cap; should be reasonable and stated in lease; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 days. (Entry notice citation: N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:3 (24 hours).)

Required disclosures

A New Hampshire lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • security deposit receipt
• • radon/arsenic/water where applicable

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, New Hampshire's standard notice period is 7 days. This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540:3 (7 days).)

What actually distinguishes New Hampshire

New Hampshire caps the security deposit at: 1 month rent or $100, whichever greater, for covered landlords.

New Hampshire is one of a smaller group of states that requires landlords to pay tenants interest on held security deposits — factor that into how you hold the funds.

There's no statewide statutory notice period for landlord entry in New Hampshire, which means the lease is the only thing establishing that expectation — silence in the lease leaves it genuinely undefined.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect New Hampshire's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's New Hampshire landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:6 (greater of 1 month rent or $100), with the return deadline set by N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:7 (30 days). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against New Hampshire's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full New Hampshire landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with New Hampshire-specific clauses built in automatically.