| Rent Increase Facts | Answer |
| Reason Needed? | No |
| Maximum Amount | None |
| Required Notice | 30 or 60 Days |
Does New Hampshire Have Rent Control Laws?
New Hampshire does not have rent control laws limiting the amount that landlords request for rent. Case law prohibits local governments from establishing local rent control laws.
When Can a Landlord Raise Rent in New Hampshire?
Landlords in New Hampshire can raise the rent at any time, as long as they comply with the following:
- Give reasonable notice
- Aren’t raising rent for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons
- Wait until the end of the lease term (unless otherwise specified in the lease)
30 days before the end of a year-long lease, a landlord sends the tenant a notice that rent will increase by 2.5% if they choose to renew the lease.
When Can’t a Landlord Raise Rent in New Hampshire?
Landlords in New Hampshire may not raise the rent if:
- It is during the middle of a lease’s fixed term (unless stated otherwise in the lease agreement)
- It is done in retaliation against a protected tenant action, such as exercising a legal right
- The increase is applied in a way that discriminates against one of the protected classes specified in the Fair Housing Act
How Often Can Rent Be Increased in New Hampshire?
Landlords in New Hampshire can increase the rent as often as they choose as long as they provide sufficient notice each time.
How Much Notice is Needed to Raise Rent in New Hampshire?
In New Hampshire, landlords cannot raise the rent during a lease term and must give 30 days’ notice to increase the rent.
Mobile Homes
If the rental unit is a mobile home, the landlord must give 60 days’ notice. The rent increase notice for a mobile home must include the following disclosure in 10-point bold-face print:
IF YOU OBJECT TO THIS RENT INCREASE AS ARBITRARY OR UNREASONABLE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN MEDIATION, WITH THE COST OF THE MEDIATOR TO BE FULLY PAID BY THE PARK OWNER, IF: AT LEAST ONE ADULT MEMBER OF NO LESS THAN 51 PERCENT OF THE HOME OWNERS IN THE PARK SIGNS A PETITION REQUESTING MEDIATION, AND THE RENT INCREASE EXCEEDS $15 PER MONTH.
How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in New Hampshire?
In New Hampshire, landlords can raise the rent by any amount. There is no legal limit or cap on the amount of a rent increase.
Sources
- 1 Girard v. Town of Allenstown, 121 N.H. 268, 272 (N.H. 1981)
-
[T]owns [lack] the authority to adopt and enforce a rent control ordinance.
Source Link - 2 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540:13-b
-
Unless the court finds that the act of the tenant in making a report or complaint or in initiating an action or in organizing relative to alleged violations by a landlord was primarily intended to prevent any eviction, a rebuttable presumption that such possessory action was in retaliation of the tenant’s action shall be created when any possessory action, increase in rent or any substantial alteration in the terms of the tenancy is instituted by a landlord within 6 months after:
I. The landlord received notice of any such alleged violation provided that:
(a) The tenant mailed, gave in hand to, or left at the abode of the landlord notice of the report or complaint of the alleged violation; or
(b) The landlord received notice of the complaint or report from the board, agency or authority; or
II. The landlord completed repairs or otherwise successfully remedied such violation; or
III. The landlord received notice that the tenant had initiated an action pursuant to RSA 540-A; or
IV. The discovery by the landlord of activity protected by RSA 540:13-a, III.
Source Link
- 3 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540:2(IV)
-
A tenant’s refusal to agree to a change in the existing rental agreement calling for an increase in the amount of rent shall constitute good cause for eviction under paragraph II(e) of this section, provided that the landlord provided the tenant with written notice of the amount and effective date of the rent increase at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the increase.
Source Link
- 4 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 205-A:6(I)
-
A manufactured housing park owner or operator shall fully disclose in writing all terms and conditions of the tenancy including rental, utility and service charges, prior to entering into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant. No charges so disclosed may be increased by the park owner or operator without an explanation for the increase and specifying the date of implementation of said increase, which date shall be no less than 60 days after written notice to the tenant, and providing notice of the opportunity for voluntary private mediation of the increase under the Manufactured Housing Consumer Action Program. Nothing in this section, however, shall be construed to permit a park owner or operator to vary the terms of a written or oral rental agreement without the express written consent of the tenant.
Source Link - 5 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 205-A:6(I-a)
-
(a) Every notice of rent increase issued by a park owner pursuant to paragraph I shall contain the following statement in 10 point bold face print:
IF YOU OBJECT TO THIS RENT INCREASE AS ARBITRARY OR UNREASONABLE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN MEDIATION, WITH THE COST OF THE MEDIATOR TO BE FULLY PAID BY THE PARK OWNER, IF: AT LEAST ONE ADULT MEMBER OF NO LESS THAN 51 PERCENT OF THE HOME OWNERS IN THE PARK SIGNS A PETITION REQUESTING MEDIATION, and THE RENT INCREASE EXCEEDS $15 PER MONTH.
(b) The notice required in this section shall also provide the name, address, and telephone number of the person or entity which shall arrange the mediation.
Source Link
