| Quick Facts | Answer |
| Maximum / Limit | $100 or One Month’s Rent |
| Receipt Requirement | Yes |
| Inventory Requirement | Yes |
| Interest Requirement | Yes (After One Year) |
To learn about laws on security deposit returns in New Hampshire, click here.
Some cities and counties may have regulations which are more restrictive than those presented here. Always check local laws.
Maximum Security Deposit Allowed in New Hampshire
New Hampshire law limits the maximum security deposit to $100 or one month’s rent, whichever is greater, unless the rental unit is exempt.
Exemptions – The maximum security deposit does not apply to:
- A single-family home if the landlord owns no other rental property
- Owner-occupied buildings with 5 or fewer units (except tenants 60 or older)
Can Landlords Charge an Additional Pet Deposit in New Hampshire?
In New Hampshire, landlords can charge a pet deposit, except for service dogs and emotional support animals. However, the total security deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent. Landlords cannot exceed the limit by asking for money under another name like “pet deposit” or “damage deposit.”
This law does not prevent landlords from adding a monthly pet premium (“pet rent”) for the right to keep an animal on the property.
How Much Rent Can a Landlord Collect Upfront in New Hampshire?
Landlords in New Hampshire can collect the first month’s rent in advance. However, landlords can only collect one additional month’s rent in advance, whether called a “security deposit” or “last month’s rent,” unless the unit is exempt. “Last month’s rent” is considered a security deposit by the law.
Security Deposit Collections in New Hampshire
New Hampshire landlords must in most cases provide a receipt when collecting a security deposit. The receipt must state the amount of the deposit and where it will be held, and notify the tenant of their right to document any conditions in the rental unit that need to be repaired.
Do Landlords Have To Provide a Receipt for the Security Deposit in New Hampshire?
Landlords in New Hampshire must provide a receipt for the security deposit unless the tenant pays by check.
If the tenant pays by check, the landlord is still required to notify the tenant of their right to document the property’s condition upon move-in and request repairs for any covered items.
What Obligations Do Landlords Have To Establish the Condition at Move-in in New Hampshire?
To collect a security deposit, landlords in New Hampshire must notify the tenant in writing of their right to report any conditions of the rental unit in need of repair or correction within 5 days of occupancy.
Security Deposit Holdings in New Hampshire
New Hampshire law requires landlords to hold security deposits in a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or post a bond. The security deposits cannot be commingled with the landlord’s own funds.
Option 1: Bank, Savings and Loan Association, or Credit Union. Upon the tenant’s request, the landlord must provide the tenant with the:
- Name of the financial institution
- Amount deposited
- Account number
- Interest rate
Option 2: Bond. If the landlord chooses to post a bond, it must be written by a company within the state and posted with the clerk of the city or town where the rental unit is located.
Are Tenants Entitled to Interest on Their Security Deposit in New Hampshire?
Tenants are entitled to earn interest if their security deposit is held longer than one year equal to the standard interest rate for a savings account at the financial institution where it is being held.
Every three years, the tenant may request payment of the interest accrued on the deposit. If requested by the tenant within 30 days before the current lease term’s anniversary, the landlord must provide the interest no later than 15 days after the lease’s anniversary date.
How Are Security Deposits Accounted for in New Hampshire?
Security deposits are not considered taxable income when they are collected.
What Happens to a Security Deposit When the Property is Sold in New Hampshire?
Within 5 days after a property is sold in New Hampshire, the seller must transfer the security deposit to the new owner, who must handle it according to the same rules. The original landlord must notify the tenant by registered or certified mail of the transfer and the name and address of their successor.
Sources
- 1 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:6(I)
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(a) A landlord shall not demand or receive any security deposit in an amount or value in excess of one month’s rent or $100, whichever is greater. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a landlord from entering into a written lease that requires the quarterly or less frequent payment of rent; provided, however, that the security deposit received in addition to the initial rent payment may not exceed the equivalent of one month’s rent.
(b) Except as provided in subparagraph (c), upon receiving a deposit from a tenant, a landlord shall forthwith deliver to the tenant a signed receipt stating the amount of the deposit and specifying the place where the deposit or bond for the deposit pursuant to RSA 540-A:6, II(c) will be held, and shall notify the tenant that any conditions in the rental unit in need of repair or correction should be noted on the receipt or given to the landlord in writing within 5 days of occupancy.
(c) No receipt shall be required when the tenant furnishes a security deposit in the form of a personal check, a bank check, or a check issued by a government or nonprofit agency on behalf of the tenant. Regardless of whether or not a receipt is required, the landlord shall provide written notice to the tenant that a written list of conditions in the rental unit in need of repair or correction, if any, should be given to the landlord within 5 days of occupancy.
Source Link - 2 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:5(I) & (II)
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I. “Landlord” means a person and his or its employees, officers or agents who rents or leases to another person a rental unit, including space in a manufactured housing park as regulated by RSA 205-A and in manufactured housing, for other than vacation or recreational purposes. A person who rents or leases a single-family residence and owns no other rental property or who rents or leases rental units in an owner-occupied building of 5 units or less shall not be considered a “landlord” for the purposes of this subdivision, except for any individual unit in such building which is occupied by a person or persons 60 years of age or older.
II. “Security deposit” means all funds in excess of the monthly rent which are transferred from the tenant to the landlord for any purpose.
Source Link - 3 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:6(II)
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(a) Security deposits held by a landlord continue to be the money of the tenant and shall be held in trust by the person with whom such deposit is made and shall not be mingled with the personal moneys or become an asset of the landlord until the provisions of RSA 540-A:7 are complied with, but may be disposed of as provided in RSA 540-A:6, III.
(b) A landlord may mingle all security deposits held by him in a single account held in trust for the tenant at any bank, savings and loan association or credit union organized under the laws of this state in satisfaction of the requirements of RSA 540-A:6, II(a).
(c) A bond written by a company located in New Hampshire and posted with the clerk of the city or town in which the residential premises are located in an amount equivalent to the total value of a security deposit held by the landlord on property in that city or town shall exempt the landlord from the provisions of RSA 540-A:6, II(a) and (b).
Source Link - 4 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:6(IV)
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(a) A landlord who holds a security deposit for a period of one year or longer shall pay to the tenant interest on the deposit at a rate equal to the interest rate paid on regular savings accounts in the New Hampshire bank, savings and loan association, or credit union in which it is deposited, commencing from the date the landlord receives the deposit or from September 13, 1977, whichever is later. If a landlord mingles security deposits in a single account under RSA 540-A:6, II(b), the landlord shall pay the actual interest earned on such account proportionately to each tenant.
(b) Upon request, a landlord shall provide to the tenant the name of any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union where his security deposit is on deposit, the account number, the amount on deposit, and the interest rate on the deposit and shall allow the tenant to examine his security deposit records.
(c) Notwithstanding RSA 540-A:7, I, a tenant may request the interest accrued on a security deposit every 3 years, 30 days before the expiration of that year’s tenancy. The landlord shall comply with the request within 15 days of the expiration of that year’s tenancy.
Source Link - 5 N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:6(III)
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(a) Any landlord who holds a security deposit shall turn the security deposit over at the time of delivery of the deed or instrument of assignment, or within 5 days thereafter, or within 5 days after a receiver has been qualified, to one of the following:
(1) his grantee upon conveying the premises in which the rental unit is located;
(2) his assignee upon assigning his lease to the rental unit;
(3) the receiver in a foreclosure action or other lien of record affecting the property in which the rental unit is located, upon the judicial appointment and qualification of the receiver; or
(4) the purchaser at a foreclosure sale or other lien of record, if a receiver has not been qualified, upon the conveyance to another person by the referee of the property in which the rental unit is located.
(b) The landlord shall notify the tenant by registered or certified mail of such turning over, including the name and address of the grantee, assignee, purchaser, or receiver who then holds the security deposit.
(c) Any landlord who turns over to his grantee, his assignee, a purchaser at a foreclosure sale, or the receiver in a foreclosure action the amount of such security deposit with interest due, if any, is thereby relieved of liability to the tenant for repayment of the deposit. The transferee of the security deposit is then responsible for the return of the security deposit to the tenant or licensee, unless, before the expiration of the term of the tenant’s lease or licensee’s agreement, he transfers the security deposit to another, pursuant to RSA 540-A:6, III(a) and gives the requisite notice pursuant to RSA 540-A:6, III(b). A receiver shall hold the security subject to its disposition as provided in an order of the court to be made and entered in the foreclosure action.
(d) RSA 540-A:6, III(c) shall not apply if there is an inconsistent agreement between the landlord and tenant or licensee.
Source Link
