New Hampshire: Eviction Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

New Hampshire's eviction-notice rules are in RSA chapter 540, "Actions Against
Tenants." The grounds for eviction are in § 540:2, the notice periods in
§ 540:3, how the notice is served in § 540:5, the tenant's right to pay and stay
in § 540:9, and the retaliation and habitability defenses in §§ 540:13-a and
540:13-d. One definition drives much of the chapter: § 540:1-a splits rentals
into "restricted" and "nonrestricted" property, and which one you live in
decides whether your landlord needs a reason to evict you at all.

Notice for unpaid rent

If you fall behind on rent, the landlord gives a 7-day eviction notice.
Section 540:3, II says 30 days' notice is the residential default "in all
cases," but drops to "7 days' notice" when the reason is one of the serious
grounds — including "Neglect or refusal to pay rent due and in arrears, upon
demand" (§ 540:2, II(a)). Two content rules make the notice valid: it "shall
state with specificity the reason for the eviction" (§ 540:3, III), and a
nonpayment notice "shall inform the tenant of his or her right... to avoid the
eviction by payment of the arrearages and liquidated damages in accordance with
RSA 540:9" (§ 540:3, IV). The landlord may also serve a separate "demand for
rent" first or at the same time (§ 540:5, I).

Notice for a lease violation

A material lease-term violation is not one of the serious 7-day grounds, so it
takes the 30-day residential notice (§ 540:3, II; § 540:2, II(c)). New Hampshire
does not give a separate statutory "cure-or-quit" window for lease violations
the way many states do — the tenant's real protection is the good-cause
requirement discussed below and, for an "other good cause" ground based on the
tenant's conduct, a first-warning rule: the landlord "shall, prior to the
issuance of the eviction notice, provide the tenant with written notice stating
that in the future such actions or inactions would constitute grounds for
eviction" (§ 540:2, III).

Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)

New Hampshire has no separate flat "no-cure notice to quit," but two grounds work
that way in practice: "Substantial damage to the premises" (§ 540:2, II(b)) and
"Behavior of the tenant or members of his family which adversely affects the
health or safety" of others (§ 540:2, II(d)). Both are on the 7-day list in
§ 540:3, II, and the statutory pay-and-stay cure in § 540:9 covers only
nonpayment — so for these grounds there is no statutory right to fix the problem
and stay. A willful failure to prepare the unit for pest (including bed-bug)
remediation after proper notice is also a ground (§ 540:2, II(g)).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

This is where New Hampshire is unusual, and the answer depends entirely on the
type of property. "Nonrestricted" property means a single-family house whose
owner owns no more than three, or a rental unit in an owner-occupied building of
four units or fewer (§ 540:1-a, I). The owner of nonrestricted property "may
terminate any tenancy" by written notice (§ 540:2, I) — no reason required — on
the 30-day residential notice in § 540:3, II. But "restricted" property means
essentially every other residential rental (§ 540:1-a, II), and there a landlord
cannot end the tenancy for no reason at all — they must have one of the § 540:2,
II grounds.

Just cause to evict required?

Yes — for restricted property. The statute says the owner "may terminate any
tenancy... but only for one of the following reasons," then lists them
(§ 540:2, II): nonpayment, substantial damage, a material lease breach,
health/safety behavior, "other good cause," lead-hazard abatement, willful
pest-prep failure, and being the accused perpetrator of domestic violence. As of
July 1, 2026, a new ground was added: a landlord may decline to renew a lease of
12 months or longer (or shorter leases renewed to 12 months total) at its
expiration, if the landlord gives "written notice at least 60 days in advance"
of the end of the term and files within 6 months (§ 540:2, II(i)). "Other good
cause" is broad — it "includes, but is not limited to, any legitimate business
or economic reason and need not be based on the action or inaction of the
tenant" (§ 540:2, V) — so this is a good-cause requirement, not a bar on ever
recovering the unit. Small owner-occupied and single-family rentals
("nonrestricted") are exempt from the whole for-cause scheme.

How the notice must be served

A demand for rent or eviction notice "may be served by any person" and either
handed to the tenant personally or "left at his or her last and usual place of
abode"; proof is "a true and attested copy of the notice accompanied by an
affidavit of service," which "need not be sworn under oath" (§ 540:5, I). The
district court publishes model demand-for-rent and eviction-notice forms; a
landlord need not use them, but a valid notice "shall include the same
information as is requested and provided on such forms" (§ 540:5, II) — and it
must state the eviction reason with specificity (§ 540:3, III).

Tenant's right to cure/reinstate

New Hampshire gives a strong pay-and-stay right for nonpayment. A possessory
action "based solely on nonpayment of rent shall be dismissed" if the tenant, "at
any time prior to the hearing on the merits," pays all rent due plus "$15
liquidated damages, and any filing fee and service charges" the landlord
incurred (§ 540:9, I). The catch: a tenant "may not defeat an eviction for
nonpayment of rent by use of this section more than 3 times within a 12-month
period" (§ 540:9, II). Two statutory defenses back this up. Retaliatory eviction
is a defense — unless the tenant owes a week's rent or more — after reporting a
code violation, using the statutory remedies, or "meeting or gathering with
other tenants for any lawful purpose" (§ 540:13-a). And a nonpayment eviction
cannot be maintained where the unit is in "substantial violation of the
standards of fitness for health and safety" and the landlord failed to fix it
"within 14 days" of written notice (§ 540:13-d). Domestic-violence victims have
additional protections against termination (§ 540:2, VII).

What trips people up

Whether your landlord needs a reason depends on the building, not on you.
The single most important question in New Hampshire is whether your unit is
"restricted" or "nonrestricted." If your landlord owns three or fewer
single-family houses, or you live in an owner-occupied building of four units or
fewer, that is nonrestricted property and the landlord can end your tenancy with
no reason on 30 days' notice. Everyone else is on restricted property, where the
landlord must have a § 540:2 cause.

A new no-fault ground took effect July 1, 2026. For restricted property, a
landlord can now decline to renew a 12-month-or-longer lease when it expires —
but only with at least 60 days' advance written notice that the lease will not
be renewed, and the landlord must file within 6 months (§ 540:2, II(i)). This is
brand-new law; guides written before mid-2026 will not mention it.

Paying stops a nonpayment eviction — up to a point. You can pay all rent
owed plus $15 and the landlord's court costs any time before the hearing and the
case "shall be dismissed" (§ 540:9). But you can only use that right three times
in a 12-month period, so it is not an unlimited backstop.

"Good cause" is broader than tenant misconduct. On restricted property a
landlord does not need you to have done anything wrong. "Other good cause"
expressly includes "any legitimate business or economic reason" (§ 540:2, V),
and refusing to accept a properly-noticed rent increase is itself good cause to
evict (§ 540:2, IV).

Common questions

Can my landlord evict me for no reason at all? Only if you are on
"nonrestricted" property — a single-family house owned by a small owner, or an
owner-occupied building of four or fewer units. On any other residential rental
("restricted" property) the landlord must have one of the reasons listed in
§ 540:2, II; a bare no-reason termination is not allowed.

I got a 7-day notice for unpaid rent — can I still pay and keep my home?
Yes, in most cases. If you pay all the rent owed plus $15 in liquidated damages
and the landlord's filing and service costs before the hearing on the merits,
the case "shall be dismissed" (§ 540:9). Just know you can only rely on that
right three times in any 12-month window.

My year-long lease is ending and my landlord won't renew — is that legal now?
As of July 1, 2026, yes, even on restricted property, but the landlord has to
give you at least 60 days' written notice before the lease ends that it will not
be renewed and must file any eviction within 6 months (§ 540:2, II(i)). Without
that 60-day notice, the non-renewal ground does not apply.

Can my landlord evict me just for turning down a rent increase? On
restricted property, yes — the statute treats a tenant's refusal to agree to a
rent increase as "good cause for eviction," as long as the landlord gave written
notice of the amount and effective date "at least 30 days prior to the effective
date of the increase" (§ 540:2, IV).

Statutes and sources

• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2, I–III, V — restricted-property good-cause requirement and the list of grounds; prior-warning rule; broad "other good cause."
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-2.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2, II(i) — new lease-non-renewal ground with 60-day notice (effective July 1, 2026).
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-2.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:3, II–IV — 30-day default residential notice; 7-day notice for nonpayment/damage/health-safety/DV grounds; specificity and cure-notice content.
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-3.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:1-a, I–II — definitions of "nonrestricted" and "restricted" property.
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-1-a.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:9 — pay-and-stay dismissal for nonpayment (rent + $15 + costs), limited to 3 times in 12 months.
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-9.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:5 — service of a demand for rent or eviction notice; model forms.
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-5.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-a — retaliatory-eviction defense.
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-13-a.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
• N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-d — habitability defense to a nonpayment eviction (14-day repair window).
  https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-13-d.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)