New Hampshire: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements
The short answer
New Hampshire does not set a fixed notice figure like 24 hours. Instead its law is built around your consent: a landlord may not willfully enter your unit without your prior consent, except to make emergency repairs — and, by statute, a landlord 'may only enter without the consent of the tenant' to make emergency repairs or with a court order. To get in for ordinary repairs or normal ownership tasks, the landlord gives you 'notice which is adequate under the circumstances' at a reasonable time, and you may not willfully refuse; if you do, the landlord's route is to ask a court, not to force entry. One fixed figure exists: 48 hours' written notice to enter and check for bedbugs after an infestation is reported in a neighboring unit. A landlord who enters unlawfully faces real penalties — actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney's fees, and up to two or three times damages for a willful violation.
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This is the general rule in New Hampshire. Ezel applies current New Hampshire law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | RSA 540-A:3 ('Certain Specific Acts Prohibited'), part of RSA chapter 540-A (Prohibited Practices and Security Deposits), enforced through RSA 540-A:4. New Hampshire has no URLTA-style access section; entry is regulated as a prohibited practice. The core rule (RSA 540-A:3, V-d) is a closed one: 'Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a landlord may only enter a tenant's dwelling unit without the consent of the tenant' (a) 'to make emergency repairs' or (b) with a court order under RSA 540-A:4 |
|---|---|
| Advance notice required | No fixed number — not 24 hours, not two days. New Hampshire's standard is consent plus adequate notice: a tenant 'shall not willfully refuse the landlord access to the premises to make necessary repairs, or to perform other reasonable and lawful functions commonly associated with the ownership of rental property, at a reasonable time after notice which is adequate under the circumstances' (RSA 540-A:3, V). What counts as adequate depends on the situation. The one fixed figure is 48 hours' written notice to enter and evaluate for bedbugs after notice of an infestation in an adjacent, above, or below unit (RSA 540-A:3, V-b(b)) |
| Reasons a landlord may enter | With consent, the ordinary purposes of the tenancy. Without consent, the statute allows entry only for 'necessary repairs' or 'other reasonable and lawful functions commonly associated with the ownership of rental property' after adequate notice (RSA 540-A:3, V), for emergency repairs (RSA 540-A:3, IV and IV-a, which include evaluating or remediating a rodent/insect/bedbug infestation), and to evaluate for bedbugs after an adjacent-unit report (RSA 540-A:3, V-b). New Hampshire does not use an enumerated inspect/repair/showings list; it uses the broad 'functions commonly associated with ownership' phrase |
| Permitted hours | No statutory clock. Entry for repairs or ownership functions must be 'at a reasonable time' (RSA 540-A:3, V) — a reasonableness standard rather than fixed hours |
| When no notice is needed | A landlord may enter without the tenant's consent only in two situations (RSA 540-A:3, V-d): 'to make emergency repairs pursuant to paragraphs IV and IV-a,' or with 'an order authorizing the entry from a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to RSA 540-A:4.' Emergency repairs expressly include entering 'to evaluate, formulate a plan for remediation of, or engage in emergency remediation of an infestation of rodents or insects, including bed bugs,' within 72 hours of the landlord's first notice of the infestation (RSA 540-A:3, IV-a) |
| Form and delivery of the notice | For the ordinary repair/ownership entry, the statute requires only 'notice which is adequate under the circumstances' (RSA 540-A:3, V) — it does not prescribe a written form or specific contents for that. The one written-notice requirement is the bedbug-evaluation entry after an adjacent-unit report: the landlord must give '48 hours written notice of his or her need to enter the premises to evaluate whether bed bugs are present' (RSA 540-A:3, V-b(b)) |
| Special rules for showings | None. New Hampshire's entry statute does not separately address showing an occupied unit to buyers or new tenants; a landlord who wants to show the unit needs the tenant's consent after adequate notice (or a court order if the tenant refuses), the same as any other non-emergency entry. See the advance-notice row |
| Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry | Strong. A tenant may petition the district or superior court for relief from a violation of RSA 540-A:3 — no filing fee, and the tenant may proceed without a lawyer (RSA 540-A:4, II-III) — and the court may order the conduct stopped and award damages (RSA 540-A:4, VII). A landlord who violates any provision of RSA 540-A:3 (including willfully entering without consent) 'shall be subject to the civil remedies set forth in RSA 358-A:10 ... including costs and reasonable attorney's fees' (RSA 540-A:4, IX(a)): under RSA 358-A:10, I, that is 'actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater,' rising to 'as much as 3 times, but not less than 2 times' for a willful or knowing violation, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. A landlord also may not bring a retaliatory possessory action against a tenant who proves a RSA 540-A:3 violation, for six months (RSA 540-A:4, XI) |
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How landlord entry works in New Hampshire
New Hampshire does not have a URLTA-style entry statute with a 24-hour clock. Instead, its
entry rules live in RSA 540-A:3, a list of "prohibited practices" enforced through RSA
540-A:4, and they are built around the tenant's consent rather than a fixed notice period.
The core rule: consent, emergency, or a court order. A landlord "shall not willfully
enter into the premises of the tenant without prior consent, other than to make emergency
repairs" (RSA 540-A:3, IV). And to remove any doubt, RSA 540-A:3, V-d says that
"notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a landlord may only enter a tenant's
dwelling unit without the consent of the tenant" to make emergency repairs or with "an order
authorizing the entry from a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to RSA 540-A:4." So a
landlord who wants in, and cannot get your agreement, has one lawful path for a non-emergency:
ask a court.
Ordinary entries run on consent after adequate notice. The flip side is that you cannot
simply stonewall. A tenant "shall not willfully refuse the landlord access to the premises to
make necessary repairs, or to perform other reasonable and lawful functions commonly
associated with the ownership of rental property, at a reasonable time after notice which is
adequate under the circumstances" (RSA 540-A:3, V). New Hampshire does not put a number on
that notice — "adequate under the circumstances" is the test — and it does not spell out an
inspect/showings list; it uses the broad "functions commonly associated with ownership."
Emergencies and bedbugs. Emergency repairs need no consent (RSA 540-A:3, IV), and the
statute says those expressly include entering to evaluate or remediate an infestation of
rodents or insects, including bedbugs, within 72 hours of the landlord's first notice of it
(RSA 540-A:3, IV-a). There is also one hard notice figure in the whole scheme: if bedbugs are
reported in a unit next to, above, or below yours, the landlord may enter to check yours only
after giving "48 hours written notice" (RSA 540-A:3, V-b(b)).
So the practical answer to "how much notice?" in New Hampshire is: enough to be adequate under
the circumstances for an ordinary repair (with your consent, or a court order if you refuse),
none for a genuine emergency, and a fixed 48 hours in writing for a bedbug check triggered by a
neighboring unit.
What trips people up
There is no fixed 24-hour rule in New Hampshire. Guides that list a flat 24-hour figure
for every state are wrong for New Hampshire. The statute requires "notice which is adequate
under the circumstances" (RSA 540-A:3, V), not a set number — the fixed figures are the 48-hour
bedbug-evaluation notice and the 72-hour window that defines an infestation "emergency" entry.
Without consent, the landlord's lawful move is a court order, not force. RSA 540-A:3, V-d
limits no-consent entry to emergency repairs or a court order. A landlord who is refused access
for a legitimate repair can petition the court (and the tenant who refuses adequate, reasonable
requests risks losing that petition), but self-help entry over your objection is not permitted.
The penalties are real. A landlord who willfully enters without consent violates RSA
540-A:3 and is exposed to the Consumer Protection Act remedies through RSA 540-A:4, IX(a):
actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, up to two or three times that for a willful
violation, plus costs and attorney's fees (RSA 358-A:10, I). You can bring the petition without
a filing fee and without a lawyer (RSA 540-A:4, III).
Common questions
Does my New Hampshire landlord have to give notice before entering? For a non-emergency
entry the landlord needs your consent, and to seek it must give "notice which is adequate under
the circumstances" at a reasonable time (RSA 540-A:3, V). There is no fixed hour figure except
the 48-hour written notice for a bedbug check tied to a neighboring unit (RSA 540-A:3, V-b(b)).
Can my landlord enter without my consent? Only to make emergency repairs, or with a court
order (RSA 540-A:3, V-d). Otherwise the landlord needs your consent.
Can I just refuse to let my landlord in? Not for a legitimate repair or normal ownership
task after adequate notice — RSA 540-A:3, V says a tenant may not willfully refuse that. But if
you do refuse, the landlord's remedy is to go to court, not to force the door.
What can I do if my landlord enters without consent? File a petition under RSA 540-A
(no filing fee, no lawyer required). A landlord who violates RSA 540-A:3 is liable for actual
damages or $1,000, whichever is greater — doubled or tripled for a willful violation — plus
costs and attorney's fees (RSA 540-A:4, IX(a); RSA 358-A:10, I).
Statutes and sources
- RSA 540-A:3 — the prohibited-practices section: a landlord may not willfully enter without prior consent except for emergency repairs (IV), which include infestation entry within 72 hours (IV-a); a tenant may not willfully refuse access for necessary repairs or ownership functions after adequate notice at a reasonable time (V); the bedbug-evaluation entry after an adjacent-unit report requires 48 hours' written notice (V-b); and, without consent, a landlord "may only enter" for emergency repairs or by court order (V-d).
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-3.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - RSA 540-A:4 — the remedies section: a tenant may petition the court without a filing fee or counsel (II-III), the court may grant injunctive relief and damages (VII), and a landlord who violates RSA 540-A:3 is subject to the RSA 358-A:10 civil remedies plus costs and attorney's fees (IX(a)), with a bar on retaliatory possessory actions (XI).
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-4.htm (accessed 2026-07-11) - RSA 358-A:10 — the Consumer Protection Act private remedy incorporated by RSA 540-A:4, IX(a): actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, up to two-to-three times for a willful or knowing violation, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees (I).
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-A/358-A-10.htm (accessed 2026-07-11)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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