New Hampshire: Security Deposit Return Deadlines & Deductions
The short answer
A New Hampshire landlord must return your security deposit, plus any interest owed, within 30 days after your tenancy ends. The deposit itself is capped at one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater, and must be held in trust — not mixed with the landlord's own money — either at a New Hampshire bank, savings and loan, or credit union, or backed by a surety bond instead. If the landlord holds your deposit for a year or longer, they owe you interest on it. Miss the 30-day deadline or the interest rule, and the landlord owes double the deposit plus interest, minus any lawful deductions. Note: this law doesn't cover every landlord — it excludes anyone renting out a single-family home they don't otherwise rent property from, or an owner-occupied building of 5 units or fewer, unless you're 60 or older.
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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 | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 540-A:5 through 540-A:8 (Prohibited Practices and Security Deposits) |
|---|---|
| Deadline to return the deposit | 30 days from the termination of the tenancy — the statute's own text does not add a separate delivery-of-possession trigger on top of that |
| Itemized statement required? | Yes — a written, itemized list is required whenever the landlord deducts for damage (stating the repair needed 'with particularity' and providing satisfactory evidence like receipts, estimates, bills, or invoices) or for unpaid rent, real estate taxes, or other lawful charges |
| What can be deducted | Unpaid rent; the cost to repair damage to the premises, excluding reasonable wear and tear; the tenant's share of a real estate tax increase during the lease term, but only if the lease requires the tenant to pay it; and other lawful charges due under the lease that remain unpaid |
| Maximum deposit amount | One month's rent or $100, whichever is greater — and the statute defines 'security deposit' broadly as all funds beyond the monthly rent transferred to the landlord for any purpose, so pet fees and other charges count toward this same cap |
| Interest on the deposit? | Yes, if the landlord holds the deposit for one year or longer — at the interest rate paid on regular savings accounts at the New Hampshire bank, savings and loan, or credit union holding it (or the actual interest earned, split proportionately, if multiple tenants' deposits are commingled in one account). A tenant can request payout of accrued interest every 3 years. |
| Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding | Failing to return the deposit on time or pay interest due (violating § 540-A:6, IV or § 540-A:7) makes the landlord liable for twice the sum of the deposit plus interest due, minus any lawful deductions. Separately, failing to give the required receipt, hold the deposit in trust, or transfer it properly on a sale (violating § 540-A:6, I, II, or III) is itself deemed a violation of New Hampshire's Consumer Protection Act, opening a second remedy track (actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater; not less than double, up to triple, for a willful violation; mandatory attorney's fees for a prevailing tenant). No liability at all if the landlord's noncompliance was caused by the tenant's own failure to give a forwarding address; an unclaimed deposit becomes the landlord's property after 6 months in that situation. |
| Separate account or bond required? | Yes — the deposit must be held in trust, never mixed with the landlord's own money, at a bank, savings and loan, or credit union organized under New Hampshire law (multiple tenants' deposits may be commingled together in one such trust account). A landlord may substitute a New Hampshire-based surety bond, filed with the city or town clerk, instead of holding the money in trust. |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
New Hampshire's deposit rules live in a short set of sections, N.H. Rev.
Stat. Ann. §§ 540-A:5 through 540-A:8 ("Prohibited Practices and Security
Deposits"). A scope note matters here: the statute's own definition of
"landlord" excludes "a person who rents or leases a single-family
residence and owns no other rental property" and anyone renting units "in
an owner-occupied building of 5 units or less" — except that this
exclusion doesn't apply "for any individual unit in such building which is
occupied by a person or persons 60 years of age or older" (§ 540-A:5). If
you fall into one of those excluded categories, none of the deadlines,
caps, or penalties below apply to your deposit, though your landlord still
generally owes the money back under ordinary contract principles.
Deadline to return the deposit
"A landlord shall return a security deposit to a tenant and pay the
interest due, if any, within 30 days from the termination of the tenancy"
(§ 540-A:7, I). That's the full trigger — the statute doesn't add a
separate step tied to when you actually hand back the keys.
Itemized statement required?
Yes, whenever the landlord deducts anything. For damage, the landlord
"shall provide the tenant with a written, itemized list... which shall
indicate with particularity the nature of any repair necessary... and
satisfactory evidence that repair... has been or will be completed" —
things like receipts, labor estimates, bills, or invoices (§ 540-A:7, I).
The same itemization duty applies to any claimed unpaid rent, tax share,
or other lawful charge (§ 540-A:7, II).
What can be deducted
Unpaid rent; the cost of repairing damage to the premises "excluding
reasonable wear and tear"; the tenant's share of a real estate tax
increase during the lease, but only "if the tenant is required under the
lease agreement to pay" it; and "other lawful charges due under the lease
which remain unpaid" (§ 540-A:7).
Maximum deposit amount
"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" (§
540-A:6, I(a)). The statute defines "security deposit" broadly as "all
funds in excess of the monthly rent which are transferred from the tenant
to the landlord for any purpose" (§ 540-A:5) — so a pet fee or any other
up-front charge counts toward this same single cap, not a separate one.
Interest on the deposit?
Yes, once the holding period crosses a year: "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" at the New Hampshire institution holding it
(§ 540-A:6, IV(a)). If the landlord pools multiple tenants' deposits in
one account, the rule shifts slightly: the landlord then "shall pay the
actual interest earned on such account proportionately to each tenant"
instead of the passbook rate. A tenant can also request payout of accrued
interest every 3 years, and the landlord then has 15 days to comply (§
540-A:6, IV(c)).
Penalty for a late/bad-faith withholding
Two separate tracks. Missing the 30-day return deadline or the interest
requirement makes the landlord "liable to the tenant in damages in an
amount equal to twice the sum of the amount of the security deposit plus
any interest due... less any payments made and any charges owing" (§
540-A:8, I(b)) — a flat doubling, not a discretionary range. Separately,
failing to give the required receipt, hold the deposit in trust, or
transfer it properly when the property is sold "shall be deemed to have
violated RSA 358-A:2" (§ 540-A:8, I(a)) — New Hampshire's Consumer
Protection Act. That opens a second remedy track under § 358-A:10:
"recovery shall be in the amount of 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 mandatory "costs of the suit and
reasonable attorney's fees" for a prevailing tenant. Neither penalty
applies, though, if the landlord's noncompliance is "due to the failure of
the tenant to notify the landlord of his new address" — and an unclaimed
deposit becomes the landlord's property outright after 6 months in that
situation (§ 540-A:8, II).
Separate account or bond required?
Yes. The deposit "continue[s] to be the money of the tenant and shall be
held in trust," never "mingled with the personal moneys" of the landlord,
at "any bank, savings and loan association or credit union organized
under the laws of" New Hampshire (§ 540-A:6, II). Multiple tenants'
deposits can be pooled together in one such trust account. As an
alternative, a landlord can post "a bond written by a company located in
New Hampshire," filed "with the clerk of the city or town" where the
property sits, instead of holding the money at all.
What trips people up
This law doesn't cover every rental. If your landlord rents out only a
single-family home and owns no other rental property, or lives in the
same small building (5 units or fewer) that you rent in, none of these
deadlines or penalties apply to you by default — unless you're 60 or
older, in which case the protections apply regardless.
Interest is owed based on how long the deposit was held, not just
whether it was pooled with other tenants' money. The one-year holding
period is what triggers the interest duty in the first place; pooling
multiple tenants' deposits only changes HOW the interest is calculated
(actual earnings, split proportionately) rather than whether it's owed at
all.
Not sending your new address can cost you the whole deposit. If the
landlord can't reach you because you never gave a forwarding address,
they're not liable for missing the deadline — and after 6 months, an
unclaimed deposit becomes theirs outright.
Common questions
How long does my New Hampshire landlord have to return my deposit? 30
days from when the tenancy ends.
Is there a cap on my deposit? Yes — one month's rent or $100,
whichever is greater, and that cap covers all upfront charges beyond rent,
not just a deposit labeled as such.
What if my landlord is late? You can recover double the deposit plus
any interest due, minus lawful deductions. If the landlord also skipped
the receipt, trust, or transfer-on-sale rules, that's separately treated
as a Consumer Protection Act violation, which can add attorney's fees and
a further damages multiplier.
Statutes and sources
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:5 — definitions, including the landlord-scope exclusions and the broad "security deposit" definition.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-5.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:6, I(a) — the one-month-rent-or-$100 cap.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-6.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:6, II — the trust/segregation requirement and the surety-bond alternative.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-6.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:6, IV(a) — the one-year interest requirement.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-6.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:7 — the 30-day return deadline and permitted deductions.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-7.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:8, I — the double-damages penalty and the Consumer Protection Act cross-reference.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-8.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540-A:8, II — the forwarding-address exception and the 6-month unclaimed-deposit rule.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-8.htm (accessed 2026-07-06) - N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 358-A:10, I — the Consumer Protection Act's own damages, multiplier, and attorney's-fee rule.
https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-A/358-A-10.htm (accessed 2026-07-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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