How to Evict a Tenant in New Hampshire: Laws, Process, and Timeline
New Hampshire Eviction Timeline 2026: The 7-Day Notice Reaches Past Unpaid Rent
New Hampshire’s eviction law, RSA chapter 540, runs the eviction lawsuit as a possessory action on a writ of summons returnable before the district court (RSA 540:12-13). Which grounds a landlord needs depends on the property. For “restricted property” — under RSA 540:1-a, II, every residential rental not on the nonrestricted list — RSA 540:2, II allows termination only for a listed reason. “Nonrestricted property,” defined in RSA 540:1-a, I, covers single-family houses whose owner holds no more than 3 of them at a time, units in an owner-occupied building of 4 or fewer units, and single-family houses taken back by a lender through foreclosure; there, RSA 540:2, I lets the owner end any tenancy with proper notice, cause or no cause.
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground (restricted property) | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent | 7 days | RSA 540:2, II(a); RSA 540:3, II | Yes — paying all rent owed, other lawful lease charges, $15 liquidated damages, and the landlord’s filing and service costs before the hearing on the merits, in cash, certified check, prepaid money order, electronic transfer, or other guaranteed or immediately drawable funds (a written promise of payment from the state, a county, or a municipality, or a payment from an organization disbursing federal or state funds, also counts under RSA 540:9-a, I), gets the case dismissed under RSA 540:9, no more than 3 times in 12 months |
| Substantial damage to the premises by the tenant, household, or guests | 7 days | RSA 540:2, II(b); RSA 540:3, II | No — neither section provides a cure |
| Failure to comply with a material lease term | 30 days | RSA 540:2, II(c); RSA 540:3, II | No — neither section provides a cure |
| Tenant or family behavior adversely affecting the health or safety of other tenants or the landlord, or refusing temporary relocation for lead-hazard abatement | 7 days | RSA 540:2, II(d); RSA 540:3, II | No — neither section provides a cure |
| Other good cause, including a legitimate business or economic reason or refusing a properly noticed rent increase | 30 days | RSA 540:2, II(e), IV-V; RSA 540:3, II | No cure right, but where the cause is the tenant’s own conduct, RSA 540:2, III requires a prior written warning before the eviction notice |
| Lead exposure hazard the owner will abate by a method that takes the unit off the market or runs past 30 days | 30 days | RSA 540:2, II(f); RSA 540:3, II | N/A |
| Willful failure to prepare the unit for insect or rodent (including bed bug) remediation after reasonable written notice | 30 days | RSA 540:2, II(g); RSA 540:3, II | No — neither section provides a cure |
| Remaining cotenant or occupant is the accused perpetrator of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking after a lease termination under RSA 540:11-b | 7 days | RSA 540:2, II(h); RSA 540:3, II | N/A |
| End of a lease term of 12 months or longer (or renewed to a total of 12 months or longer) | Two notices: a written non-renewal notice at least 60 days before the term ends, plus the 30-day eviction notice (notice to quit) that every RSA 540:2, II ground requires; possessory action filed within 6 months after expiration | RSA 540:2, II(i); RSA 540:3, II | N/A |
New Hampshire’s notice periods come down to two numbers, but the 7-day one covers more than rent. RSA 540:3, II sets 30 days for every residential tenancy and cuts it to 7 days for four of the RSA 540:2 grounds: nonpayment, substantial damage, behavior that adversely affects others’ health or safety, and a remaining accused domestic-violence perpetrator. Conduct that some guides file under “nuisance” or “criminal activity” gets the 7-day notice whenever it fits the health-or-safety wording of II(d) or the substantial-damage wording of II(b). An ordinary lease violation, general good cause, and the pest-preparation ground stay on the 30-day track. The notice itself must state the reason with specificity, and a nonpayment notice must tell the tenant about the right to pay and stay under RSA 540:9 (RSA 540:3, III-IV). The lease-expiration ground adds a step rather than replacing one: it applies only to leases that reached 12 months, the 60-day non-renewal notice under RSA 540:2, II(i) is a condition of the ground itself, and because RSA 540:2, II still requires a notice to quit “in accordance with RSA 540:3” and II(i) is not on the 7-day list, the landlord also serves the 30-day eviction notice. RSA 540:2, VIII keeps that no-fault ending from being treated as an eviction on rental applications and tenant screening reports.
The Court Process
- File. Once the notice period runs, the landlord obtains a writ of summons stating that the tenant is holding the premises without right after written notice to quit (RSA 540:13, I). The landlord can add a claim for unpaid rent; a money judgment in the possessory case is capped at $1,500.
- Serve. The sheriff serves the writ, which is returnable 7 days from service (RSA 540:13, III). A tenant who wants to contest must file an appearance by the return day; for cases under the version of RSA 540:13 effective October 8, 2026, the tenant also has to file an answer with defenses and counterclaims within 5 days after the return date.
- Hearing. If the tenant appears, the hearing is scheduled within 10 days after the appearance, with notice mailed at least 6 days ahead (RSA 540:13, V).
- Judgment. RSA 540:13, V has two versions, split by date. Through October 7, 2026: if the tenant does not appear, the court must mail a notice of default at least 3 days before it issues the writ of possession; for a contested case this text sets no day count between the ruling and the writ. From October 8, 2026: a tenant who does not appear is in default and the notice of default is mailed the day after; after a contested hearing the court mails notice of the judgment no later than 2 days later, and 7 days after that mailing enters judgment for a prevailing landlord and issues the writ of possession. Under both versions, an appeal takes two filings: a notice of intent to appeal in the district court within 7 days of the notice of judgment (RSA 540:20), and then a notice of appeal in the New Hampshire Supreme Court within 30 days of the notice of the district court’s decision (RSA 540:13, II(d)). The tenant also pays all rent as it comes due from the notice of intent until the appeal is finally resolved, and under the version effective October 8, 2026, a tenant who files any post-judgment motion, such as a motion for reconsideration, pays rent as it comes due until the court rules on it (RSA 540:13, II(d)-(e)). In a nonpayment case the rent goes into court weekly and in advance, in the weekly amount set by the judgment: one week’s rent when the notice of intent is filed, then on the same day of each week. A missed payment brings a default notice and a writ of possession, but if the tenant pays the clerk all rent due since the notice of intent was filed before the sheriff serves the writ, the writ is recalled and the appeal reinstated (RSA 540:25, I). In any other case the tenant pays the rent coming due into court or to the landlord, as the court directs (RSA 540:25, II).
- Stay of dispossession. RSA 540:13-c lets the judge hold off removal if justice requires it, provided the tenant pays the former rent weekly in advance. Through October 7, 2026: the stay can run up to 3 months from the default, confession of judgment, or ruling, and the stay is available after a default too. From October 8, 2026: the ceiling is 60 days, or up to 75 days if the tenant shows the landlord won’t be financially harmed or put at risk and needs the time because of age, family status, disability, or limited English proficiency, and any tenant default under the chapter rules out a discretionary stay.
- Removal. The writ of possession authorizes the sheriff to remove the tenant (RSA 540:14, I).
What This Costs
Confirm the current filing fee and sheriff’s service charge with the clerk of the district court where the writ is entered. Those same filing and service charges are part of what a nonpaying tenant must repay under RSA 540:9 to have the case dismissed.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
RSA 540-A:3 bars a landlord from willfully interrupting a tenant’s utilities — water, heat, light, electricity, gas, and more — and from denying the tenant access to the unit or to their belongings “other than through proper judicial process.” A violation carries the civil remedies of RSA 358-A:10 plus costs and attorney’s fees under RSA 540-A:4, IX, and a lockout where the landlord has already re-let the unit costs at least $3,000. Retaliation is a defense to the possessory action under RSA 540:13-a unless the tenant owes a week’s rent or more, and RSA 540:13-b presumes retaliation when the eviction, a rent increase, or a substantial change in terms comes within 6 months after the landlord gets notice of the tenant’s code complaint, finishes the repairs it prompted, learns of a 540-A action, or discovers tenant organizing — unless the court finds the tenant’s complaint was mainly meant to head off an eviction. A tenant who wins on retaliation can recover up to 3 months’ rent (RSA 540:14, II).
Frequently Asked Questions
How long after losing in court does a New Hampshire tenant have before the writ issues? It depends on the date. Through October 7, 2026, RSA 540:13, V fixes a timeline only for a default (notice mailed at least 3 days before the writ), and a judge can stay dispossession under RSA 540:13-c for up to 3 months. From October 8, 2026, the court mails notice of the judgment within 2 days of a contested hearing and the writ of possession issues 7 days after that mailing; the stay ceiling drops to 60 days, or 75 in limited cases, and is unavailable to a tenant who defaulted. Under either version the stay requires the tenant to pay the weekly rent in advance.
Does New Hampshire give a shorter notice period for nuisance or criminal activity than for an ordinary lease violation? Yes, when the conduct fits one of those grounds. RSA 540:3, II allows a 7-day notice when the ground is behavior that adversely affects the health or safety of other tenants or the landlord, and when it is substantial damage to the premises. An ordinary material lease violation still needs 30 days.
Can paying the rent owed stop a New Hampshire eviction after the notice period has already run? Yes, up to the hearing on the merits. RSA 540:9 dismisses a case based solely on nonpayment if the tenant pays all rent due, other lawful lease charges, $15 in liquidated damages, and the landlord’s filing and service costs before that hearing — but only in cash, certified check, prepaid money order, electronic transfer, or other guaranteed or immediately drawable funds (or a written promise of payment from the state, a county, or a municipality, or a payment from an organization disbursing federal or state funds, under RSA 540:9-a, I), and no more than 3 times in any 12-month period. The landlord is supposed to file a receipt with the court before the hearing; if it doesn’t, the hearing goes ahead, and the case is dismissed if the tenant proves the payment was made that way.