In New Hampshire, a landlord starts a nonpayment eviction by serving the tenant a Demand for Rent on Form NHJB-3040-D, available from the New Hampshire Judicial Branch. The form tells the tenant exactly how much back rent is owed and for which rental period, and it satisfies the “upon demand” language in RSA 540:2, II(a) that a landlord must meet before terminating a tenancy for unpaid rent.1New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:2 – Termination of Tenancy Get the demand right and the case moves forward cleanly; get it wrong and a judge can throw the eviction out.
What the Demand for Rent Does
RSA 540:2, II(a) authorizes a landlord to end a tenancy for “neglect or refusal to pay rent due and in arrears, upon demand.” The Demand for Rent is the document that proves the demand was made. Without it in the file, the court has no evidence the landlord formally asked for the money before moving to evict.
The demand is a separate document from the eviction notice (formerly called a “Notice to Quit”). The eviction notice is what gives the tenant the minimum seven days to leave for nonpayment; the demand does not set a deadline. The statute allows the demand to be served any time after rent becomes due, and it must be served before or at the same time as the eviction notice.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:5 – Service of Notice Serving the eviction notice first, with the demand catching up later, puts the documents out of sequence and gives the tenant grounds to challenge the case.
Filling Out Form NHJB-3040-D
Download the current version of the form from the New Hampshire Judicial Branch’s landlord/tenant forms page at courts.nh.gov. Look for form number NHJB-3040-D. Older versions or a homemade letter will not necessarily contain the language the court expects, so use the official form.
Page one has four sections to complete:
- Tenant information. The full legal name of every adult tenant listed on the lease, plus street address, city, state, and zip code.
- Rent default details. The specific rental period for which payment has not been received (for example, “March 1, 2026 through April 30, 2026”), and the street address, apartment number, and town or city of the rental property.
- Amount owed. The total dollar amount of back rent currently due. Enter rent only. Do not add late fees, utility charges, or damage estimates.
- Landlord or agent signature. The printed name of the landlord or authorized agent, a mailing address, the date, and the signature.
Two details on the amount owed deserve care. First, check the arithmetic. If the form claims $2,400 but the evidence at the hearing shows only $1,200 was actually past due, the judge may dismiss. Second, keep the figure limited to rent. Bundling in late fees or utility charges creates a discrepancy the tenant can dispute at the hearing, and courts have used that kind of inflated demand to defeat evictions.
The form itself includes a notice to tenants that they may apply for rental assistance through their town or city welfare office. That language is preprinted on the form, so the tenant sees it automatically once served.
Serving the Form on the Tenant
RSA 540:5 allows any person to deliver the demand. That includes the landlord, a property manager, a friend, or a hired process server. There are two acceptable methods, and both are equally valid under the statute:
- Personal service. Handing the form directly to the tenant.
- Abode service. Leaving the form at the tenant’s “last and usual place of abode,” which is typically the rental unit. That can mean sliding it under the door, leaving it in the mailbox, or taping it securely to the main entrance.
Whoever delivers the form then completes the Affidavit of Service at the bottom of page one. The affidavit records the date, the time (including a.m. or p.m.), the method used (in hand or at the abode), and the tenant’s name. The statute specifies that the affidavit does not need to be sworn under oath, but it does need to be signed by the person who actually made the delivery, and it needs to reflect accurately what happened.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:5 – Service of Notice A common mistake is having the landlord sign the affidavit when someone else did the actual serving. Don’t do that. The signature belongs to the person who handed over or posted the form.
Make at least two copies of the completed and served form. Keep one for your records and file one with the court later when you submit the Landlord and Tenant Writ. The court will review both the demand and the affidavit of service, so an incomplete affidavit can sink the filing on its own.
Timing With the Eviction Notice
Most landlords serve the demand for rent and the eviction notice at the same time. The statute expressly allows simultaneous service, and serving both together keeps the timeline moving.
The eviction notice is the document that starts the clock. For nonpayment, it must give the tenant a minimum of seven days before the landlord can file the court case. Other lease violations require a 30-day notice, but nonpayment under RSA 540:2, II(a) is a seven-day matter.3New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:3 – Eviction Notice Count the seven days starting the day after service; if the seventh day lands on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
The eviction notice must state the reason for eviction. When the reason is nonpayment, it must also tell the tenant about the right to stop the eviction by paying the arrears plus liquidated damages under RSA 540:9. The Judicial Branch publishes a separate official eviction notice form for that purpose. Filing the court case before the seven days fully expire, even by a single day, is grounds for dismissal.
Mistakes That Get Cases Dismissed
A short list of errors accounts for most of the nonpayment cases New Hampshire judges throw out.
- Accepting a partial payment after serving the demand. Depending on the circumstances, a court may treat acceptance of a partial payment as a waiver of the demand or as evidence of a new arrangement, either of which can force the landlord to start over. If the tenant offers partial rent during the notice period and you want to continue the eviction, the safest move is to decline. If practical reasons make you accept, put a written agreement in place, signed by both parties, stating that acceptance does not waive the right to proceed and that the balance is still due. Even then, a judge may look at the situation closely.
- Wrong amount on the demand. Inflating the figure with late fees, utility charges, or damage costs mixed in with rent.
- Missing or incomplete affidavit of service. No date, no time, no method, or the wrong person signing.
- Documents out of sequence. Eviction notice served first, demand catching up later.
- Filing the writ too early. The court case cannot be filed until the eviction notice period has fully run.
What the Landlord Cannot Do Instead
No matter how far behind the tenant is, the demand-notice-court sequence is the only legal way to recover the property. RSA 540-A:3 prohibits three self-help tactics: shutting off any utility service supplied to the tenant (water, heat, electricity, gas, telephone, sewage, or elevator), locking the tenant out or otherwise denying access to the unit outside of a court order, and seizing or holding the tenant’s belongings as leverage for unpaid rent. Violations expose the landlord to damages, costs, and attorney’s fees awarded to the tenant, and a violation of a final court order under RSA 540-A can bring contempt penalties, including fines and imprisonment.4New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540-A:3 – Certain Prohibited Practices of Landlords Serve the demand, serve the notice, and let the court do the rest.