NH Eviction Notice: Periods, Grounds, and Tenant Defenses

A New Hampshire eviction notice is the written document a landlord must give a tenant before filing anything in court, and state law sets the minimum timing at 7 days for nonpayment of rent, substantial property damage, or conduct that threatens health or safety, and 30 days for most other grounds. The notice has to state the reason with specificity, and in a nonpayment case it must tell the tenant they can stop the eviction by paying what they owe plus $15 in liquidated damages before the court hearing.¹

How Much Notice the Landlord Must Give

The length depends entirely on the reason. Seven days is the minimum when the eviction is based on nonpayment of rent, substantial damage to the property, or behavior by the tenant or household members that threatens the health or safety of other tenants or the landlord’s representatives.²

For every other ground, including a lease violation, other good cause, or the end of a lease term, the minimum is 30 days.²

These are floors. A landlord can always give more time; giving less makes the notice defective and gives you a reason to ask the court to dismiss the case.

What Reasons a Landlord Can Use

New Hampshire splits rentals into two categories, and the category decides whether the landlord needs a statutory reason at all.

Most residential rentals are “restricted property.” A few types are “nonrestricted”: a single-family home whose owner holds no more than three single-family homes total, a unit in an owner-occupied building with four or fewer total units, a single-family home acquired by a lender through foreclosure, and any commercial property. For nonrestricted property, the landlord can end the tenancy for any reason as long as the notice itself is correct.

For restricted property, the reason has to be one the statute allows:

Unpaid rent that is due and in arrears after a demand for payment.
Substantial damage to the property beyond normal wear and tear, caused by the tenant, household members, or guests.
A material violation of a written lease term.
Behavior that threatens the health or safety of other tenants or the landlord’s representatives.
Other good cause, including legitimate business or economic reasons such as renovating or repurposing the property.
Expiration of a lease whose original term was 12 months or longer.

A tenant’s refusal to accept a rent increase counts as good cause only if the landlord gave at least 30 days’ written notice of the increase before its effective date. When the good cause rests on something the tenant did or failed to do, the landlord must first send a written warning giving a chance to correct the behavior before issuing the eviction notice.³

What the Notice Must Contain

The notice has to state the reason for the eviction with specificity. A generic reference to “lease violations” without identifying which term was broken is not enough. In a nonpayment case, it must also tell the tenant they can avoid eviction by paying all back rent plus $15 in liquidated damages before the court hearing.¹

The statute doesn’t require an elaborate format beyond those pieces, but the New Hampshire Judicial Branch publishes a standardized eviction notice form that most landlords use. It has spaces for the tenant’s name, the property address, the specific ground with a statutory reference, and the date by which the tenant must vacate. Using the court’s own form is the cleanest way to make sure nothing is missing.²

For nonpayment, landlords usually include a demand for rent with the notice to quit. The demand spells out the exact dollar amount owed and the period it covers, which satisfies the notice requirements in a single document.

How the Notice Must Be Served

Any person can serve the notice. No sheriff or process server is required. The two methods the statute allows are handing it to the tenant directly or leaving it at the tenant’s “last and usual place of abode,” which in practice means posting it at the door of the rental.⁴

If you receive a posted notice, note the date and time you found it; service questions come up often, and the record on the tenant’s side matters as much as the record on the landlord’s.

Your Right to Cure a Nonpayment Notice

This is the protection most tenants need to know about. At any point before the court hearing on the merits, you can stop a nonpayment eviction entirely by paying the landlord all rent owed through the date of payment, plus $15 in liquidated damages, plus any court filing fees and service costs the landlord has already incurred. Payment must be in cash, certified check, money order, electronic transfer, or another form of guaranteed funds.⁵

There’s a cap. You can only use this right three times in any 12-month period. After the third cure, the landlord can refuse payment and keep going with the eviction even if you have the money in hand.⁵

Once you cure, the landlord must file a receipt with the court and confirm in writing that a copy went to you. If the landlord doesn’t file it, the hearing goes forward anyway, but you can bring your proof of payment and ask the court to dismiss.

What Happens When the Notice Period Ends

If you haven’t left or cured by the date on the notice, the landlord’s next step is filing a possessory action in the circuit court’s district division. That filing takes the form of a writ of summons stating the landlord is entitled to possession and you are occupying without right.⁶

The writ is served by a sheriff. You then have 7 days from service to file an appearance with the court. The writ comes with a printed notice explaining your rights, including the right to contest the eviction, request a recording of the hearing, and appeal an adverse decision. If you file an appearance, the court schedules a hearing within 10 days. If you don’t file or don’t show up, the court mails a default notice and can issue a writ of possession without a full hearing.⁶

The writ of possession is the end point. The landlord takes it to the sheriff, who physically removes the tenant and changes the locks. No landlord can skip this step and remove you on their own.⁷

Defenses Worth Raising at the Hearing

Procedural Defects

A notice that doesn’t state the reason with enough detail, leaves out the right-to-cure language in a nonpayment case, was served improperly, or didn’t give the full statutory period is defective, and courts dismiss on these grounds routinely. Landlords sometimes use generic templates or miscalculate dates, so this defense comes up more often than you’d expect.

Habitability

Under RSA 540:13-d, you can defeat a nonpayment eviction by showing the landlord failed to maintain the property in livable condition and you withheld rent because of serious health or safety violations that materially affect your ability to live there. You need documentation of the problem, written notice to the landlord, and evidence that the landlord had reasonable time to repair but didn’t.

Retaliation

New Hampshire bars evictions in retaliation for exercising legal rights, including reporting code violations, filing a complaint under RSA 540-A, or organizing with other tenants. If the landlord’s action comes within six months of a protected activity, the court presumes retaliation. That presumption doesn’t apply if you already owed at least one week’s rent.

Self-Help Removal Is Illegal

Whatever the circumstances, the landlord cannot bypass the court. Shutting off water, heat, electricity, gas, or sewage; changing locks; seizing your belongings; or entering without consent except for emergency repairs all violate RSA 540-A:3.⁸ A tenant subjected to these tactics can recover actual damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees, with a $3,000 minimum if the landlord locks you out and re-rents the unit.⁹

When Federal Law Changes the Minimum

Two federal rules can lengthen the notice you’re entitled to. If the property has a federally backed mortgage or takes part in a federal housing assistance program, the CARES Act requires at least 30 days’ written notice before you can be required to vacate, no matter what state law would otherwise allow. That requirement has no expiration date.¹⁰

If the property you’re renting goes through foreclosure, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act gives you at least 90 days’ notice from the new owner before you can be required to leave, and a bona fide lease generally runs through its term unless the new owner is moving in as a primary resident.¹¹

1
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:3 – Eviction Notice
2
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Eviction Notice Form
3
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:2 – Termination of Tenancy
4
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:5 – Service of Demand and Eviction Notice
5
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:9 – Payment of Rent
6
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540:13 – Writ of Summons, Service, Hearing
7
New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Landlord/Tenant Information Sheet
8
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540-A:3 – Certain Practices Prohibited
9
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 540-A:4 – Remedies
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 9058 – Temporary Moratorium on Eviction Filings
11
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act