Breaking a lease in New Hampshire

A tenant may end a lease early when called to active duty from the reserves or National Guard, or when reassigned out of state while on active duty, by written notice within 7 days of receiving the orders. A tenant may also end a lease when the tenant or a household member was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking within the last 150 days and gives written verification (RSA 540:11-a; RSA 540:11-b, I).

• Verification may be a protective order, legal action to get one, a police report, a statement from a law enforcement official, victim's advocate, attorney or health care provider, or the circuit court's signed self-certification form. Keep it confidential (RSA 540:11-b, I(c); RSA 540:11-b, II).
• The victim tenant moves out within 30 days of the notice, or as agreed, and owes rent only through the termination date or the move-out date, whichever is later (RSA 540:11-b, III; RSA 540:11-b, IV).
• The military notice follows the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (RSA 540:11-a, III).
• For restricted property, the end of a lease of 12 months or longer, counting renewals, is a ground for eviction only if you gave written nonrenewal notice at least 60 days before the term ends and file within 6 months after it expires (RSA 540:2, II(i)).See Eviction process on the New Hampshire page

A tenant may defend a nonpayment eviction if the home substantially violates the state or local fitness standards in a way that materially affects habitability. The tenant must prove by clear and convincing evidence that, while current in rent, it gave notice to the person it pays rent to and you did not fix the problem within 14 days (or as fast as an emergency requires), that the tenant did not cause it, and that weather or refused access did not prevent the repair (RSA 540:13-d, I).

• The court may continue the case up to one month for the repair and require the tenant to pay withheld and future rent into court. If the repair is made, the case is dismissed and the rent is paid to you or split to reflect the home's reduced value; if not, the tenant wins and gets the money back (RSA 540:13-d, II).
• A tenant may also petition the district court, with no filing fee, over a landlord's prohibited acts such as cutting utilities, a lockout or failing to address an infestation. The court holds a hearing within 30 days after filing or 10 days after service, whichever is later, and may award damages, including for breach of the warranty of habitability (RSA 540-A:4, II; RSA 540-A:4, III; RSA 540-A:4, VI; RSA 540-A:4, VII).
• The landlord and tenant chapters give no right to make repairs and deduct the cost from rent (RSA ch. 540; RSA ch. 540-A).

New Hampshire has no statute that sets a general rule on subletting a home. The lease controls, so state in it whether the tenant needs your written consent (RSA ch. 540; RSA ch. 540-A).

• Under the prohibited-practices law, a person the tenant rents to counts as a subtenant only if you authorized the tenant to sublet (RSA 540-A:1, II(a)).
• Someone who is not a tenant, subtenant or implied tenant may not occupy a home without permission from the owner, the landlord or their agent (RSA 540-A:3, IX).

A landlord ends any residential tenancy with a written eviction notice that states the reason with specificity and gives 30 days, or 7 days for nonpayment and certain other grounds. For restricted property, which is most residential rentals, the reason must be one the statute lists, though other good cause includes any legitimate business or economic reason. The owner of nonrestricted property may end a tenancy without one of the listed reasons (RSA 540:2, I; RSA 540:2, II; RSA 540:2, V; RSA 540:3, II).

• Nonrestricted residential property is a single-family house whose owner owns no more than three single-family houses, a unit in an owner-occupied building of four units or fewer, or a single-family house a lender took through foreclosure (RSA 540:1-a, I; RSA 540:1-a, II).
• A tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' notice. If the notice does not end on a rent due date, the tenant owes rent through the next rent due date unless the lease says otherwise (RSA 540:11, II).
• Without a different agreement, every tenancy is at will (RSA 540:1).
• Shared housing where the occupant shares a kitchen or bathroom with the owner follows a separate chapter: 30 days' written notice without a reason, 7 days for nonpayment, and 72 hours for damage, dangerous behavior or a material breach (RSA 540-B:1; RSA 540-B:3).

Return the deposit, with any interest due, within 30 days after the tenancy ends. You may deduct the cost of repairing damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, unpaid rent, and other lawful charges the lease calls for. Give the tenant a written itemized list of every deduction (RSA 540-A:7, I; RSA 540-A:7, II).

• For damage, the list must describe with particularity the repair needed and include satisfactory evidence that it has been or will be done, such as receipts for materials, labor estimates, bills or invoices (RSA 540-A:7, I).
• For unpaid rent, charges or a lease share of increased real estate taxes, the list must state the period each claim covers (RSA 540-A:7, II).
• A landlord who does not follow the return or interest rules owes the tenant twice the deposit plus interest due, less payments made and charges the tenant owes (RSA 540-A:8, I(b)).
• You are not liable for missing these rules if the tenant did not give you a new address when the tenancy ended. A deposit and interest left unclaimed for six months after the tenancy ends become yours, absent fraud (RSA 540-A:8, II).
• A lease clause waiving the tenant's deposit rights is void (RSA 540-A:8, III).
• When a tenant ends the lease as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, the deposit stays applied to the rental until all tenants have left, then is returned under the normal rule (RSA 540:11-b, IV).