Security Deposit Alternative in New Hampshire
New Hampshire normally requires the balance and interest due within 30 days after tenancy termination. Damage deductions need an itemized repair description and satisfactory evidence of actual or estimated work; unpaid rent, agreed tax increases and other lawful unpaid lease charges have separate itemization duties. Section 8 distinguishes consumer-protection violations of cap/custody/transfer duties from double-deposit-and-interest damages for interest/return failures, adjusted for payments and allowable charges. Failure caused by the resident’s missing new address has an exception; unclaimed funds revert after six months absent fraud.
What New Hampshire law says about security deposits
- Can you require it?
- Check the fee rules first
- The security definition covers funds above monthly rent transferred to the landlord for any purpose, with specified landlord exemptions. Classify a proposed recurring fee before using it.
- Statutory cap
- One month's rent or $100, whichever is greater
- Return deadline
- 30 days after the tenancy ends
- The law
- New Hampshire's security deposit sections
- RSA 540-A:5 to 540-A:8
Source baseline: . See the official New Hampshire source. Deposit rules change, and this is general information rather than legal advice. Confirm the current text with your own counsel before you change a lease.
Can you require it of every New Hampshire resident?
New Hampshire RSA 540-A:5 uses a broad security definition, rather than approving a fee-in-lieu model. Its landlord definition excludes a single-family lessor owning no other rental property and specified owner-occupied buildings with five or fewer units, with an exception for an individual unit occupied by someone 60 or older. Covered deposits generally cannot exceed one month’s rent or $100, whichever is greater. Section 6 requires trust custody, but permits a qualifying landlord-posted bond instead; this safeguards collected deposits and is not a resident-purchased waiver. Check-form payments have a receipt exception, although written move-in-condition notice remains required. Deposits held at least one year earn the statutory savings-account interest. The actual agreement’s classification still needs review.
Rules differ by state and by city, and subsidized housing is its own question. This is general information for property managers, not legal advice. Get a written opinion before you make the fee a condition of tenancy anywhere.
How the program works in New Hampshire
Review Beagle's deposit alternative alongside the agreement for your property. Protection, resident responsibilities and claim handling depend on the program terms and applicable state and local requirements.
Explain the options at signing
A qualifying fee arrangement lets a resident pay a monthly charge instead of providing the full cash deposit. Explain the available deposit choice, refundability and continuing resident obligations at signing. The payment’s legal treatment depends on the arrangement and jurisdiction.
Match protection to the lease
Compare the selected program’s covered losses, limit, exclusions and claim requirements with the deposit your lease would require. Payment depends on an eligible claim and the program terms; a fee does not itself guarantee the same recovery as cash security.
Document move-out and give notice
A deposit alternative changes how an eligible claim is paid. Keep move-in and move-out evidence, provide the notices required for the property's jurisdiction, and follow the program's claim process. Claim review and resident disputes can still require your team's involvement.
Agree the program economics
Confirm the resident’s charge and any property administration payment in your quote and agreement. Include permitted fees in the disclosures required for the property; earnings depend on the agreed economics and applicable law.
Security deposit rules in other states
- AlabamaReview the payment’s security function
- AlaskaReview nonrefundability and notice rules
- ArizonaReview security and fee rules
- CaliforniaReview the broad security definition
- ColoradoReview security function and fee pricing
- ConnecticutCheck upfront fees and total-rent disclosure
- DelawareOptional surety has its own rules
- FloridaOptional only
- GeorgiaReview cap scope and return duties
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- HawaiiCheck the fee rules first
- IdahoReview security purpose and custody
- IllinoisReview return rules and fee disclosures
- IndianaReview returnable security and the address
- IowaReview deposit custody and instructions
- KansasReview deposit caps and refund triggers
- KentuckyConfirm local adoption and required records
- LouisianaReview security function and statement timing
- MaineOptional licensed surety has separate notice
- MarylandOptional only
- MassachusettsConfirm authorizing rules
- MichiganReview the deposit procedure
- MinnesotaReview fee classification and disclosure
- MississippiReview the payment’s security function
- MissouriReview the security definition
- MontanaCleaning and damage fees presumed security
- NebraskaReview function and housing-agency scope
- NevadaOptional only
- New JerseyReview trust, interest and special refunds
- New MexicoReview reasonable security and mailing
- New YorkReview fee restrictions
- North CarolinaReview the bond structure
- North DakotaReview security cap and 30-day accounting
- OhioReview the security definition
- OklahomaReview escrow and the demand trigger
- OregonCheck the fee rules first
- PennsylvaniaReview escrow and fee classification
- Rhode IslandReview security function and furniture limit
- South CarolinaReview deposit standards and agreement
- South DakotaReview security function and both notices
- TexasOptional only
- UtahReview nonrefundable designation and notice
- VermontReview refundable definition and local law
- VirginiaOptional only
- WashingtonOptional only
- West VirginiaReview refundable security and contractor notice
- WisconsinReview security and deduction rules
- WyomingReview disclosures and separate clocks
New Hampshire security deposit alternative FAQs
RSA 540-A:5’s broad funds-above-rent definition requires classification before either an optional or mandatory recurring charge is added. The cited deposit rules do not approve Beagle’s proposed fee. Confirm the landlord-definition exemptions and applicable agreement terms with New Hampshire counsel.
See it on your New Hampshire units
Run the selected program against your own unit count, or review its charges, onboarding and agreement terms with our team.