Free New Hampshire 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

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The 7-day notice to pay rent or quit is the eviction notice a New Hampshire landlord must serve before filing a landlord and tenant writ for nonpayment of rent. Under RSA 540:2, II(a) and RSA 540:3 a residential nonpayment eviction takes a 7-day notice that states the reason and informs the tenant of the RSA 540:9 pay-and-stay right. Generate a compliant notice below.

7-Day Notice RSA 540:3 RSA 540:9 Pay-and-Stay Free PDF

A New Hampshire 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the statutory eviction notice a landlord must serve before filing a landlord and tenant writ (the New Hampshire possessory action) for nonpayment of rent. It is governed by RSA 540:2, II(a) (nonpayment as a ground for eviction of restricted property), RSA 540:3 (the 7-day notice and its required content), RSA 540:4 (the demand for rent), RSA 540:5 (service), and above all RSA 540:9 (the tenant’s pay-and-stay right). New Hampshire law is tenant-protective on nonpayment: the notice must inform the tenant of the right to stop the eviction by paying arrearages plus $15 in liquidated damages, and the tenant may exercise that cure any time before the hearing on the merits, up to three times in a 12-month period. The form below produces a compliant notice; our New Hampshire eviction notice laws guide covers the full process, and the New Hampshire landlord-tenant laws hub covers the wider statutory framework.

The 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the statutory eviction notice a New Hampshire landlord must serve on a residential tenant who has failed to pay rent when due. It is the procedural prerequisite to filing a landlord and tenant writ – New Hampshire’s possessory (eviction) action – under RSA chapter 540. Without a properly-drafted, properly-served notice, no New Hampshire circuit court will entertain a nonpayment eviction.

The notice does three things in one document. First, it identifies nonpayment as the ground. RSA 540:2, II(a) authorizes eviction for “neglect or refusal to pay rent due and in arrears, upon demand.” The notice must state that ground with specificity – it is not enough to say the tenancy is terminated; the notice must say the tenant has not paid rent and identify the arrearage.

Second, it gives the tenant the 7-day period. For the nonpayment ground under RSA 540:2, II(a), RSA 540:3 sets a 7-day notice as sufficient. The tenant has 7 days from service to pay or vacate before the landlord may file the writ. Unlike some states, New Hampshire does not cut the nonpayment window to 3 or 5 days – the 7-day floor is the statute.

Third, it delivers the RSA 540:9 pay-and-stay statement. This is the element unique to New Hampshire nonpayment notices. RSA 540:3 expressly requires that a nonpayment notice inform the tenant of the right, if any, to avoid the eviction by paying the arrearages and liquidated damages in accordance with RSA 540:9. A New Hampshire nonpayment notice that omits this statement is defective. The form on this page includes the 540:9 statement and the demand mechanics correctly.

The 7-day pay-or-quit notice sits inside RSA chapter 540 (Actions Against Tenants), a layered statutory framework. The ground is RSA 540:2, II(a): neglect or refusal to pay rent due and in arrears, upon demand. This is one of the enumerated grounds for evicting a tenant of “restricted property” – which covers most residential rentals in New Hampshire.

The notice statute is RSA 540:3. It provides that 7 days’ notice is sufficient when the reason for termination is one of the specified grounds, including nonpayment under 540:2, II(a). RSA 540:3 (as amended effective January 1, 2025) requires the eviction notice to state the reason for the eviction with specificity, and – for nonpayment – to inform the tenant of the RSA 540:9 right to avoid eviction by paying arrearages and liquidated damages.

The demand for rent is RSA 540:4. Because the nonpayment ground is framed as neglect or refusal to pay “upon demand,” the landlord must make a demand for rent. RSA 540:4 provides that the demand is sufficient if made on the tenant at any time after the rent becomes due and in arrears, and either before or simultaneously with service of the eviction notice. The demand and the 7-day notice are distinct steps; a careful landlord serves and documents both.

Service is RSA 540:5. For a residential tenancy, the eviction notice may be served on the tenant personally or left at the tenant’s last and usual place of abode. Proof of service is shown by a true and attested copy of the notice with an affidavit of service, which need not be sworn under oath. (Commercial tenancies add a certified-mail component; this form and guide address residential service.)

The pay-and-stay right is RSA 540:9. It is the center of gravity of New Hampshire nonpayment practice: any possessory action based solely on nonpayment is dismissed if the tenant, before the hearing on the merits, pays all rent due and owing plus other lawful charges in the lease, $15 liquidated damages, and the landlord’s filing fee and service charges – subject to the three-times-in-12-months cap. One operational rule binds all of this: the notice must precisely match the statute. Defects that might be excused elsewhere – an omitted 540:9 statement, a short notice period, an undocumented service – can void the notice and restart the process.

RSA 540:9 is the single most important feature of a New Hampshire nonpayment eviction, and the feature a landlord most often gets wrong. It gives the tenant a broad statutory right to stop the eviction by curing the default, and it forces the notice itself to disclose that right.

What the tenant must pay to cure. Under RSA 540:9, a possessory action based solely on nonpayment of rent is dismissed if the tenant pays the landlord all rent due and owing through the time of payment, plus other lawful charges contained in the lease, plus $15 in liquidated damages, plus any filing fee and service charges the landlord incurred in connection with the possessory action. The $15 figure is fixed by statute; it is not a percentage or a market rate. The “other lawful charges” and the “filing fee and service charges” attach only once the writ is in play.

When the tenant may cure. The cure can occur “at any time prior to the hearing on the merits.” This is broader than a fixed cure window. Even after the 7-day notice period has run and the writ has been filed, the tenant can still pay and stay right up to the merits hearing. Practically, this means a nonpayment eviction in New Hampshire is not “won” when the notice period expires – it is only won if the tenant fails to cure before the hearing (or has exhausted the cap).

The three-times-per-year cap. RSA 540:9 provides that a tenant may not defeat an eviction for nonpayment by use of the section more than three times within a 12-month period. This is the landlord’s protection against a chronically-late tenant who pays only at the courthouse door. On the fourth nonpayment eviction in a rolling 12 months, a timely payment does not automatically dismiss the writ. The landlord should keep a running log of each prior 540:9 use – the date paid and the case – so the cap can be raised when it applies.

The documentation the landlord must file. When a tenant pays under 540:9, the landlord must submit a receipt of the payment to the court before the hearing date and state in writing that a copy of the receipt has been forwarded to the tenant before the hearing. This receipt requirement is easy to overlook and is worth building into the office procedure the moment a pay-and-stay payment arrives.

The 7-day period under RSA 540:3 runs from service of the notice. New Hampshire’s nonpayment notice period is stated in days, and the safe practice is to count 7 full days from the day after service before filing the writ.

Worked example – personal delivery. A 7-day notice personally delivered to the tenant on a Monday gives the tenant through the following Monday; the landlord should not file the writ until the eighth day. Counting a full seven days from the day after service avoids any argument that the tenant was shorted a day.

Worked example – last and usual place of abode. A notice left at the tenant’s last and usual place of abode under RSA 540:5 is served when it is left there; the 7-day count runs from that date. Because there is no personal handoff, date-and-time documentation of where and when the notice was left is essential to prove service.

The cure right outruns the count. The 7-day count controls only when the landlord may file the writ. It does not close the tenant’s RSA 540:9 cure right, which runs to the hearing on the merits. So a landlord who correctly waits out the 7 days and files on day eight has done the notice mechanics right – but must still be prepared for a pay-and-stay any time up to the hearing.

Build in a cushion. Because the downside of undercounting is a dismissed writ, many New Hampshire landlord-tenant practitioners give a day or two beyond the statutory minimum before filing. Extra days work in the tenant’s favor and create no procedural defect, while a short count is a clean basis to dismiss. When in doubt, count generously and file a day late rather than a day early.

Complete the form below to generate a compliant New Hampshire 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. The form states the nonpayment ground under RSA 540:2, II(a), computes the 7-day deadline, and writes the required RSA 540:9 pay-and-stay statement into the notice. Serve in accordance with RSA 540:5, and pair the notice with an RSA 540:4 demand for rent.

RSA 540:5 governs how a New Hampshire eviction notice is served. For a residential tenancy, the notice may be served on the tenant personally or left at the tenant’s last and usual place of abode. Email, text message, and social media are not statutory service methods and do not satisfy the rule.

Affidavit of service

Proof of service under RSA 540:5 is shown by a true and attested copy of the notice accompanied by an affidavit of service. The affidavit need not be sworn under oath, but it should state who served, the date and time, the location, and the method (personal or last-and-usual). The affidavit and the notice are filed with the landlord and tenant writ.

Documentation retention

Retain the signed original notice, the RSA 540:4 demand for rent, the affidavit of service, and any photographs of a last-and-usual delivery. If the writ is filed, these become court exhibits. If the tenant pays under RSA 540:9, keep the payment receipt and the written confirmation you forwarded a copy to the tenant.

New Hampshire’s 7-day nonpayment notice and its RSA 540:9 pay-and-stay right make it markedly more tenant-protective than the fast 3-day states. One tight comparison makes the point.

The takeaway: a New Hampshire landlord should not treat a nonpayment eviction as effectively over when the 7 days expire. In New Hampshire the tenant’s leverage extends to the hearing, so a landlord’s best position is a documented notice, a documented demand, a clean affidavit of service, and a running count of prior 540:9 uses.

Once the 7-day notice period has expired without cure, the landlord may commence the possessory action by filing a landlord and tenant writ in the district division of the circuit court for the location where the property sits. New Hampshire uses standard court forms for the writ; the landlord attaches the eviction notice, the RSA 540:4 demand for rent, and the affidavit of service.

The return day and hearing. The writ is served on the tenant, who is given a return day to appear. If the tenant appears and contests, the court sets a hearing on the merits. The RSA 540:9 pay-and-stay right runs up to that hearing, so a tenant who pays the full cure amount before the hearing (and is within the three-use cap) is entitled to dismissal.

Strict compliance is checked at the writ stage. New Hampshire courts examine whether the landlord strictly complied with the RSA 540 notice provisions and completed the certificate/affidavit of service recording the date and time the notice was provided. A notice that omitted the 540:9 statement, understated the period, or lacks a documented service can be dismissed at this stage. The cost of re-serving a correct notice is minor next to a dismissed writ.

• Omitting the RSA 540:9 statement. RSA 540:3 requires a nonpayment notice to inform the tenant of the pay-and-stay right. A notice that never mentions the right to cure by paying arrearages plus $15 liquidated damages is defective.
• Using a period shorter than 7 days. New Hampshire nonpayment takes a 7-day notice under RSA 540:3. A 3-day or 5-day nonpayment notice borrowed from another state is short and dismissible.
• Skipping the RSA 540:4 demand for rent. The nonpayment ground is neglect or refusal to pay “upon demand.” Failing to make and document the demand undercuts the ground.
• Undocumented service. Service under RSA 540:5 must be by personal delivery or last and usual place of abode, proven by an affidavit of service. An email, a text, or an unproven delivery does not satisfy the statute.
• Filing before the 7 days expire. Filing the writ before the notice period runs is premature and defeats the action. Wait the full 7 days from service, then file.
• Ignoring the three-use cap. A landlord who does not track prior 540:9 uses may miss the chance to defeat a fourth pay-and-stay in a 12-month window, when a timely payment no longer dismisses the writ.
• Overstating the rent owed. The rent demanded must be accurate. Padding the base rent with charges that are not rent invites a defense and muddies the cure figure the tenant must pay under 540:9.
• Inconsistent landlord/tenant identification. Name all tenants on the lease and identify the landlord or agent consistently with the lease and the writ caption.

New Hampshire tenants served with a 7-day nonpayment notice have significant statutory rights. Understanding these helps landlords appreciate why procedural precision matters.

Right to pay and stay under RSA 540:9. The tenant can stop the eviction by paying all rent due plus lawful lease charges, $15 liquidated damages, and the landlord’s filing and service fees, any time before the hearing on the merits – subject to the three-times-in-12-months cap. This is the tenant’s most powerful protection.

Right to be told of the cure right. Because RSA 540:3 requires the notice to inform the tenant of the 540:9 right, a tenant who receives a notice missing that statement can move to dismiss on the notice’s defect.

Right to a hearing on the merits. The tenant who appears on the return day and contests is entitled to a hearing. The landlord must prove the nonpayment, the demand, the 7-day notice, and proper service. The tenant may raise defenses, including a defective notice or improper service.

Right against retaliatory action. New Hampshire law (RSA 540:13-a and RSA 540:13-b) protects tenants against retaliatory eviction and rent increases when the tenant has, for example, reported a housing-code violation or asserted rights in good faith. A nonpayment eviction timed to punish protected activity can draw a retaliation defense.

Right to habitable premises. New Hampshire’s warranty of habitability and RSA 540-A protections against willful interruption of services and lockouts remain in force during a nonpayment dispute. A landlord may not resort to self-help – changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities – in place of the RSA 540 writ process.

For the full New Hampshire eviction procedure – grounds, notice periods for other causes, and the writ timeline – see our guide to New Hampshire eviction notice laws.

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