New Hampshire Security Deposit Laws: The Cap, 30-Day Return, and Double Penalty
Deposit Cap · Trust Account · Signed Receipt · Interest After One Year · 30-Day Itemized Return · Double Penalty
New Hampshire security deposit law lives almost entirely in one chapter of the statutes — New Hampshire Revised Statutes chapter 540-A — and it works differently from the deposit rules of most other states. New Hampshire caps the deposit low, treats the money as the tenant’s property held in trust, requires a signed receipt and a five-day window for the tenant to flag move-in conditions, pays interest only after a year, gives the landlord thirty days to return the deposit with an itemized statement, and backs it all with a penalty of twice the deposit for wrongful withholding. This guide walks the whole New Hampshire framework end to end: how much you may collect, how the money must be held, what you can and cannot deduct, the thirty-day return deadline, when interest is owed, who is exempt, and the small-claims path when a dispute cannot be resolved.
One feature makes New Hampshire unusual: not every landlord is covered. A person who rents a single-family home and owns nothing else, or who rents units in an owner-occupied building of a few units, is carved out of the deposit rules entirely — with a pointed exception for older tenants. Because of that, the very first question in New Hampshire is not “how much can I charge” but “am I even a landlord under this chapter.” Everything here is general information, not legal advice; confirm the current figures and consult a licensed New Hampshire attorney before acting on a specific dispute.
Below, a short overview video summarizes the New Hampshire deposit rules; the sections that follow break down each piece in detail — the cap, the trust-account and receipt duties, deductions versus normal wear and tear, the return timeline, interest, the exemption, penalties, the move-out walkthrough, and the small-claims route if a dispute reaches court.
New Hampshire Security Deposit Rules at a Glance
Primary Statute
RSA chapter 540-A (sections 540-A:5 to 540-A:8)
Deposit Cap
One month’s rent or one hundred dollars, whichever is greater
Return Deadline
30 days after the tenancy ends, with an itemized statement
Wrongful-Withholding Penalty
Twice the deposit plus interest, less lawful deductions
The Deposit Cap — One Month’s Rent or One Hundred Dollars
The first number to know is the cap, and New Hampshire sets it lower than most states. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:6, a covered landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit greater than one month’s rent or one hundred dollars, whichever is greater. There is no separate figure for furnished units and no multi-month allowance. On a typical apartment renting for well above one hundred dollars a month, the practical cap is simply one month’s rent; the one-hundred-dollar floor matters only for unusually low-rent arrangements. If your lease template or an out-of-state form allows two or three months, it does not reflect New Hampshire law, and collecting more than the cap is a live legal error.
A “Deposit” Is Defined Broadly — the Label Does Not Control
New Hampshire defines a security deposit as essentially any money beyond the monthly rent that the tenant transfers to the landlord for any purpose. That broad definition means a “move-in fee,” a “non-refundable cleaning fee,” or a pet deposit can be swept into the deposit total and counted against the cap — and treated as refundable at move-out. Do not assume a creative label lets you collect more than one month’s rent or escape the return rules. Verify the current law before relying on any fee structure.
Last Month’s Rent Counts Too
Landlords often collect the first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a security deposit all at signing. In New Hampshire, prepaid last month’s rent collected up front is generally treated as part of the security deposit for purposes of the cap, because it is money beyond the current month’s rent held by the landlord. Stacking a full month’s deposit on top of a full prepaid last month can push the total past what the statute allows. If you want both, confirm how the current law treats the combination before you collect it.
Takeaway
New Hampshire caps the deposit at one month’s rent or one hundred dollars, whichever is greater — furnished or not. The statute defines a deposit broadly, so fees and prepaid last month’s rent can count toward the cap. A non-refundable label does not exempt money from the return rules. Verify the current cap before setting any amount.
Who Is Exempt — the Single-Family and Owner-Occupied Carve-Out
New Hampshire’s most distinctive rule is that some owners are not “landlords” at all for security deposit purposes. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:5, the deposit provisions of chapter 540-A do not apply to a person who rents a single-family residence and owns no other rental property, nor to a person who rents units in an owner-occupied building of five units or fewer. In other words, the small owner living in their own two-, three-, or four-unit building, and the owner of one rented single-family house with nothing else, generally fall outside the cap, the trust-account rule, and the thirty-day return machinery.
The Age-60 Exception Pulls Some Small Owners Back In
The exemption is not absolute. It does not apply to any individual unit in such a building that is occupied by a person or persons sixty years of age or older. So an owner-occupied triplex may be exempt as to two units but fully covered as to the third if that unit’s tenant is sixty or older — the cap, the receipt, the trust rule, and the thirty-day return all apply to that unit. If any tenant is a senior, treat the tenancy as covered and comply fully. Verify the current law, because the boundaries of this exemption are easy to misjudge.
Two practical points follow. First, even an exempt owner is wise to follow the chapter’s best practices — a signed receipt, a documented move-in condition, and a prompt itemized return — because the exemption can be lost if the ownership footprint changes or a senior tenant moves in. Second, being exempt from chapter 540-A does not switch off every other duty a landlord owes; general contract, habitability, and consumer-protection principles still apply. Do not read the exemption as a license to keep money without accounting for it.
Takeaway
A one-rental single-family owner and an owner of an owner-occupied building of five units or fewer are generally exempt from New Hampshire’s deposit chapter — but not for any unit rented to a tenant sixty or older. When a senior tenant is involved, comply in full. Verify whether you are covered before you rely on the exemption.
Holding the Deposit — Trust, Receipt, and the Five-Day Condition Notice
Once a covered landlord collects a deposit, New Hampshire imposes handling duties that many states do not. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:6, the deposit remains the tenant’s money and must be held in trust — it may not be mingled with the landlord’s personal funds and never becomes the landlord’s asset until the return obligations are satisfied. A landlord may keep each tenant’s deposit separately or mingle all deposits in a single trust account at a New Hampshire bank, savings and loan, or credit union.
The Bond Alternative
Instead of holding the money in trust, a New Hampshire landlord may post a bond for the deposit amount with the clerk of the town or city where the unit sits. This is an alternative compliance path, not a common one, but it is written into the statute. Whether you hold in trust or bond, the point is the same: the tenant’s deposit must be protected and available for return, not spent as operating cash.
The Signed Receipt
When a covered landlord receives a deposit, the statute requires the landlord to promptly give the tenant a signed receipt stating the amount of the deposit and the institution where it is held. There is a narrow exception: no receipt is required when the tenant pays by personal check, a bank check, or a check issued by a government or nonprofit agency, because the check itself creates a record. For cash or money order, deliver the receipt without delay.
The Five-Day Move-In Condition Notice
New Hampshire builds a tenant protection into the receipt process. The landlord must tell the tenant that any conditions in the unit needing repair or correction should be noted on the receipt, or given to the landlord in writing, within five days of moving in. This early condition list is the New Hampshire counterpart to a move-in inspection: it fixes the baseline condition so a landlord cannot later charge the tenant for damage that was already there. For landlords, honoring this step is protective too — a signed move-in condition record is the single best defense to a disputed deduction. A documented New Hampshire move-in and move-out checklist makes that baseline concrete.
Takeaway
Hold the deposit in trust as the tenant’s money (or post a bond with the town clerk), give a signed receipt stating the amount and where it is held unless the tenant paid by check, and tell the tenant to note any repair conditions within five days of move-in. That five-day list sets the baseline that decides every later deduction.
Interest — Only After One Year, at the Account Rate
New Hampshire requires interest on deposits, but only in a specific window. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:6, a landlord who holds a security deposit for one year or longer must pay the tenant interest on the deposit. Crucially, the rate is not a fixed statewide percentage — it is the interest rate the account actually earns on regular savings at the New Hampshire bank, savings and loan, or credit union where the deposit is held. A deposit held for less than a year earns no required interest.
There Is No Statutory “5%” Rate
Some guides and older summaries state a flat interest figure for New Hampshire deposits. That is inaccurate. The statute ties the rate to what the specific account pays on regular savings, which in most years is a low fraction of a percent, not a fixed 5%. Do not promise a tenant a set rate or calculate a penalty around one; use the account’s actual savings rate and verify the current statutory language before you compute interest.
When the Tenant Can Ask for Accrued Interest
A New Hampshire tenant may request the accrued interest every three years, thirty days before the expiration of that year’s tenancy, and the landlord must pay it within a short window after the request. Interest also comes due at the end of the tenancy, paid together with the returned deposit. If you hold a deposit across several years, track the account’s interest so you can satisfy both a mid-tenancy request and the final payout.
Takeaway
Interest is owed only when a deposit is held one year or longer, and the rate is the account’s regular-savings rate — not a fixed percentage. A tenant may request accrued interest every three years, and interest is paid with the deposit at the end of the tenancy. Ignore any source quoting a flat rate; verify the current law.
What a Landlord May Deduct — and What Counts as Wear and Tear
Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:7, a covered landlord may deduct from the deposit only for limited, provable purposes, and the landlord bears the burden of justifying each deduction. Anything not clearly permitted is presumed to be the landlord’s cost to absorb.
Permitted Deductions
- Damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. The cost to repair actual damage the tenant or their guests caused — holes in walls, broken fixtures, pet-stained flooring — supported by an itemized description and evidence the repair has been or will be done.
- Unpaid rent. Rent that remains owed for the final month or any earlier period.
- The tenant’s share of a real-estate-tax increase. Where the lease specifically makes the tenant responsible for an increase in the property’s real estate taxes, that share may be deducted, with the period identified.
- Other lawful charges under the lease. Amounts the lease validly makes the tenant’s responsibility, such as unpaid utilities the landlord had to cover, itemized and explained.
Not Deductible — Reasonable Wear and Tear
Reasonable wear and tear is the natural deterioration of a unit from ordinary living, and the landlord must absorb it. New Hampshire treats these as non-deductible:
- Faded or lightly scuffed paint, and small nail holes from hanging pictures.
- Carpet worn along walkways from ordinary foot traffic, with no stains or pet damage.
- Minor marks, loose grout, or aged caulk around tubs and sinks.
- Worn but still-functioning appliances and fixtures that reached the end of their useful life.
Prorate Paint and Carpet for Age
Even when real damage justifies repainting or replacing carpet, a landlord generally cannot bill the tenant for a brand-new surface. Paint and carpet have an expected useful life, so the charge should be prorated for age — a tenant who damaged a carpet already several years into its life should pay only for the remaining life, not a whole new carpet. Full-price charges for old surfaces are a common way New Hampshire landlords lose a deposit dispute.
Takeaway
Deduct only for damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, unpaid rent, a lease-required tax share, and other lawful lease charges — each itemized with evidence. Faded paint, worn carpet, and small nail holes are wear and tear you absorb. Prorate paint and carpet for age; never bill for a brand-new surface.
The 30-Day Return Deadline and the Itemized Statement
The deadline New Hampshire landlords miss most often is the thirty-day return rule. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:7, the landlord must return the deposit and any interest due, along with a written itemized list of any damages the landlord is claiming, within thirty days after the tenancy ends. The itemized list must describe with particularity the nature of each repair and include satisfactory evidence — receipts, invoices, or estimates — that the repair has been or will be completed.
The Forwarding-Address Protection
New Hampshire gives landlords one important safety valve. Under the statute, a landlord is not liable and does not forfeit rights for a failure to return the deposit on time if that failure is due to the tenant’s failure to provide a forwarding address at the end of the tenancy. In practice, request the tenant’s forwarding address in writing at move-out and document the request. If the tenant never supplies one, hold the funds and the accounting, and be ready to pay promptly once an address arrives — but keep proof that you asked.
Missing the Deadline Can Cost Twice the Deposit
If a covered landlord fails to return the deposit and provide the itemized statement within thirty days — and the delay is not excused by a missing forwarding address — the landlord can lose the right to keep any part of the deposit and become liable for twice the deposit plus interest. Calendar the thirty-day deadline the moment the tenancy ends and the forwarding address is in hand, and mail the deposit and statement with proof of mailing well before the deadline.
Takeaway
Return the deposit, any interest, and a written itemized statement within thirty days of the end of the tenancy. The clock is protected if the tenant fails to give a forwarding address — so request the address in writing and keep proof. Miss the deadline without that excuse and you risk forfeiting the deposit and owing twice it.
Penalties for Wrongful Withholding
New Hampshire backs its deposit rules with real teeth. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:8, a landlord who fails to comply is liable to the tenant for damages equal to twice the amount of the security deposit plus any interest due, less any lawful deductions for damages, unpaid rent, or a tax share. That doubling is on top of returning whatever was wrongfully withheld.
The penalty does not stop there. Under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 540-A:8, a violation of the deposit rules is treated as a violation of New Hampshire’s Consumer Protection Act, New Hampshire Revised Statutes chapter 358-A. That opens the door to the additional remedies of that act — potential enhanced damages for a willful or knowing violation and, importantly, an award of costs and reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing tenant. A relatively small deposit dispute can therefore expand into a meaningful judgment once the doubling and fee-shifting apply.
How the “Twice the Deposit” Math Adds Up
Consider a one-thousand-dollar deposit that a landlord withholds entirely with no itemized statement and no lawful basis. The tenant can recover twice the deposit plus any interest — two thousand dollars — and, through the Consumer Protection Act, costs and attorney fees on top. On a larger deposit the exposure grows with it. The lesson is simple: the cost of returning the deposit and a clean itemized statement on time is trivial next to the cost of getting it wrong.
Takeaway
Wrongful withholding in New Hampshire means liability for twice the deposit plus interest under section 540-A:8, and section 540-A:8 ties a violation to the Consumer Protection Act — adding possible enhanced damages and attorney fees. Return on time, itemize, and document, and this exposure never touches you.
The Move-Out Procedure, Step by Step
Put the rules together and the New Hampshire move-out becomes a repeatable checklist rather than a judgment call. Follow this sequence and penalty exposure all but disappears.
Collect and receipt correctly
At signing, cap the deposit at one month’s rent or one hundred dollars, whichever is greater. Give a signed receipt stating the amount and where the money is held, and tell the tenant to note any repair conditions within five days of moving in.
Hold it in trust
Keep the deposit in a trust account as the tenant’s money, or post a bond with the town or city clerk. If you hold it a year or longer, track the interest the account earns on regular savings.
Get the forwarding address and inspect
At the end of the tenancy, request the tenant’s forwarding address in writing and keep proof. Inspect promptly and photograph every room, comparing against the five-day move-in condition list.
Write the itemized statement
Deduct only for damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, unpaid rent, a lease-required tax share, or other lawful charges. Describe each deduction with particularity and attach evidence the repair was or will be done.
Return within thirty days
Mail or deliver the remaining deposit, any interest due, and the itemized statement within thirty days of the end of the tenancy, using a method that gives you proof of mailing.
A thorough move-out record starts at move-in. Use a documented New Hampshire move-in and move-out checklist and photographs at both ends so you can prove exactly what the tenant caused. When you do withhold, a clean New Hampshire security deposit itemization form keeps the statement organized and defensible, and a New Hampshire security deposit return letter documents the refund itself.
When a Dispute Reaches Small Claims Court
Most deposit disputes never reach a courtroom, but when they do in New Hampshire, they usually land in small claims court — a forum designed to be used without a lawyer. As of 2026, the small claims limit in New Hampshire is ten thousand dollars under New Hampshire Revised Statutes section 503:1, which comfortably covers a deposit dispute and the statutory doubling in most cases. A tenant seeking to enforce the deposit rules can also petition the district division of the circuit court for relief under chapter 540-A. Verify the current limit, which the Legislature can adjust over time.
✓ The Landlord Who Wins
- A signed deposit receipt and the tenant’s five-day move-in condition list.
- Dated move-in photos to compare against surrender.
- A written request for the tenant’s forwarding address, with proof.
- An itemized statement mailed within thirty days, with repair evidence attached.
- Proof of mailing (certified mail or a tracked method).
✕ The Landlord Who Loses
- No receipt and no move-in condition record to compare against.
- A vague statement listing “cleaning” or “painting” with no detail.
- Deductions for reasonable wear and tear.
- Full-price charges for old paint or carpet, not prorated.
- A return sent after the thirty-day deadline with no address excuse.
The pattern is consistent: New Hampshire deposit cases are won on