New Hampshire Tenant Screening Laws: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do
New Hampshire caps the deposit at the greater of one month or one hundred dollars and returns it in thirty days, but does not cap screening fees. The FCRA and fair housing law govern who you approve. Here is how to screen legally in 2026.
Tenant screening in New Hampshire is governed lightly by state statute and heavily by federal law. RSA 540-A sets the deposit limit, the return deadline, and an interest rule, but it says little about how you evaluate an applicant – which makes the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and fair housing law the real rulebook.
This guide covers what you may screen, what you can charge, and the deposit rules under RSA 540-A:6. If you are new to the mechanics, our overview of how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the New Hampshire-specific points below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of New Hampshire tenant screening, application fees, deposits, and adverse action.
Key Takeaways: New Hampshire Tenant Screening Laws
- No application-fee cap. New Hampshire does not limit screening fees, but they must be reasonable and tied to the actual cost of the report.
- The deposit cap is the greater of one month’s rent or one hundred dollars, under RSA 540-A:6.
- Return within thirty days, with an itemized statement; deposits held a year or more earn interest.
- Federal law is the backbone. The FCRA governs the report and the federal Fair Housing Act governs who you approve.
What New Hampshire Law Lets You Screen
New Hampshire gives landlords broad authority to evaluate an applicant. With written permission you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental and payment history, employment and income, and public records such as criminal convictions and civil judgments, and you may decline applicants who fail your written standards.
Because New Hampshire regulates so little of the screening process, consistency is the safeguard: write your criteria down and apply them identically to every applicant. Our guide to the minimum credit score for renting explains how to set a threshold that screens for risk without screening out a protected class.
Application Fees in New Hampshire: No Cap
New Hampshire places no restrictions on a tenant application or screening fee. The practical limits are reasonableness and consistency: tie the fee to the actual cost of the report and charge the same amount to every applicant.
Uneven fees, or fees collected without genuine screening, draw fair housing scrutiny even where no cap exists. Treat the fee as part of a documented, even-handed process.
The deposit is the regulated part
New Hampshire leaves the fee to you, but RSA 540-A caps the deposit, requires a thirty-day itemized return, and obliges interest on deposits held a year or more – with a notice about reporting unit conditions at move-in.
Security Deposits Under RSA 540-A:6
New Hampshire caps the security deposit at the greater of one month’s rent or one hundred dollars, so on a very low rent the one-hundred-dollar floor controls. The landlord must hold the deposit at a New Hampshire bank so it can earn interest, and must give the tenant written notice that any list of conditions in need of repair should be returned within five days of occupancy.
After the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the deposit with an itemized statement within thirty days, and a deposit held for a year or more earns the tenant interest at the account’s rate. Our deeper look at New Hampshire security deposit laws covers permitted deductions and the interest rule.
New Hampshire Fair Housing and Protected Classes
New Hampshire’s Law Against Discrimination prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status, broader than the federal floor. New Hampshire does not add source of income as a statewide protected class.
That means a landlord is generally not required by state law to accept a housing voucher, though uniform treatment of every applicant remains the rule. For the federal baseline, see our Fair Housing Act guide for landlords.
Criminal History, Credit, and Eviction Records
A criminal record can be a lawful basis to decline in New Hampshire, but a blanket no-record policy is the most common fair housing trap. HUD’s 2016 guidance treats criminal-records screening under a disparate-impact lens, so a flat ban can violate the federal Fair Housing Act even without intent. Use an individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
Credit history and prior evictions are cleaner when your standard is objective and consistently applied. You can read how eviction filings arise on our New Hampshire eviction notice laws page. Decide your criteria in advance and apply them the same way every time.
The FCRA: Consent and Adverse Action
When you pull a screening report through a consumer reporting agency, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs the transaction – and in New Hampshire, where state law is largely silent on screening, this is the rule that matters most. You need a permissible purpose and written authorization before ordering the report, and you must send an adverse action notice if the report drives a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer demand.
The notice must name the reporting agency, state that it did not make the decision, and explain the applicant’s right to a free copy and to dispute it. Our FCRA compliance guide and the companion walkthrough of the adverse action notice spell out the requirements.
Fair Housing Compliance for New Hampshire Landlords
New Hampshire’s Law Against Discrimination and the federal Act demand the same discipline, and the state’s broader class list raises the stakes: uniform criteria, uniform application, and documentation showing you treated every applicant by the same yardstick.
Publish your criteria before you advertise, screen every applicant against the identical standard, and keep the file. Consistency is far more persuasive than an after-the-fact explanation.
A Compliant New Hampshire Screening Process
Turn the rules into one repeatable sequence. First, publish objective criteria. Second, collect a reasonable, uniform screening fee. Third, get written consent and order the report. Fourth, evaluate every applicant against the identical standard. Fifth, if you decline based on a report, send the adverse action notice promptly – and keep the deposit within the cap, in a New Hampshire bank, with the thirty-day return.
Income verification is the step landlords most often shortcut; our guide to verifying tenant income shows how to confirm ability to pay without singling anyone out. Run the same steps for every applicant and your file will tell a clean, consistent story.
Common Mistakes That Create Liability
In a permissive state the recurring errors cluster around the deposit. Exceeding the greater of one month or one hundred dollars, failing to hold the deposit at a New Hampshire bank, skipping the move-in conditions notice, or missing the thirty-day itemized return all create exposure. Charging uneven application fees and denying an applicant on a report without the FCRA notice round out the list.
One standard, every applicant. New Hampshire hands you the freedom to design your own process but pins down the deposit. A single written rubric, used the same way each time, is your strongest defense.
Documentation and Recordkeeping in New Hampshire
Because New Hampshire regulates the screening process so lightly, your records are what prove it was lawful and even-handed. Keep the signed authorization for each consumer report, a dated copy of the written criteria you applied, the screening results, and every adverse action notice. A complete file showing identical treatment across applicants is the strongest answer to a discrimination complaint.
On the deposit, keep proof of the New Hampshire bank account, the move-in conditions notice, the interest calculation when the deposit is held a year or more, the itemized statement delivered within thirty days, dated condition records, and repair invoices.
Set one retention policy and apply it to every file, approved or denied. A consistent multi-year record of authorizations, criteria, screening results, adverse action notices, and deposit accountings gives you the evidence to answer a discrimination inquiry or a deposit dispute. Keeping the same records for everyone is itself proof of the even-handed treatment New Hampshire and federal law require.
Do
- ✓Publish your written screening criteria before you advertise, and apply them to every applicant.
- ✓Get written authorization before pulling any report, and keep the signed consent on file.
- ✓Send an FCRA adverse action notice on every denial that rests on a consumer report.
- ✓Assess any criminal record case by case, weighing the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
- ✓Handle the security deposit and its return exactly as the state statute requires, and document it.
Avoid
- ✕Charge uneven application fees, or collect a fee with no genuine screening behind it.
- ✕Treat a permissive state as a lawless one – the FCRA and federal fair housing law always apply.
- ✕Apply a blanket ban on any criminal record, which risks a disparate-impact violation.
- ✕Improvise your standards applicant by applicant instead of following one written rubric.
- ✕Skip the deposit paperwork the statute requires, from itemization to any required notices.
New Hampshire Tenant Screening Laws: FAQ
Can a New Hampshire landlord run a background check on an applicant?
Yes. With written authorization you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental history, income, and criminal convictions. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a permissible purpose and consent before any screening report is pulled.
Is there a limit on application fees in New Hampshire?
No. New Hampshire places no restrictions on tenant application or screening fees. Keep the fee reasonable, tie it to the actual cost of screening, and charge it consistently to every applicant.
What is the maximum security deposit in New Hampshire?
The greater of one month’s rent or one hundred dollars, under RSA 540-A:6. The deposit must be held at a New Hampshire bank and returned with an itemized statement within thirty days.
Does New Hampshire require interest on security deposits?
Yes, when the deposit is held for a year or more. The landlord must then pay the tenant interest at the rate the account earns, and the deposit must be held at a New Hampshire bank.
Is source of income a protected class in New Hampshire?
No. New Hampshire’s Law Against Discrimination does not list source of income, so state law does not require a landlord to accept a housing voucher. Treat every applicant by the same standard regardless.
Can a New Hampshire landlord deny an applicant for a criminal record?
A conviction can be a lawful reason to decline, but blanket bans are risky. HUD’s 2016 guidance warns that a flat no-record policy can create a disparate-impact violation, so use an individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
Does a New Hampshire landlord have to send an adverse action notice?
Yes. If a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement rests in any part on a consumer report, the FCRA requires an adverse action notice naming the reporting agency and explaining the right to a free report and to dispute it.
Does New Hampshire regulate the rest of the screening process?
Lightly. New Hampshire caps the deposit and sets return and interest rules under RSA 540-A but leaves screening itself to the landlord, so the binding rules are mostly federal.
How long should a New Hampshire landlord keep tenant screening records?
Keep applications, signed authorizations, screening results, adverse action notices, and deposit accountings for every applicant – approved or denied – for several years. In New Hampshire, a consistent retention policy is the evidence that you treated every applicant by the same standard if a fair housing or deposit dispute later arises.
When must a New Hampshire landlord send the adverse action notice?
Send it promptly whenever a consumer report contributes to an adverse decision – a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement. The FCRA notice must name the reporting agency, state that it did not make the decision, and tell the New Hampshire applicant how to get a free copy of the report and dispute any error.
Related New Hampshire and Screening Guides
- Tenant screening laws by state – compare New Hampshire to the rest of the country.
- New Hampshire security deposit laws – deductions, itemization, and the return deadline.
- New Hampshire eviction notice laws – notice periods and the eviction timeline.
- New Hampshire rent increase laws – notice rules for raising the rent.
- New Hampshire late fee laws – what you can charge for late rent.
- How a tenant background check works – what a report includes.
- New Hampshire habitability laws – your maintenance obligations as a landlord.
Screen New Hampshire Applicants the Compliant Way
Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports and keep your New Hampshire process consistent from application to decision.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. New Hampshire and federal laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any screening, fee, deposit, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in New Hampshire. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
