Renting a home that was foreclosed in New Hampshire: your rights

Your rights as a renter in New Hampshire, in order

1. Federal floor: 90 days and your lease

   After the new owner takes title

   Under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, a bona fide tenant gets written notice at least 90 days before having to move, and a lease signed before the foreclosure lasts until it ends unless the buyer will live in the home. Section 8 voucher holders keep their lease and housing assistance contract. See our [renter's notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/) page.

   Pub. L. 111-22 § 702 (12 U.S.C. § 5220 note); 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(7)

2. No state notice to renters before the sale

   Before the sale

   New Hampshire's foreclosure statute requires the notice of sale to go to the owner and lienholders and to be published in a newspaper, but it does not require a separate notice to tenants. Watch for a newspaper notice or a sign, and if you think the home is being foreclosed, ask your landlord in writing.

   RSA 479:25, I, II

3. Does the new owner need a reason?

   When you get an eviction notice

   A single-family house that a bank or other lender takes through foreclosure is nonrestricted property, so the new owner can end the tenancy without a listed reason. Most other rentals, such as apartments in a building the owner does not live in, are restricted property, and the owner can evict only for a reason the law lists, such as unpaid rent, lease violations or other good cause.

   RSA 540:1-a, I(d), II; RSA 540:2

4. Written eviction notice, then court

   At least 30 days for most residential notices; the federal 90 days still applies

   The buyer at a foreclosure sale must give you a written notice to quit and then file a possessory case in court. For residential tenancies the notice is 30 days (7 days for some reasons, such as unpaid rent), and it must state the reason. You are not out until a court enters judgment and a sheriff serves a writ of possession.

   RSA 540:3, II, III; RSA 540:12; RSA 540:13

5. Your security deposit moves to the buyer

   Within 5 days after the deed or receiver is in place

   Your landlord must turn your deposit over to the receiver in a foreclosure action, or to the buyer at the foreclosure sale, and tell you by registered or certified mail who now holds it. Whoever receives it is responsible for returning it, with any interest due, within 30 days after your tenancy ends.

   RSA 540-A:6, III; RSA 540-A:7, I

6. No lockouts or utility shutoffs

   At any time

   A landlord, including a new owner who becomes your landlord, cannot willfully cut off utilities such as heat, water or electricity, or lock you out, except through the court process. If it happens, you can file a petition for relief in district court, which keeps forms for it.

   RSA 540-A:3, I, II; RSA 540-A:4

7. If your condo association asks you for rent

   If your landlord is behind on condo assessments

   A condo association that has adopted RSA 356-B:46-a can, after notice to your landlord, direct you to pay rent to it. Any rent you pay the association counts as paid to your landlord, and your landlord cannot retaliate. Ask for the association's notice in writing and keep receipts.

   RSA 356-B:46-a, III, IV

Common questions in New Hampshire