Granite Staters, are you paying attention?
I’ll admit this one caught me by surprise, and it now appears to affect someone I know and care deeply about.
New Hampshire lawmakers consider many bills each year. Some of these proposals get swiftly dismissed, and others make their way through the House and Senate and are later signed into law by the governor.
I don’t have to remind anyone that housing is a huge issue throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with high home and rental prices and few affordable housing units available for low- and moderate-income individuals.
Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess knows it’s a big problem for the Gate City, saying we have a severe housing shortage, with our apartment vacancy rate sitting below 1%. Meanwhile, single-family home prices have soared.
According to Trulia, the online real estate marketplace, “As of July 2026, the average rent in Nashua, NH is $2,295 per month, which is 17% higher than the national average rent of $1,965 per month.” Houses are the most expensive at $3,400 per month. Townhomes offer a mid-range option for renters, with an average rent of $3,200 per month.
And then, there was House Bill 60. … This one just went into effect on July 1, 2026. The new “no-fault eviction” law is frightening. What that means is landlords can end a tenancy at the expiration of a 12-month (or longer) lease without providing a fault-based reason. The law requires a 60-day written notice, classifies the action as a no-fault termination rather than a standard eviction and protects the tenant’s future application and rental screening record.
Some landlords are applauding the new state law because evicting a tenant could become extremely difficult in the past. Most evictions occur because renters cannot or do not pay their rent. Or maybe the tenant is taking on boarders, damaging property, causing a disturbance or breaking the law.
Landlords fighting these matters have often faced mounting delays, costs and backlogs that dragged the process out for weeks or months. It used to be that tenants had a right to defend themselves in court, but this new law makes it tougher. Now it’s easier for landlords to evict tenants at the end of their lease period, without needing another reason. In other words, tenants could be kicked out for arbitrary reasons. Maybe they play their music too loud, or practice “different” religious beliefs, etc. Who’s to say?
So then, who will look out for our most vulnerable tenants, such as senior citizens, families with young children or those with intellectual or developmental disabilities who may face discrimination?
What if a tenant has been in good standing and paid their rent consistently for a decade or more? Shouldn’t that matter?
What if a tenant believes they were singled out due to race, Section 8 status or familial status?
Maybe the landlord doesn’t like their appearance, identity or lifestyle choices. Or perhaps the tenant has complained about the broken heating system one too many times.
This new law eliminates the “good cause” requirement that was used in the past to protect both tenants and landlords. Now, you can be evicted “just because.”
For more information, contact New Hampshire Legal Assistance, the statewide nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and vulnerable New Hampshire residents, at www.nhla.org or call 800-562-3174. Or people can call 603 Legal Aid, the centralized intake portal for free legal help in New Hampshire at 800-639-5290 or go online at www.603legalaid.org.
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