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Tenant Abandoned Property Laws in New Hampshire

In New Hampshire, the landlord must store a former tenant's property with reasonable care for 7 days after the tenant vacates, free of charge to the tenant, and may then dispose of it without notice; where the landlord relies on a written property abandonment notice, the 7 days start the day after that notice is served.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

New Hampshire at a glance

Written notice required
No, except abandonment notice in some cases
Where the landlord treats the unit as abandoned using a written property abandonment notice, the 7-day storage period starts the day after the notice is served.
Holding period
7 days
The tenant may recover the property during this period without paying rent or storage fees. Shared facilities under RSA 540-B are excluded.
After the holding period
Dispose of it without notice

Sources

Last checked

The rules in New Hampshire

Does a landlord in New Hampshire have to notify the tenant before disposing of left-behind property?

No, except abandonment notice in some cases. Written notice required in New Hampshire: no, except abandonment notice in some cases. Where the landlord treats the unit as abandoned using a written property abandonment notice, the 7-day storage period starts the day after the notice is served.

How long must a landlord in New Hampshire keep a tenant's abandoned property?

Holding period in New Hampshire: 7 days. The tenant may recover the property during this period without paying rent or storage fees. Shared facilities under RSA 540-B are excluded.

What can a landlord in New Hampshire do with abandoned property after the waiting period?

After the holding period in New Hampshire: Dispose of it without notice.

Where do the New Hampshire tenant abandoned property laws come from?

The rules above come from N.H. Rev. Stat. 540-A:3, VII and N.H. Rev. Stat. 540-A:4, XII. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

RSA 540-A:3 was amended several times recently, most recently by Laws 2026, 308:6, effective October 8, 2026; the 7-day storage rule in paragraph VII remains.

What this means in practice

Before treating anything as abandoned, confirm that the tenancy has actually ended. Some statutes define when a unit counts as abandoned, and removing property while a tenant still has a right to possession can expose a landlord to claims for wrongful eviction or conversion.

Keep a written record. Photos or a video of the items, a dated inventory, a copy of any notice sent and proof of how it was delivered make it much easier to show that the required steps were followed if the former tenant later asks for the property or its value.

Store items safely and in a reasonable way during any holding period. Where a statute allows the landlord to charge reasonable moving and storage costs, or to keep sale proceeds to cover those costs, the rules on what may be charged and what happens to any surplus vary, so check the exact text for your state.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.