Tools · Security Deposit

New Hampshire Security Deposit Calculator (2026)

Enter your rent and move-out date to see the most a New Hampshire landlord can charge and the exact date your deposit is due back — up to 1 month of rent, returned 30 days after the tenancy ends.

Cited to N.H. RSA 540-A:5 through 540-A:8Source: New Hampshire General Court, RSA 540-A:5 through 540-A:8 (Prohibited Practices and Security Deposits).

New Hampshire security deposit calculator

Security deposit · New Hampshire

State

Monthly rent

Move-out date

New Hampshire rule applied to your numbers

Maximum deposit

$2,000

Up to 1 month’s rent under New Hampshire law. A landlord cannot require a security deposit greater than one month's rent or $100, whichever is larger (RSA 540-A:6). The rule applies to covered residential landlords. Under RSA 540-A:5, a person who rents a single-family home and owns no other rental property, or who rents units in an owner-occupied building of five units or fewer, is not treated as a landlord for these deposit rules, except for any unit in that building rented to a person 60 years of age or older. In those exempt situations the statutory cap and other deposit protections do not apply.

Return deadline

30 days

30 days after the tenancy ends. Enter your move-out date for the exact deadline.

These are the New Hampshire figures applied to what you entered: a plain summary of the rule and the dates, not a determination that anyone did or did not comply.

If a deposit is wrongly kept

If the landlord keeps your deposit wrongfully, fails to return it on time, fails to pay owed interest, or fails to give the itemized statement, you can sue for twice the amount of the security deposit (RSA 540-A:7). A broader violation of RSA 540-A can also expose the landlord to actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees (RSA 540-A:4).

Interest on the deposit

A landlord who holds your deposit for one year or longer must pay you interest, calculated at the rate the bank pays on regular savings accounts where the deposit is held. If the landlord pools several tenants’ deposits in one trust account, the actual interest earned is paid out proportionally to each tenant. If the deposit is held less than a year, no interest is owed.

PlainStatute

Security deposit — New Hampshire

Maximum deposit: $2,000 · 1 month’s rent
Monthly rent: $2,000
Move-out date: Not entered
Return deadline: 30 days after the tenancy ends

Source: N.H. RSA 540-A:5 through 540-A:8

https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540-A/540-A-6.htm

⚠ Draft: confirm with the official source before relying on this.

Printed from plainstatute.com
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.

Informational only, not legal advice. Security-deposit rules carry exceptions (lease type, small landlords, city ordinances) this summary cannot weigh. See the full statute and exceptions on the New Hampshire security deposit reference, cited to N.H. RSA 540-A:5 through 540-A:8.

How New Hampshire security deposits work

New Hampshire caps a residential security deposit at the greater of one month’s rent or $100, so even on a very low rent a landlord can still ask for up to $100 (RSA 540-A:6). Your deposit stays your money: the landlord must hold it in trust at a New Hampshire bank or credit union, or post a bond with the town, and cannot mix it with personal funds. If the landlord holds the deposit for a year or longer, they owe you interest at the rate the bank pays on regular savings where it sits. After the tenancy ends, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit with any interest, or to give you a written, itemized statement of the damages they are charging for, backed by receipts or estimates. If the landlord keeps your money wrongfully or misses these steps, you can sue for twice the deposit. One important exception: owner-occupied buildings with five or fewer units, and single-family rentals by an owner with no other rental property, are outside these rules unless the unit is rented to someone 60 or older.

This calculator shows the New Hampshire figures applied to your own rent and dates. It is informational only and not legal advice — exceptions this summary cannot weigh may apply. For the full rules, penalties, and citations, see the New Hampshire security deposit reference.

Security deposit calculators for other states

Same tool, each with its own cap and return deadline.