Landlords need a thorough New Hampshire Rental Application that asks for the necessary information to properly vet potential tenants.
Because you will receive so many applications, you need a document that collects the right data while making screening applicants for a lease agreement as easy as possible.
Our rental application form can help you save time without overlooking important questions.
- New Hampshire Rental Application Fees
- Rental Application New Hampshire Information for Property Owners
- Authorization for Background Check
- How to Conduct an Evictions Records Search in New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Housing Discrimination Lawsuits Persist
- Other Landlord Resources
- Use Our Sample New Hampshire Rental Application Template
New Hampshire Rental Application Fees
Property owners and must follow New Hampshire state law when they issue rental applications.
This means:
- New Hampshire Security Deposit: Landlords can charge a security deposit to their renters but the security deposit cannot be more than one month’s rent or $100, whichever is greater. Local municipalities may have their limits.
- Pet Deposits: Landlords may not charge a pet deposit in New Hampshire so some property owners charge monthly pet fees instead, which the state allows.
- Local Financial Institution: The security deposit must be held in trust at a local bank, savings and loan association, or credit union within New Hampshire.
- Application Fees: Even though there is no specific maximum limit to an application fee, landlords and property owners should make sure they charge a fair fee that is similar to the cost of processing the rental application.
Rental Application New Hampshire Information for Property Owners
Some of the most important information you may want to collect on your New Hampshire housing application include:
Prior Address History
On your application, you may want to ask where the applicant has lived in the past.
You may be interested in the prior rental history because you want to reach out to prior landlords and property owners to see if the applicant was a good tenant.
Employment or Source of Income
You must ensure the applicant has the resources to pay rent on time.
You need to be careful when you ask this question because you are not allowed to discriminate against tenants based on their source of income, but you can ask where the income comes from and their salary amount.
That way, you can make sure they can reliably pay their rent.
Number of People Living in the Home
You can have reasonable standards for the number of people living in your home, but you cannot use this information to discriminate against children living on your property.
Make sure the renters can safely fit everyone in the home.
Authorization for Background Check
To ensure the applicant has a reliable history of paying his or her bills, and to check the potential criminal background of the applicant applying to live on your property, conduct one or more background checks.
You must first, however, obtain authorization to conduct a background check.
Then you can perform various credit and criminal history searches on tenants.
How to Conduct an Evictions Records Search in New Hampshire
Landlords file evictions with the Circuit Court-District Division.
The court website lists the 32 District divisions in New Hampshire. You can contact the district directly to ask about evictions.
New Hampshire Housing Discrimination Lawsuits Persist
According to the Concord Monitor, a local newspaper in New Hampshire, housing discrimination is banned under the Federal Fair Housing Act, and redlining neighborhoods was prohibited in 1965.
However, housing discrimination persists in some neighborhoods in the state.
You need to ensure that you do not face housing discrimination lawsuits, as it can make it much more difficult for you to rent your property.
Make sure you collect the information you need without facing accusations of discrimination.
Other Landlord Resources
The New Hampshire Fair Housing Laws provide equal housing opportunity without discrimination based on age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, family status, or physical or mental disability.
New Hampshire Sex Offender Registry
Use Our Sample New Hampshire Rental Application Template
On your New Hampshire rental application, you should ask for each applicant’s prior address history, employment history, and whether he or she smokes or has pets.
Then, don’t forget that you need the permission of the applicant to run a credit check or a background check.
Use our sample New Hampshire rental application template to make the process easier.