Landlords with Problem Tenants — How to Improve Your Property

Landlords wishing to evict tenants in NH should first consult with an attorney to ensure their compliance with the proper legal grounds and protocols for eviction.  Even bad tenants have a right to fair treatment.  NH requires landlords to give sufficient notice and cause before removing a tenant from their property.  A landlord’s failure to abide by NH eviction guidelines can provide problem tenants with legitimate standing in court, so it’s important to avoid carelessness in this matter. 

You can evict a tenant for any number of reasons under NH state law.  If your tenant fails to pay rent in a timely manner, by far the most common problem facing landlords, you can issue a demand for rent prior to or concurrent with a notice of eviction. 

The law allows landlords to fix the deadline for payment seven days after service of the eviction notice.  The tenant has a seven-day window to come up with the rent plus $15.00 of liquidated damages provided he/she has not been served this type of notice more than three times in a 12-month period. 

Other lawful reasons to remove a tenant include destruction of property (seven days’ notice), violating terms of lease (thirty days’ notice), or exhibition of threatening and dangerous conduct (seven days’ notice). 

If your tenant does something else you don’t like, but which is not specified under the statute, you must provide written warning to the tenant to stop the offending behavior by a certain date or run the risk of eviction.  If the behavior continues after the warning, you are entitled to serve an eviction notice granting thirty days to vacate the premises. 

You may have a legitimate business reason for removing a tenant that has nothing to do with the tenant’s behavior.  NH state law stipulates that “other good causes” for eviction may exist that don’t assign fault to the tenant.  The tenant, however, must be given formal written notice of the reason as well as a full thirty days to leave the property. 

You can download notice of eviction forms from the website of the NH judicial branch.  While the state does not require you to use these forms, they conveniently contain the requisite statutory language so you don’t have to dig it up yourself.

If a tenant refuses to vacate the property after the term of notice has expired, please do not try to forcibly remove him.  Formal eviction and restitution for unpaid rent require a Writ of Possession filed with district court and served to the tenant by the local sheriff.   The tenant has the right to challenge the Writ by filing an “appearance” before the court before the return day on the Writ.  If an appearance is filed, you will want experienced counsel to represent you at this hearing.  Only a sheriff authorized by court order can dispossess a tenant, and sometimes the tenant will issue counterclaims asserting the landlord’s liability for rent delinquency or other grievances.  Getting the resolution you want from the court invariably means hiring qualified counsel to represent your interests against the counterclaims and delaying tactics of irresponsible tenants. 

Articles contained here are not intended to provide legal advice, only providing general information. We encourage individuals to consult with an attorney regarding individual circumstances.