This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Landlords will be able to evict tenants at the end of their lease under a bill that goes into effect in New Hampshire next July 1.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 60 into law on Friday.
Currently, tenants in most apartments can’t legally be evicted, even at the end of their lease, without a good cause such as failure to pay rent, damaging the property, endangering others or not meeting rental terms.
Supporters of the measure say a lease has a specified time frame, and it shouldn’t be binding on a property owner forever.
Opponents say the bill ends an important protection for tenants at a time when there is a statewide shortage of vacant apartments and a growing population of people experiencing homelessness.
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Rep. David Paige, D-Conway, who is on the N.H. House’s Committee on Housing criticized the governor in an emailed statement immediately after she signed HB 60 into law.
He said that Ayotte’s support for HB 60 and lack of support for increased state spending on affordable housing show “she doesn’t care about solving the housing crisis, she’s fueling it.”
John Corbett, Ayotte’s spokesman, said the bill simply allows landlords to enforce the terms of an agreed-upon contract, including its length.
"Governor Ayotte and the Legislature made tremendous strides to tackle our housing crisis and make New Hampshire an even better place to live, from streamlining the state permitting process to creating more opportunity to build housing in unused office spaces and expanding ADUs,” he said in an emailed statement.
Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Windham, HB 60’s prime sponsor, said the legislation is needed because a 2005 N.H. Supreme Court decision was “egregiously wrong” and set up the current restriction on lease-end evictions, which he said unduly tips the scales against property owners.
He said the bill won’t increase homelessness because, if a landlord decides not to renew a lease for one renter, that landlord would then find another tenant for the apartment.
The new law will also aid landlords who may have justification for not renewing a lease for a problematic renter, even though it could be difficult to prove that justification in eviction proceedings, Lynn said.
“Suppose that other tenants are complaining that one of the tenants is a drug dealer, but they’re not coming to court, they are afraid,” he said. “That could be very difficult for a landlord to be able to prove that.”
He also said the bill doesn’t alter present tenant protections against racial discrimination in housing.
More State House coverage:
- Ayotte signs two bills banning transgender health care for youth
- Ayotte signs slate of bills to encourage housing construction, but not all ideas advance
Under HB 60, landlords would have to give tenants notice at least 60 days before the end of the lease that it is not going to be renewed.
In a May 13 N.H. Senate Commerce Committee hearing, 16 people signed in as supporting the bill, while 205 signed in as being in opposition.
Jonathan Hill, representing the N.H. Rental Property Owners Association, said tenants are like customers, a landlord wants to keep them if possible, but sometimes there are subjective reasons for wanting to part ways with one of them.
Jennifer Chisholm, executive director of the N.H. Coalition to End Homelessness, testified that “no-cause evictions” can have serious consequences for families who may have difficulty finding replacement housing and be forced to rely on governmental and nonprofit services.
