What is a Regulated Conditional Deposit?
A Regulated Conditional Deposit (RCD) is a refundable security deposit of up to one additional month’s rent beyond New Hampshire’s one-month cap (RSA 540-A:5, V). It is available only when a rental applicant fails the landlord’s approval criteria, only when those criteria were disclosed before or with the application, and only when at least one of five enumerated statutory conditions applies — credit score (landlord minimum capped at 650), income (with a 350% federal-poverty floor), a prior eviction judgment, unpaid judgments within seven years, or unverifiable landlord references (RSA 540-A:9, II). Read §1 of the analysis →
Can a landlord demand an RCD from any applicant?
No. An applicant who meets the landlord’s pre-disclosed criteria remains protected by the ordinary one-month cap (RSA 540-A:6, I(a)). Collecting more than one month from a qualified applicant is a Consumer Protection Act violation (RSA 540-A:8, I(c)) with statutory damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees. A landlord whose criteria are stricter than the statutory caps cannot use the RCD on that criterion at all — the anti-circumvention rule (RSA 540-A:9, III(c)). Read §9.5 →
Is the RCD refundable? How does a tenant get it back early?
Yes — it is held under the same trust-accounting rules as any security deposit. A tenant who is not in material breach may request re-screening once every six months (credit, income, evictions, judgments) or once every twelve months (references). On passing the landlord’s standard criteria, the landlord must refund the RCD or credit it to rent within 30 days (RSA 540-A:9, VI). Otherwise it is refundable at move-out under the ordinary framework (RSA 540-A:7, I). Read §1.5 →
Does the bill raise New Hampshire’s security-deposit cap?
No. The one-month cap remains the default rule for every qualified applicant. The bill amends RSA 540-A:6, I(a) only to create the narrow, named exception — and polices that exception with the Consumer Protection Act. The income floor alone makes income-based RCDs mathematically unavailable below roughly $2,104/month in rent, which shields every New Hampshire studio and one-bedroom market and most two-bedrooms. Read the Safeguards Memo →
What if an applicant can’t afford the extra month?
Three answers. First, landlords may accept the RCD in installments (RSA 540-A:9, I). Second, a third party — family, an employer, a charity, a faith community, or a municipality — may fund it, with the refund returning to that payor at the end of the tenancy (RSA 540-A:7, I(b)), which lets deposit-assistance funds operate as revolving capital. Third, nothing in the bill removes the existing alternatives (co-signer, surety bond, prepaid rent) or any form of housing assistance. Read §4 →
Does a landlord have to accept an RCD or approve anyone?
No. The bill compels nothing: a landlord cannot be required to accept an RCD or to approve an applicant who fails screening, and an applicant cannot be required to fund one — the instrument is offered by the applicant and accepted or suggested by the landlord (RSA 540-A:9, III). Read §1.3 →
What happens to municipal welfare funds used for deposits?
The Senate amendment provides that, unless the municipality directs otherwise, any security-deposit funds paid by a municipality under RSA 165 are returned directly to the municipality within 30 days after the tenancy ends, with a good-faith safe harbor for the landlord. Nothing in the bill obligates municipal welfare to fund RCDs. Read §8.6 →
Couldn’t a landlord just not call references to manufacture eligibility?
This concern was raised on the Senate floor, and the bill answers it structurally: reference checks are observable and disprovable; an RCD collected in bad faith must still be refunded after twelve compliant months, so there is no profit in it; and misuse is privately actionable under the Consumer Protection Act with statutory damages and fee-shifting (RSA 358-A:10, I). Read §9.14 →
Where does the bill stand, and when would it take effect?
HB 1336-FN passed the House (OTP/A, March 11, 2026), the Senate (14–9, May 14, 2026), and House concurrence (180–162, May 21, 2026). The remaining steps are enrollment and presentation to the Governor. If signed, it takes effect January 1, 2027. Read §8.8 →
Who supports the bill?
It is publicly supported by the New Hampshire Rental Property Owners Association and the Apartment Association of New Hampshire. New Hampshire Legal Assistance, which opposed the introduced bill, moved to neutral on the amended bill after its negotiated safeguards — including the 350% federal-poverty income floor — were added. The full stakeholder history, including the organizations that testified in opposition, is in the analysis. Read §8 →
Where can I read the bill itself?
The Bill Text page carries all three versions — as introduced, as amended by the House, and as amended by the Senate — plus an interactive final bill linked provision-by-provision to the analysis. PDFs of each version, hearing transcripts, and the author’s House and Senate testimony are on the Resources page.