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HB1371 • 2026

prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

Housing
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Janet Lucas (D), Ellen Read (D), Matthew Hicks (D), Efstathia Booras (D), Karen Hegner (D)
Last action
2026-02-19
Official status
HOUSE
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

What This Bill Does

  • prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-19 H

    Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 23

  2. 2026-02-09 H

    Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/03/2026 (Vote 16-2; CC) HC 7 P. 14

  3. 2026-01-28 H

    Executive Session: 02/03/2026 10:00 am GP 231

  4. 2026-01-14 H

    Public Hearing: 01/27/2026 11:00 am GP 231

  5. 2025-12-02 H

    Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Housing HJ 1 P. 17

Official Summary Text

prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 1371 - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION
26-3009
07/08

HOUSE BILL
1371

AN ACT
prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

SPONSORS: Rep. Lucas, Graf. 7; Rep. Booras, Hills. 8; Rep. Read, Rock. 10; Rep. Hegner, Hills. 41; Rep. Hicks, Merr. 24

COMMITTEE: Housing

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ANALYSIS

This bill prohibits application fees for residential rental agreements.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in
bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [
in brackets and struckthrough.
]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-3009
07/08

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT
prohibiting application fees for residential rental agreements.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Trade and Commerce; Protection of Tenants in Conversion of Rental Units; Residential Rental Application Fees. Amend RSA 356-C by inserting after section 11 the following new section:
356-C:12 Residential Rental Application Fees.
I. A landlord or a landlord’s agent shall not charge an application fee to any individual in order to apply to enter into a rental agreement for a residential dwelling unit. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a person from charging a fee to a person in order to apply to rent commercial or nonresidential property.
II.(a) In order to conduct a background or credit check, a landlord shall accept any of the following:
(1) An original or a copy of any unexpired form of government-issued identification;
(2) An individual taxpayer identification number; or
(3) A social security number.
(b) A landlord or a landlord’s agent shall not require a social security number for the completion of a residential rental application or refuse to accept an application due to the lack of a social security number.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.