HB 1112 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to snow removal responsibilities in lease agreements.

HB 1112 requires residential lease agreements to explicitly state who is responsible for snow and ice removal. It sets the default rule: landlords must handle common areas (like driveways and walkways used by multiple tenants) unless the lease specifically assigns this duty to the tenant. Tenants may only agree in writing to handle snow removal for specific areas, and this agreement must be voluntary and included in the lease. The law applies to all new or renewed residential leases starting January 1, 2027. It does not override local ordinances about public sidewalks.

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Signed Jul 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Version adopted by both bodies → CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION · 2 edits

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions. The differences are entirely technical: the bill was assigned Chapter 213 during the chaptering process, section numbers were updated to reflect the new RSA numbering scheme (e.g., '1' became '213:1'), and standard approval and effective date lines were added at the end.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers were renumbered from generic sequential numbers (1, 2, 3) to chapter-specific RSA references (213:1, 213:2, 213:3) as part of the standard chaptering process.

Approval date (July 02, 2026) and effective date (July 01, 2027) were added at the end of the bill, which is standard for the final chaptered version.

Introduced → As Amended by the House · 7 edits

MODERATE

The House amendment significantly broadened the bill's scope from residential leases to all tenancies and moved it from the Landlord-Tenant chapter (RSA 540-A) to the general Lease Provisions chapter (RSA 540). The core policy shifted from requiring explicit lease language about snow removal to a framework where landlords and tenants may freely agree on responsibilities, with default rules assigning common areas to landlords and exclusive-use private areas to tenants. A new carve-out exempts condominiums, co-ops, HOAs, and manufactured housing parks, and the effective date was pushed back six months to July 1, 2027.

SCOPE

The bill now applies to all tenancies under RSA 540 (general lease provisions) rather than only residential tenancies under RSA 540-A (landlord-tenant law), potentially covering commercial and other non-residential leases.

A new subsection exempts snow removal responsibilities in areas governed by condominium associations, cooperatives, homeowners' associations, manufactured housing parks, or similar entities with mixed private and common ownership, deferring to their recorded instruments, bylaws, park rules, or governing documents.

The introduced version's savings clause preserving local ordinances imposing additional duties on property owners regarding public sidewalks or rights of way was removed.

REQUIREMENT

The introduced version required that snow removal responsibility be explicitly stated in the written lease. The amended version instead allows landlords and tenants to freely agree on who is responsible for specific areas, removing the mandatory disclosure requirement.

The default rule was split: common areas used by tenants of more than one rental unit (driveways, walkways, stairs, entryways) remain the landlord's responsibility, but private areas intended for exclusive use of one rental unit are now assigned to the tenant by default. The introduced version had placed all common area responsibility on the landlord without a clear tenant default.

The introduced version's provision that tenant snow removal agreements must be 'express, voluntary, and included in the lease' was removed entirely.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from January 1, 2027 to July 1, 2027, giving stakeholders six additional months before the law takes effect.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jul 9, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/02/2026; Chapter 213; eff. 7/1/2027

lower

May 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/07/2026; SJ 11

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 05/07/2026; Vote 4-1; CC; SC 17

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Introduced

Introduced 03/12/2026 and Referred to Commerce; SJ 7

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0964h: MA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 48

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Introduced

Amendment # 2026-0964h: AA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 48

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0964h (NT) 03/03/2026 (Vote 17-0; CC) HC 10 P. 23

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee Work Session: 03/03/2026 09:35 am GP 231

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee Work Session: 02/20/2026 09:30 am GP 159

lower

Dec 1, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Housing HJ 1 P. 6

lower

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors