How to Fire Your Property Manager in New Hampshire

A step-by-step guide for New Hampshire landlords switching property managers, covering the 30-day demand rule, broker trust accounts, tenant deposits and what to collect before you cut ties.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Missed repairs, slow replies, a statement that never adds up. Most landlords wait too long to make the call.

New Hampshire does not hand owners a statutory handover deadline the way some states do. What it gives you is a licence rule with a 30-day trigger, and that only starts running once you make a written demand. So the date on your demand letter matters.

Here is how to make the switch without losing a deposit, a tenant or a month of rent.

Step 1. Read your management agreement

Your contract decides how you exit. Look for four things.

Notice period. Many agreements need 30 days' written notice.
Termination fee. Some charge one, some don't.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check whether you owe anything for tenants the manager placed.
Who "owns" the tenant relationship. Some agreements try to charge a fee if you keep a tenant they found.

If the manager broke the agreement, by ignoring repairs or mishandling money, you may be able to end it sooner. That is a question for a New Hampshire attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Put it in writing, by email and by any method the agreement names. State the end date, ask for a full handover by that date, and list what you expect back (see Step 4).

Keep the tone flat and factual. You want your records, not an argument.

Step 3. Make a dated written demand

This is the step landlords skip. Under the licence law, converting any money, contract, deed, note, mortgage, abstract or other evidence of title to the licensee's own use is prohibited conduct, and failure to return it within 30 days after demand is prima facie evidence of conversion (RSA 331-A:26, VII).

The 30 days run from your demand, so send one, date it, and keep proof of delivery. Two more prohibitions back it up. A licensee may not fail to place trust funds in a proper trust account or fail to reconcile records monthly (RSA 331-A:26, VIII). A principal broker has to keep escrow and trust account records for 3 years showing dates in, dates out and who was paid, and transaction records for 3 years after closing (RSA 331-A:26, XVIII and XIX).

If the deadline passes and you are still waiting, file a complaint with the New Hampshire Real Estate Commission, which sits under the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification.

Step 4. Collect everything

Ask for all of this before the end date.

Security deposits for every tenant, with the amount held for each one
Accrued interest on any deposit held a year or longer
The trust account ledger showing rents collected, fees taken and what is still owed to you
Signed leases, renewals and addenda
The deposit receipts each tenant was given, and any written notes of unit condition
Tenant contact details and payment history
Open maintenance requests, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs, garage remotes and codes
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes

Step 5. Move the security deposits

A principal broker keeps escrow accounts separate from the individual or office account, and signs a permit letting the Commission audit them (RSA 331-A:13). When the money comes back to you, it needs a new home that meets the tenant deposit rules.

New Hampshire treats a deposit as the tenant's money held in trust, out of your personal funds. You can pool every tenant deposit in one trust account at a bank, savings and loan or credit union. Each tenant gets a signed receipt naming the amount and the place it is held, and a deposit held a year or longer earns interest at the regular savings rate (RSA 540-A:6).

Two things to check the day you take the money back. The cap is one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater, and any funds you hold in excess of one month's rent count as a deposit (RSA 540-A:5, II and RSA 540-A:6, I). If the old manager collected first, last and a damage deposit, you are holding more than the statute allows.

The deposit rules do not reach a person who rents a single-family residence and owns no other rental property, or who rents units in an owner-occupied building of 5 units or fewer, with an exception for tenants aged 60 or older (RSA 540-A:5, I). That test turns on the property and the ownership, not on who manages. Read it against your own portfolio before you decide to run the money loosely.

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants care about three things. Where to pay rent, who to call for repairs, and whether the deposit is safe. Send one clear message covering all three, dated, with the day the change takes effect. Send the new deposit receipt with it.

Step 7. Take over the day-to-day

Line up your vendors, set up rent collection, and get a maintenance line that picks up at 2am. This is where most landlords end up back where they started, holding a phone that never stops ringing.

Who can manage property for pay in New Hampshire

A broker is any person acting for another on commission or other compensation who rents or leases real estate, or who collects or offers to collect rent for the use of real estate (RSA 331-A:2). Acting as a broker or salesperson without a licence is unlawful (RSA 331-A:3).

Managing your own property is different. The licence law exempts an owner who is not a licensee, and the regular employees of an owner, with respect to the owner's real property (RSA 331-A:4). Self-managing takes no licence, and neither does the person on your payroll who handles your buildings.

If you hire a new manager instead, check the licence with the Real Estate Commission first, and ask where tenant deposits will sit.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees and clawbacks
Send written notice with an end date
Send a separate dated demand for funds and records, then count 30 days
Collect deposits, interest, ledgers, leases, receipts and keys
Open a trust account, issue new deposit receipts, check the one-month cap
Tell tenants where to pay and who to call

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for landlords who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to vendors, sends rent reminders and keeps every record in one place, at a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to a New Hampshire attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.