New Hampshire HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
New Hampshire regulates condominiums through RSA chapter 356-B, the New Hampshire Condominium Act, which applies to all condominiums and condominium projects and defines the board of directors, condominium instruments, common areas, limited common areas, unit owners, and unit owners' associations.1 New Hampshire keeps no single common-interest-community act for non-condominium planned communities. Homeowners' associations organized under RSA chapter 292 operate under the Voluntary Corporations and Associations Act, with limited HOA-specific rules in RSA 292:8-m on certain bylaw, budget, management-contract, and dissolution issues.2
HOA disputes that reach appellate review move through the Superior Court, a statewide court of general jurisdiction, to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which the Judicial Branch identifies as the state's only appellate court.3 New Hampshire has no dedicated HOA regulator. The Real Estate Commission licenses real estate brokers, salespersons, firms, firm branches, trade names, and temporary licensees, while condominium registration and enforcement authority sit with the Department of Justice and the attorney general under RSA 356-B.4,5
Recent HOA-relevant state activity concentrates in a small set of condominium and RSA 292 bills, plus a limited number of Supreme Court condominium opinions, rather than a standing administrative docket.6 The result: a document-centered, lower-statutory-overlay jurisdiction.
2. Primary statute and key resources
- New Hampshire Condominium Act, RSA ch. 356-B. This serves as the main statutory framework for condominium associations and condominium projects in New Hampshire.7
- Voluntary Corporations and Associations Act, RSA ch. 292, including RSA 292:8-m. Chapter 292 governs voluntary corporations, and section 292:8-m adds limited rules for homeowners' associations organized under that chapter.8
- New Hampshire Judicial Branch. The Superior Court handles statewide general-jurisdiction trials, and the Supreme Court serves as the only appellate court.9
- New Hampshire Real Estate Commission, Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. The commission licenses real estate occupations and entities, but its listed license types do not include a separate community-association-manager license.10
- New Hampshire Department of Justice, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau. The bureau handles consumer complaints and condominium and subdivision registration matters under RSA 356-B.11
4. New Hampshire's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
New Hampshire's record covers pending 2026 transparency and registration proposals plus 2024 enactments on condominium proxy voting and board-meeting definitions.
HB 1523-FN · 2026 Session
The General Court bill page lists HB 1523-FN in the Senate with both House and Senate status marked passed/adopted with amendment after Senate action on May 7, 2026.[12] As amended by the Senate, the bill would add HOA records-retention, records-inspection, executive-session, and interested-contract provisions to RSA 292:8-m, with a proposed effective date of Jan. 1, 2027.[13]
| Property managers | Build a records-request calendar, records index, and contract-conflict disclosure file if the bill is enacted. |
| HOA board members | Prepare for formal record categories, executive-session limits, and member approval steps for interested contracts. |
| Community association attorneys | Review RSA 292 governing documents, inspection procedures, and contract workflows against the proposed statutory text. |
| Homeowners | Expect a clearer statutory records-access process for covered HOAs if the bill becomes law. |
SB 415 · 2026 Session
The General Court bill page lists SB 415 in the House with both House and Senate status marked passed/adopted with amendment after House action on May 7, 2026.[14] As amended by the House, the bill would expand the RSA 356-B:49 exemption from not more than 10 units to not more than 25 units, repeal abbreviated condominium registrations, revise financial-capacity filing language, and create a commission to study RSA 356-B and the condominium registration process.[15]
| Property managers | Watch smaller condominium projects for different registration assumptions if the exemption threshold changes. |
| HOA board members | Treat the bill as developer-facing, but track whether registration changes affect resale disclosures and project documents. |
| Community association attorneys | Recheck small-project registration advice, public-offering-statement assumptions, and DOJ filing strategy if enacted. |
| Homeowners | The bill could affect how small condominium projects enter the market, not day-to-day association governance. |
HB 1129 · 2024 Session
The legislature enacted HB 1129 as 2024 chapter 222, and RSA 356-B now defines directed and undirected proxies and regulates proxy use in condominium voting.[16] Current RSA 356-B:39 limits proxies cast by one person in associations of more than 20 units to 10 percent of votes cast, prevents one person from holding a majority of proxies in associations of fewer than 20 units, requires a vote-integrity process, and requires proxy retention for at least 3 years.[17]
| Property managers | Use association-issued proxy forms, control numbers, proxy logs, and 3-year retention procedures for condominium votes. |
| HOA board members | Avoid informal proxy collection practices that exceed the statutory caps or lack a documented integrity process. |
| Community association attorneys | Update condominium election materials and proxy provisions for consistency with RSA 356-B:3 and RSA 356-B:39. |
| Homeowners | Directed and undirected proxy choices are now expressly recognized for condominium unit-owner voting. |
HB 1172 · 2024 Session
The legislature enacted HB 1172 as 2024 chapter 118, and current RSA 356-B:37-c excludes certain vendor-proposal information sessions from the board-meeting definition when later review and voting occur at the next scheduled board meeting.[18] The same section adds exemptions for self-managed community-association implementation meetings and for committees that cannot expend association funds or sign contracts on behalf of the association.[19]
| Property managers | Separate vendor-comparison sessions from board votes, and place resulting motions on a properly noticed board agenda. |
| HOA board members | Keep social or informal gatherings away from association business that belongs in an open meeting. |
| Community association attorneys | Reconcile committee charters, spending authority, and meeting notices with the updated RSA 356-B:37-c text. |
| Homeowners | Vendor-proposal discussions may occur outside a board meeting, but resulting votes still need a scheduled board meeting. |
Recent Court Rulings
Recent New Hampshire Supreme Court rulings address limited-common-area expansions and the timing rules for converting reserved development land in condominiums.
Moda v. Fernwood at Winnipesaukee Condominium Association
The New Hampshire Supreme Court vacated summary judgment for the association and unit-owner defendants, holding that an expansion of a condominium unit into limited common area required compliance with RSA 356-B:19, including consent from adversely affected unit owners unless the condominium instruments expressly provided otherwise.[20] Practically, condominium boards should treat limited-common-area alterations as statutory amendments, not ordinary architectural approvals.
| Property managers | Flag unit expansions into limited common areas for legal review before construction or board approval. |
| HOA board members | Do not treat limited-common-area reassignment as a routine owner improvement. |
| Community association attorneys | Check declaration language and adverse-effect consent requirements before advising on limited-common-area changes. |
| Homeowners | Unit expansions into shared or limited common space may require more than board consent. |
Commerce Park Condominium Association v. Little Deer Valley, LLC
The New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed the Superior Court and held that conversion of convertible land under RSA 356-B:23 required timely recording of appropriate instruments, not physical construction within the statutory period.[21] Practically, associations should review recorded declaration amendments, site plans, and floor plans before assuming that a reserved development right expired because construction did not occur.
| Property managers | Maintain recorded plats, amendments, and declaration materials before evaluating developer-reserved rights. |
| HOA board members | Do not rely only on whether a building was physically constructed when assessing convertible-land rights. |
| Community association attorneys | Anchor conversion-right analysis in RSA 356-B:20 and RSA 356-B:23 recording requirements. |
| Homeowners | A recorded conversion may remain effective even if the related building was not yet built. |
Regulatory Developments
New Hampshire's HOA-adjacent regulatory channel runs through the Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau under RSA chapter 356-B.
N.H. DOJ Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau
New Hampshire maintains no separate HOA ombudsman or HOA enforcement office in the official state resources reviewed for this page. The active state channel for condominium offering and registration matters is the Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, which states that RSA chapter 356-B governs condominiums, timeshares, and cooperatives within the bureau's responsibilities.[22] RSA 356-B:59 also gives the attorney general authority to require certain advertising filings, bring Superior Court actions to enforce the Condominium Act, seek receivership in enforcement litigation, and intervene in suits involving declarants.[23]
| Property managers | Separate owner-governance disputes from DOJ-facing registration or offering issues. |
| HOA board members | Treat DOJ involvement as most likely in condominium offering, registration, or declarant-related matters. |
| Community association attorneys | Direct RSA 356-B registration and declarant-enforcement questions to DOJ authority rather than a dedicated HOA agency. |
| Homeowners | State complaint channels exist, but New Hampshire does not provide a stand-alone HOA ombudsman process. |
Active Policy Debates
Current policy activity centers on two live 2026 proposals: HB 1523-FN would add HOA transparency rules to RSA 292:8-m, and SB 415 would change condominium registration exemptions and create a study commission for RSA 356-B.24,25 These proposals point to records access, conflict disclosure, small-project registration, and condominium-development friction as the near-term policy areas to track.
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly's New Hampshire coverage will add bill explainers, court briefs, and regulatory notes as new official actions emerge. Federal FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and FCC OTARD frameworks can also affect New Hampshire associations, with federal coverage planned at /federal/.26,27,28,29,30
Footnotes
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA chapter 356-B, Condominium Act, sections 356-B:1, 356-B:2, and 356-B:3 ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA 292:8-m, Homeowners' Associations ↩
- New Hampshire Judicial Branch, Our Courts ↩
- New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, Real Estate License Applications ↩
- New Hampshire Department of Justice, Condominium and Subdivision Registration ↩
- New Hampshire Judicial Branch, Supreme Court Opinions, 2024 ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA chapter 356-B, Condominium Act ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA chapter 292, Voluntary Corporations and Associations ↩
- New Hampshire Judicial Branch, Our Courts ↩
- New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, Real Estate License Applications ↩
- New Hampshire Department of Justice, Consumer Complaints ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, HB 1523-FN bill status, 2026 session ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, HB 1523-FN as amended by the Senate, May 7, 2026 ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, SB 415 bill status, 2026 session ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, SB 415 as amended by the House, May 7, 2026 ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, HB 1129 bill status, 2024 session ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA 356-B:39, Voting ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, HB 1172 bill status, 2024 session ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA 356-B:37-c, Meetings of the Board of Directors and Committees of the Association ↩
- New Hampshire Supreme Court, Moda v. Fernwood at Winnipesaukee Condominium Association, 2024 N.H. 65 ↩
- New Hampshire Supreme Court, Commerce Park Condominium Association v. Little Deer Valley, LLC, 2024 N.H. 16 ↩
- New Hampshire Department of Justice, Condominium and Subdivision Registration ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, RSA 356-B:59, General Powers and Duties of the Attorney General ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, HB 1523-FN bill status, 2026 session ↩
- New Hampshire General Court, SB 415 bill status, 2026 session ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov, Businesses That Are Open to the Public, Title III ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 12 CFR Part 1006, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Regulation F ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Know Your Rights: A Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩