New Hampshire Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

The Short Answer: Two Layers, Plus Safety Codes

If you own a house, condo or camp in New Hampshire and want to rent it by the night, you deal with two layers of rules, plus building and fire codes that apply to any home where people sleep.

As of October 2026, the legislature has not passed a law that either licenses short-term rentals statewide or stops towns from restricting them. That makes your town's ordinance the rule that matters most.

The State Layer: The Rooms Tax and the Operator License

New Hampshire taxes short stays as if your home were a small hotel. Under RSA 78-A:6, the tax is 8.5 percent of the rent. RSA 78-A:3 defines a short-term rental as renting one or more rooms in a residential unit "for tourist or transient use for less than 185 consecutive days," and the DRA says tax is collected on all room rentals of less than 185 consecutive days.

RSA 78-A:4 requires each operator to register with the DRA and get a license before renting rooms. The DRA's FAQ adds two points short-term hosts often miss: the license must be posted in a public area of the property, and any ad or online listing for a short-term rental must include the operator's license number.

Airbnb and Vrbo both collect and remit the 8.5% tax on bookings made through them. That does not cover direct bookings or other channels, and it does not answer every filing question. We walk through all of it on our New Hampshire rooms tax page.

The Local Layer: Towns Regulate Through Zoning

New Hampshire's zoning enabling law, RSA 674:16, lets each city and town adopt a zoning ordinance to regulate "the use of buildings, structures and land." That is where short-term rental rules live.

Many New Hampshire ordinances are written in a "permissive" style: a use is allowed only if the ordinance lists it. Nashua's Land Use Code says it outright: "Any use not listed is prohibited," unless the city's administrative officer finds it falls within the same class as a listed use. Manchester's new ordinance has a similar clause. So "my town has no short-term rental ordinance" does not mean "short-term rentals are allowed." It can mean the opposite.

Towns that have written specific rules use a handful of tools. A few examples from ordinances we read this month:

Each of these has details (parking, septic, occupancy, inspections) covered on our Manchester, Lakes Region and North Conway pages.

What the NH Supreme Court Has Said

Three New Hampshire Supreme Court decisions shape how towns write these rules. None of them created a statewide right to rent or a statewide ban; each turned on the wording of one town's ordinance.

• Working Stiff Partners v. City of Portsmouth (2019). The court upheld Portsmouth's position that renting a four-bedroom home by the night through Airbnb was a transient occupancy, like a hotel or rooming house, and not a permitted use in that residential district, because the ordinance's definition of "dwelling unit" excluded transient occupancies.
• Town of Conway v. Kudrick (May 2, 2023). The court reached the opposite result on different wording. In a 4 to 1 decision, it agreed with the trial court that Conway's ordinance, as written, permitted non-owner-occupied short-term rentals in residential districts because they fit the ordinance's definition of a residential dwelling unit.
• Appeal of Hoekstra (2024). As summarized by the New Hampshire Municipal Association, the court found that a town's ordinance allowed a travel trailer on a residential lot to be used as a short-term rental, based on a section permitting trailers as temporary sleeping quarters.

The practical lesson for an owner: read your own town's definitions, especially "dwelling unit," "transient" and "lodging." Two towns with similar-sounding rules can land in different places.

What the Legislature Tried, and What Passed

Short-term rental bills come up almost every session. Here is what happened to the main ones, as tracked by Citizens Count:

So as of October 2026 the state rules are the ones above: 8.5%, the 185-day line, and local zoning. Watch for HB 1068's ideas to return; a 30-day line would change the math for mid-term rentals of a month or more.

Other State Rules That Touch a Rental

A few state requirements show up in town ordinances again and again, so it helps to know them:

• Fire and life safety. Towns such as Conway, Gilford and Wolfeboro tie their rules to the State Fire Code and State Fire Marshal bulletins on smoke alarms, CO alarms and egress windows. See our insurance and safety page.
• Septic capacity. Lakes Region towns commonly cap occupancy by the number of bedrooms on your NHDES septic approval. An older camp with an undocumented system may need an evaluation first.
• Landlord agent information. Laconia asks short-term rental owners for the same agent information required by RSA 540:1-b.
• Boating. If your listing includes a boat, New Hampshire requires a boating education certificate for anyone 16 or older operating a motorboat over 25 horsepower.

What to Check Before You List

1. Find your zoning district. Your town's GIS map or assessing card shows it.
2. Read the use table and definitions in your town's zoning ordinance. Look for "short-term rental," "tourist home," "lodging," "bed and breakfast" and "transient."
3. Call the planning, zoning or code office if the ordinance is silent. Ask: is a short-term rental allowed on my lot, does it need a permit, special exception or conditional use permit, and is there a rental registration or inspection program?
4. Check your deed, condo documents or HOA rules. Private restrictions can be stricter than zoning. See HOA and condo rules.
5. Get your Meals and Rooms operator license from the DRA before your first booking, and put the number in your listing.
6. Confirm your septic approval and smoke and CO alarms match the number of guests you plan to host.

Our permits and licenses overview puts these steps side by side for New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Where New England Host Co Fits

New England Host Co manages short-term rentals in Southern New Hampshire, the Lakes Region, Central Massachusetts and Southern Vermont. If you are weighing whether your home can be rented under your town's rules, we are happy to talk it through; see the full owner guide or contact us.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice; check with your town or a professional before you rent.

FAQ

Does New Hampshire Require a Short-Term Rental License?

There is no separate statewide short-term rental license. You do need a Meals and Rooms operator license from the NH Department of Revenue Administration, and your town may require its own permit.

Can a New Hampshire Town Ban Short-Term Rentals?

Towns regulate land use through zoning, and courts have upheld ordinances that excluded nightly rentals from residential districts (Portsmouth, 2019). Whether your town does depends on its ordinance wording; Conway's ordinance, for example, was read in 2023 to allow them.

Did New Hampshire Pass a Short-Term Rental Law in 2026?

No. HB 1068 passed the House but went to interim study in the Senate, and SB 634, HB 1707 and HB 1580 were killed.

What Is the 185-Day Rule in New Hampshire?

Stays under 185 consecutive days are subject to the 8.5% rooms tax. When a guest reaches the 185th consecutive day, the DRA says the operator must refund the tax collected.