New Hampshire Mobile Home Park Eviction Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nonpayment of rent

In a New Hampshire manufactured-housing park, nonpayment of lot rent, utility charges, or reasonable incidental service charges is a permitted ground for eviction under RSA 205-A:4, I. The required notice is 30 days — RSA 205-A:3 provides 30 days, for an action based on RSA 205-A:4, I. Serve it in writing in the manner prescribed by RSA 540:5 and by first class mail, and state the reason with specificity.

New Hampshire gives the resident an absolute right to cure. RSA 205-A:4, I bars any action for possession if prior to the expiration of an eviction notice the tenant shall pay or tender all arrearages due plus $15 as liquidated damages. If the resident pays in full before your notice expires, the eviction cannot proceed. This tracks the general residential rule (RSA 540:3 30-day notice and 540:9 cure right), so build your ledger to accept a full cure right up to the deadline.

Practical takeaway: a 30-day clock plus a pay-and-stay cure right means nonpayment evictions here are slower and more reversible than in most states. Give accurate, itemized arrears figures in the notice and be prepared to accept payment (arrears plus the $15 statutory liquidated damages) at any point before expiration.

Other grounds for eviction

RSA 205-A:4 is a closed list — a lot tenancy may be terminated only for one or more of the following reasons. Besides nonpayment, the grounds are: violating laws/regulations relating to manufactured housing (II), damaging the demised property beyond reasonable wear and tear (III), repeated conduct disturbing other tenants' peace and quiet (IV), failing to comply with reasonable written park rules (V), and condemnation or change of use of the park (VI). There is no no-cause eviction of a lot tenant in New Hampshire.

For these grounds the notice is 60 days (RSA 205-A:3: 60 days, for an action based on RSA 205-A:4, II, III, IV, or V), except condemnation/change of use, which requires 18 months. Two grounds carry a mandatory warn-and-cure step first: for a law/regulation violation (II) and for a rule violation (V), the tenant is first given written notice of the failure to comply and a reasonable opportunity thereafter to comply before you may issue the eviction notice.

Rules only bind the tenant if they are reasonable and were established at the inception of the tenancy, or added later with the tenant's written consent, or without the tenant's consent upon 3 months' written notice (RSA 205-A:4, V). You cannot use eviction to vary the rental agreement without the tenant's express written consent.

Filing the eviction and going to court

Eviction in New Hampshire is court-ordered only — self-help lockouts, utility shutoffs, or removing the home are illegal. Once the notice period expires without cure or compliance, commence a possessory action under RSA 540:13, which authorizes a writ returnable before a district court, setting forth in substance that the plaintiff is entitled to the possession of the demanded premises. Manufactured-housing lot cases are heard in the New Hampshire Circuit Court – District Division.

Use the correct paperwork. New Hampshire has a dedicated Manufactured Housing Eviction Notice form (NH Judicial Branch NHJB-3065-D). The eviction notice must state the reason with specificity (RSA 540:3, III) and satisfy the content requirements of RSA 540:5, II — a defective notice can get the case dismissed.

After you file, the tenant may enter an appearance and contest. The court sets a hearing; if you prevail, it issues a judgment and a writ of possession. Only then, and only through the sheriff/court process, can possession of the lot be recovered.

What happens to the home

The resident owns the manufactured home even though you own the lot, so an eviction of the lot tenancy does not transfer or authorize seizure of the home. New Hampshire's core protection is the right to sell in place: RSA 205-A:2 forbids you to deny a resident the right to sell at a price of such resident's own choosing said resident's manufactured housing within the park or to require the resident or purchaser to remove the manufactured housing from the park on the basis of the sale. You may reserve the right to approve the buyer as a tenant, but such approval may not be unreasonably withheld.

Because sell-in-place is the intended remedy, New Hampshire sets no fixed statutory day-count for physically removing a home after an eviction, and forced removal is uncommon. Where the eviction is for condemnation or change of use, the 18-month notice under RSA 205-A:3 is deliberately long to give residents time to sell or relocate their homes. The resident should notify the park of an intended sale; failure to do so may allow you to require the buyer to move the home.

If there is a lender on the home, RSA 205-A:4-a requires you to give a registered lienholder written notice of a rent default over 30 days, and the lienholder then has not more than 60 days from receipt of such notice of default to decide whether to assume the rent and all of the rights of the tenant to sell the manufactured housing in the park. Factor the lienholder timeline into your process so you do not proceed prematurely.

Typical timeline in New Hampshire

• Serve the eviction notice
  30 days for nonpayment (RSA 205-A:4, I / 205-A:3); 60 days for other violations (205-A:4, II–V); 18 months for condemnation or change of use (205-A:4, VI). Serve per RSA 540:5 and by first class mail.
• Warn-and-cure first (violations)
  For law/regulation (II) and rule (V) violations, you must give prior written notice of the failure and a reasonable opportunity to comply before the eviction notice can issue.
• Cure window runs
  On nonpayment, the tenant defeats the eviction by paying all arrearages plus $15 liquidated damages before the notice expires (RSA 205-A:4, I).
• File the possessory writ
  After the notice expires without cure/compliance, file the landlord-tenant possessory action under RSA 540:13 in the Circuit Court – District Division, using form NHJB-3065-D.
• Tenant appearance and hearing
  The tenant may appear and contest; the court sets a hearing. Retaliatory or defective-notice defenses can defeat the case.
• Judgment and writ of possession
  If the landlord prevails, the court issues judgment and a writ of possession; possession is recovered only through the court/sheriff — never self-help.
• Disposition of the home
  Resident sells in place at their own price (RSA 205-A:2) or, for closure/change of use, uses the 18-month window to relocate; lienholders get a 60-day assumption window (205-A:4-a).

Operator best practices in New Hampshire

• Build a relationship with a New Hampshire MHP attorney
  RSA 205-A is one of the most protective park statutes in the country; have NH counsel review your notices, rules, and any closure/change-of-use plan before you act.
• Treat the six grounds as a hard ceiling
  Only RSA 205-A:4, I–VI justify eviction. Never pursue a no-cause or lease-nonrenewal eviction of a lot tenant — it does not exist here.
• Calendar the exact notice period
  30 days (nonpayment), 60 days (other violations), 18 months (closure/change of use). Miscounting a day-count is the most common reason cases get dismissed.
• Always honor the cure right on nonpayment
  Accept arrears plus the $15 statutory liquidated damages any time before the notice expires (RSA 205-A:4, I); document the ledger so a partial-vs-full cure is unambiguous.
• Warn before you evict for conduct or rule breaches
  Send a dated written warning with a reasonable cure opportunity for grounds II and V; keep proof of service (certified mail or RSA 540:5 delivery).
• Keep park rules clean and consented-to
  Enforce only reasonable written rules that existed at tenancy inception or were added with written consent or 3 months' notice (RSA 205-A:4, V).
• Protect and document the sell-in-place right
  Do not block or condition a resident's in-park sale beyond reasonable, non-discriminatory buyer approval (RSA 205-A:2); respond promptly to buyer applications in writing.
• Notify lienholders correctly
  On a 30-day-plus default, send the registered lienholder the required notice and respect the 60-day assumption window before proceeding (RSA 205-A:4-a).
• Consider cash-for-keys
  Given long notice periods and the sell-in-place right, a negotiated cash-for-keys or assisted-sale arrangement is common market practice and often faster and cheaper than litigation.