New Hampshire law aims to prevent tenants from incurring additional fees
As rents continue to rise in New Hampshire, a new law aims to cut the additional costs – for background checks, application fees and more – that make life even more expensive for prospective renters.
The new law requires landlords to justify any fees they charge over and above the rent and security deposit, and to refund any excess costs to the tenant without providing proof.
The policy aims to solve a situation that has become familiar to many renters: You apply for an apartment, have to pay a $50 application fee, and are not accepted. You apply for another apartment, pay another $50 for the application fee, and even more for a background check. In the state’s competitive rental market, those costs can add up quickly.
While drafting the bill, state Rep. Ellen Read said she learned that just finding housing can cost hundreds of dollars, especially if they apply for multiple leases. Read, a Democrat from Newmarket and Newfields, said she has also heard of people having to pay fees for each adult who applies for an apartment.
“It prevents shady landlords from creating a whole new source of income just by placing adverts and collecting applications from desperate people,” she said.
Read said the new law does not limit the amount of landlord fees, but does make the process somewhat more transparent.
She hopes it will be helpful for renters, who often apply for multiple apartments at once given the state’s low vacancy rate.
“Of course, in a market like this, you have to apply to many units before you find even one,” Read said.
The policy change comes as a new report from New Hampshire Housing confirms that the housing market remains tight – and expensive.
Their recent study of residential rental costs shows that there is a large gap between the income someone needs to earn to afford an apartment and what people actually earn. For example, the report found that someone needs to earn about $73,000 to afford a two-bedroom apartment in New Hampshire, but the estimated median renter income in that state is nearly $57,000.
The report also found that only 13% of two-bedroom apartments available for rent in the state are considered affordable. And since 2015, all rental apartments have become about 35% more expensive, according to the report.
The New Hampshire Housing Report also found that many workers in high-demand occupations such as firefighters and nursing assistants do not earn enough to afford a one-bedroom apartment, while many electricians and public school teachers cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment.
“Wages have gone up, but it seems they are not keeping pace with the increase in rents,” said Rep. Kathy Staub, a Democrat from Manchester who has been an advocate for housing issues for years.
Staub said politicians need to take more urgent action to solve the state’s housing crisis. She said she is helping to form a disability and housing committee and supports the Rent Fee Limitation Act and another bill to protect renters who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
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When she thinks of the people suffering most from New Hampshire’s lack of affordable housing, she remembers a friend who was an electrician whose body was worn out by years of physical labor. He retired early after his knees gave out, she said, and was homeless for a time when his apartment caught fire.
“We excuse people’s homelessness: ‘They make bad choices in their lives,'” Staub said. “Growing old is not a choice.”
Read, who introduced the legislation to reduce rental fees, said she knows New Hampshire’s rental situation cannot be improved through action alone, but she hopes the new law will deter landlords from engaging in predatory advertising practices.
“As horrible as this practice is, (the law) prevents people who are just looking for a roof over their heads from having to spend thousands and thousands of dollars just to look, not even to move, but just to look,” Read said. “It basically guarantees that you will get anything over the actual expenses back within 30 days.”
These articles are shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
