New Hampshire HB 65: directing landlords to offer tenants the option of reporting rental payments to consumer reporting agencies.

Bill Text

HB 65 - AS INTRODUCED

2025 SESSION

 25-0045

 06/05

HOUSE BILL 65

AN ACT directing landlords to offer tenants the option of reporting rental payments to consumer reporting agencies.

SPONSORS: Rep. Selig, Straf. 10; Rep. Howland, Straf. 20; Rep. A. Murray, Hills. 20; Rep. Booras, Hills. 8; Rep. Lloyd, Hills. 8; Rep. Mandelbaum, Rock. 21; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21

COMMITTEE: Housing 

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ANALYSIS

 This bill provides tenants an option to have rental payments to their landlords reported to nationwide consumer reporting agencies.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 25-0045

 06/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five

AN ACT directing landlords to offer tenants the option of reporting rental payments to consumer reporting agencies.

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Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 New Section; Election to Have Rental Payments Reported to Consumer Reporting Agencies. Amend RSA 359-B by inserting after section 4-a the following new section:

 359-B:4-b Election to Report Rental Payments to Consumer Reporting Agencies. 

 I. In this section:

 (a) "Landlord” means a person and their employees, property managers, or officers or agents, who rent or leases to another person a rental unit, including space in a manufactured housing park as regulated by RSA 205-A and in manufactured housing, for other than vacation or recreational purposes.

 (b) "Tenant" shall have the same meaning as RSA 540-A:5, III. 

 (c) "Rental unit" shall have the same meaning as RSA 540-A:5, IV.

 (d) "Consumer reporting agency" shall have the same meaning as 15 U.S.C.A. Section 1681a(f).

 (e) "Nationwide consumer reporting agency" shall have the same meaning as 15 U.S.C.A. Section 1681a(p).

 II. Landlords shall offer their tenants the option of having the tenant’s rental payment information reported to at least one nationwide consumer reporting agency or any other consumer reporting agency so long as the consumer reporting agency resells or otherwise furnishes rental payment information to a nationwide consumer reporting agency.

 III. The offer of rent reporting shall be made at the time of the lease agreement and at least once annually thereafter. For lease agreements made prior to January 1, 2026, the offer of rent reporting shall be made no later than April 1, 2026, and at least once annually thereafter. 

 IV. The offer of rent reporting shall include a written election of rent reporting that includes all of the following: 

 (a) A statement that reporting of the tenant’s rental payment information is optional. 

 (b) Identification of each consumer reporting agency to which rental payment information will be reported. 

 (c) A statement that all of the tenant’s rental payments will be reported, regardless of whether the payments are timely, late, or missed.

 (d) The amount of any fee charged pursuant under this section. 

 (e) Instructions on how to submit the written election of rent reporting to the landlord by mail. 

 (f) A statement that the tenant may opt into rent reporting at any time following the initial offer by the landlord. 

 (g) A statement that the tenant may elect to stop rent reporting at any time, but that they will not be able to resume rent reporting for at least six months from the same landlord after their election to opt out.

 (h) Instructions on how to opt out of reporting rental payment information. 

 (i) A signature block that the tenant shall date and sign in order to accept the offer of rent reporting. 

 V. When the offer of rent reporting is made, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to return the written election of rent reporting. 

 VI. The written election to begin rent reporting shall not be accepted from the tenant at the time of the offer. A tenant may submit their completed written election of rent reporting at any time after they receive the offer of rent reporting from the landlord. A tenant may request and shall obtain additional copies of the written election of rent reporting form from the landlord at any time. 

 VII. If a tenant elects to have that tenant’s rental payments reported to a consumer reporting agency under paragraph II, the landlord may require that tenant to pay a fee not to exceed the lesser of the actual cost to the landlord to provide the service or $10 per month. The payment or nonpayment of this fee by the tenant shall not be reported to a consumer reporting agency.

 VIII. If a tenant fails to pay any fee