New Hampshire • Reserve study / underfunding
Is your New Hampshire condo's reserve underfunded — and does the state require funding?
A reserve study can read as reassuring while quietly showing your New Hampshire building is years behind on saving for its roof, elevators, or façade. What matters is how funded the reserves actually are — and what New Hampshire requires.
The short answer
New Hampshire does not require a reserve study and does not require the association to fund it. RSA 356-B sets no reserve-study mandate, funding minimum, or percent-funded target. RSA 356-B:40-c requires only a budget summary within 30 days disclosing reserve information and the basis for reserve figures; RSA 356-B:58 requires a reserve-fund status statement on resale. Non-condo HOAs have no statutory reserve disclosure. A thin reserve is the most common reason a special assessment lands later, so the study-versus-actual-balance gap is the number that matters. CondoSignal reads your reserve study and budget against New Hampshire's rules. Free.New Hampshire at a glance
Reserve study
Not required
None — no statutory study or update cadence
Reserve funding
Not required
Underfunding is legal here
Super-lien
Yes
6 months of regular assessments
Resale disclosure
Cancellation right
No resale rescission. The only statutory cancellation right is 5 days on developer sales after delivery of the public offering statement (RSA 356-B:52).
What New Hampshire requires
RSA 356-B sets no reserve-study mandate, funding minimum, or percent-funded target. RSA 356-B:40-c requires only a budget summary within 30 days disclosing reserve information and the basis for reserve figures; RSA 356-B:58 requires a reserve-fund status statement on resale. Non-condo HOAs have no statutory reserve disclosure. Whether a thin reserve is merely risky or actually out of compliance depends on that rule — which is the first thing to establish.
Why underfunding becomes an assessment
No statutory cap on regular-assessment increases beyond declaration limits. The 'percent funded' figure in the study, compared to the actual reserve balance, tells you how exposed you are.
What it means for collection and resale
RSA 356-B:46. Priority over a first mortgage only for mortgages recorded on or after January 1, 2011, and only if the strict notice procedure to owner and first mortgagee is followed. Excludes special assessments, late fees, interest, and fines. A lien not properly perfected is lost at foreclosure. RSA 356-B:58 packet (condos only), furnished within 10 days of written request: unpaid assessments, 2-year anticipated capex, reserve-fund status, last-year financials, litigation in which the association is a defendant, insurance, governing documents, and 3-year special-assessment history. Non-condo HOAs have no statutory resale-disclosure regime.
Your rights in New Hampshire
As a New Hampshire owner, your reserve information and any approved special assessments should appear in the association's budget and resale disclosures (no resale rescission. the only statutory cancellation right is 5 days on developer sales after delivery of the public offering statement (rsa 356-b:52).). None of this is legal advice — confirm against the current statute and a licensed professional in your state.
What to check
- Find the reserve study's 'percent funded' figure.
- Compare the recommended contribution to what's budgeted.
- Confirm whether New Hampshire mandates reserve funding — it doesn't, so the board can legally run reserves thin.
- Check the remaining life of the roof, elevators, and façade.
- Remember delinquent-owner debt carries a super-lien in New Hampshire (6 months of regular assessments), which raises everyone's risk.
- Look for a reserve catch-up or a recent special assessment.
- Check the study's date — an old study understates today's costs.
Sources
- RSA 356-B — New Hampshire Condominium Act (Table of Contents)(High)
- RSA 356-B:46 — Lien for Assessments (Justia)(High)
- RSA 356-B:58 — Resale by Purchaser (Justia)(High)
Educational only — not legal, financial, or engineering advice. Confirm against the current statute and, where it matters, a New Hampshire-licensed professional.
Related guide
New Hampshire reserve studies — the full guide →This page answers what to do right now. For how reserve studies works in New Hampshire — the law, the process, and what to check before you buy or sell — read the full state guide.
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