The 603 Legal Aid sites (below) provides good discussions of New Hampshire law and tenant’s rights.
"Although a rental agreement can be written or oral, “lease” usually means a written rental agreement for a specific time, usually one year."
"You are always able to break a lease; there is little a landlord can do to actually stop you from leaving before the full term specified in the lease. You are violating no law by vacating early, but you are violating the terms of the contract between you and the landlord. If you decide to leave, the question will be what damages or penalties you might be liable for if you leave without good reason."
Chapter 9 of Real Estate is on leases, and contains detailed information on lease contracts, legal rights and obligations, risk of injury on the leased premises, succession, assignments and subleases, termination of leases, landlord actions to regain possession, damages to the property, and security deposits.
Call Number: KFN1280 .N48 v. 17 2023 Publication Date: 2023"A conceptual shift from real estate to contract law in the lease context has created a dichotomized legal regime. On the one hand, landlords and tenants have considerable freedom to structure their contractual relationships as they please, and the resulting agreement is a product of the parties’ interests and relative economic leverage. On the other hand, legislatures and courts have intervened in the landlord-tenant relationship, mostly in behalf of residential tenants, imposing limitations on evictions and providing tenants with tools to compel landlords to improve housing quality. These limitations and rights emerge in an environment in which the New Hampshire Supreme Court has declared that “policy considerations are important in construing residential leases.” These considerations may even override contractual agreements fairly arrived at by landlords and their tenants." See Chapter 9.
A Practical Guide to Residential Real Estate Transactions and Foreclosures in New Hampshire contains a sample residential lease form drafted specifically for New Hampshire. See Chapter 10, Liens, Leasehold Interests, and Easements.