Bonnieta Kraft

I am a landlord. I own and have resided in a multifamily home for the last 40 years. I rent 2 apartments in my house. I am in opposition to this bill. The bill will impact and upset hundreds of years of New Hampshire landlord tenant law. It shortens the time for notice to tenants, time to file appearances, and hearings to be scheduled for non-payment evictions and a newly created category of evictions. Sheriffs can lock out tenants within 24 hours of a landlord and tenant hearing, rapidly putting tenants out on the streets and practically eliminating their right to appeal. The bill practically strips Judges of discretion to issue stays to keep tenants housed when there are good reasons to do so. This bill limits defenses that can be raised at a LL/T hearing to the merits of the claim, effectively stripping tenants of rights they enjoy under federal, state, and common law. Eliminated defenses include: o Rent withholding defenses o Refusal to accept rent defenses o Retaliation defenses o Procedural defenses o Plea of title defenses o Violence Against Women Act defenses o Fair Housing defenses This bill will significantly impact tenants in private housing. It will reduce the time that tenants have to get caught up with their rent and risk default judgements. It will make working with attorneys difficult as the expedited timeline will limit attorney's ability to take cases and diligently investigate and represent tenants. Tenants will effectively not be able to defend themselves and will lose rights that tenants have enjoyed throughout the state’s history. As noted in the bill’s financial impact statement, this bill will burden the court with a major increase in the number of new hearings that need to be scheduled. The expedited timeline will frustrate the busier courts’ scheduling abilities and lead to other types of important hearings to be deprioritized at the expense of eviction actions. The chaos caused by this act is going to, at minimum, lead to a period of extra appeals for landlords as the courts sort out the scope of the act. This will lead to uncertainty and additional attorney fees for some landlords. Sheriffs offices will be taken away from their criminal law enforcement duties in order to meet the increase in new evictions and the rapid 24 hour lockout period. If passed it would impact our state in negative ways: Homelessness crisis will be greatly exacerbated by a glut of new rapid evictions. It would make New Hampshire a less appealing place to live in for renters of all incomes. This bill will significantly impact tenants in private housing. It will reduce the time that tenants have to get caught up with their rent and risk default judgements. It will make working with attorneys difficult as the expedited timeline will limit attorney's ability to take cases and diligently investigate and represent tenants. Tenants will effectively not be able to defend themselves and will lose rights that tenants have enjoyed throughout the state’s history. As noted in the bill’s financial impact statement, this bill will burden the court with a major increase in the number of new hearings that need to be scheduled. The expedited timeline will frustrate the busier courts’ scheduling abilities and lead to other types of important hearings to be deprioritized at the expense of eviction actions. Speaking as a landlord, I am in opposition to this bill due to its negative impacts on people and our state. Bonnieta Kraft Keene NH