Emergency rent and security deposit help in Hillsborough County New Hampshire
This is a guide to rental assistance programs in Manchester, Nashua, and the smaller Hillsborough County towns. The place to ask depends on your situation. New Hampshire law puts the first responsibility on your own city or town: every municipality in the state must run a welfare office that can pay rent for residents who have no other way to cover it. Charities, housing authorities, and veteran programs add to agencies that may help for housing costs, whether it is back rent, moving costs or a security deposit.
Depending on where you live and what you need, there are programs for back rent, security deposits, and first month's rent. Many serve a different group. Others handle eviction prevention, housing choice vouchers, and free tenant legal aid. Some are open to any low-income resident of the county, while a few focus on veterans, families facing eviction, or people living with HIV or AIDS.
The listings below cover the government offices and nonprofit organizations that handle these requests across Hillsborough County, with an address and phone number for each. Funding at every program rises and falls during the year, so calling ahead is always worth the few minutes it takes.
Start with your city or town welfare office
Under a New Hampshire law known as RSA 165, every city and town must assist residents who cannot afford basic needs, and rent is one of them. This is a legal duty, not a courtesy, and the welfare office is often the fastest route to emergency rent money in this county. Approved aid is normally paid straight to the landlord as a voucher rather than handed to the applicant.
City of Manchester Welfare Department is at 1528 Elm Street, Manchester, NH 03101 — (603) 624-6484 — https://www.manchesternh.gov. Manchester residents apply here for emergency help with rent and other basic living costs. The office reviews income, expenses, and paperwork such as a lease or an eviction notice before making a decision, and approved rent payments go to the landlord.
City of Nashua Welfare Department is at 18 Mulberry Street, 1st Floor, Nashua, NH 03060 — (603) 589-4555 — https://www.nashuanh.gov/. Applications are picked up in person with a photo ID, Social Security card, and proof of Nashua residency. An intake worker reviews the household's circumstances first, then a welfare specialist makes the eligibility decision, with approved rent aid issued as a voucher to the landlord.
Every other town in the county Residents of towns such as Merrimack, Hudson, or Milford reach their local welfare official through the town hall. Ask for the welfare or general assistance office and say that rent is the need. The same state law applies in every one of them.
Charities that may help with rent, deposits, and eviction costs
Community Action Partnership Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties (CAPHR) - 40 Pine Street, Manchester, NH 03103 — (603) 668-8010 — https://caphr.org/. This is the federally designated community action agency for the county. Its homelessness prevention program offers short-term assistance to pay rent to stop an eviction or to secure new housing when funds are available, and its family services offices in the western part of the county take rental assistance requests as well. The agency operates resource centers around both counties; locations are listed on its website.
The Front Door Agency - 7 Concord Street, Nashua, NH 03064 — (603) 886-2866 — https://www.frontdooragency.org/. This Nashua nonprofit works with Greater Nashua households at risk of losing their housing. It provides rent assistance to stop an eviction in some cases, when the household can carry the rent going forward, and it is the state's contracted provider of security deposit assistance for the southern half of the county under the Housing Security Guarantee Program. A separate rapid re-housing program can cover moving costs, a deposit, or first month's rent for approved applicants along with several months of case management. Deposit applications take several business days to process, so a same-day emergency still belongs with the city welfare office.
The Way Home - 214 Spruce Street, Manchester, NH 03103 — (603) 627-3491 - The Way Home now operates as a program of Easterseals New Hampshire. Services center on housing counseling and eviction prevention, and the organization handles loans toward a security deposit or first month's rent through a state revolving loan fund for households that qualify.
The Salvation Army Manchester Corps - 121 Cedar Street, Manchester, NH 03101 — (603) 627-7013 Nashua Corps: 1 Montgomery Avenue, Nashua, NH 03060 — (603) 889-5151. Both offices take emergency assistance requests, including rent, and caseworkers try to assist when able. Applicants should bring proof of income along with the bill or notice involved.
Catholic Charities New Hampshire - 100 William Loeb Drive, Unit 3, Manchester, NH 03109 — (603) 669-3030 — https://www.cc-nh.org/. Catholic Charities pairs case management with financial relief that is available in some cases when funding allows, generally for people who work with the agency on a longer plan for stability. Its own policy asks rent applicants to apply with their city or town welfare office and the community action agency first, which is the same order this page follows.
Merrimack Valley Assistance Program - (MVAP) - 50 Bridge Street, Suite 106, Manchester, NH 03101 — (603) 623-0710 — https://mvap.org/. MVAP provides housing assistance and case management for income-eligible New Hampshire residents living with HIV or AIDS, serving Hillsborough County from its Manchester office.
Housing choice vouchers (often still called Section 8) and public housing
Three agencies divide this county. Manchester and Nashua each have their own housing authority, and the state agency covers the towns outside the two cities. Waiting lists at all three open and close as funding shifts, so ask each office directly about current status. General information on the program is on the Section 8 in New Hampshire page.
Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority - 198 Hanover Street, Manchester, NH 03104 — (603) 624-2100 — https://manchesterhousing.org/. The largest public housing agency in northern New England, running housing choice vouchers and public housing apartments for the city of Manchester, with additional units for seniors and adults with disabilities.
Nashua Housing and Redevelopment Authority - 40 East Pearl Street, Nashua, NH 03060 — (603) 883-5661 - Administers housing choice vouchers and public housing for the city of Nashua. The authority's public information runs through the City of Nashua website, https://www.nashuanh.gov/.
New Hampshire Housing - 32 Constitution Drive, Bedford, NH 03110 — (603) 472-8623 — https://www.nhhousing.org/. The statewide housing finance authority administers housing choice vouchers for communities without a city housing authority, which covers most Hillsborough County towns outside Manchester and Nashua. New Hampshire Housing does not run an emergency rent fund of its own; for an immediate crisis it points people to town welfare, the community action agency, and 2-1-1.
NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire - 801 Elm Street, Second Floor, Manchester, NH 03101 — (603) 626-4663 — https://nwsnh.org/. This nonprofit owns and develops affordable rental apartments in Manchester, Nashua, and nearby communities, with rents set below market rates. Units open periodically, and renters apply through the property listings on its website.
Rent and housing help for veterans
Harbor Care - 77 Northeastern Boulevard, Nashua, NH 03062 — (603) 882-3616 — https://harborcarenh.org/. Harbor Care runs the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program for New Hampshire, combining case management with financial assistance for veterans and their families who are homeless or about to lose their housing. Eligibility generally requires prior active-duty service, economic hardship, and New Hampshire residence; call to confirm whether a household qualifies.
Veterans Count (603) 315-4354 — https://vetscount.org/. This Easterseals New Hampshire program arranges emergency financial assistance for service members, veterans, and their families when no other resource covers the need, and rent is one of the covered uses. Care coordinators are based at 555 Auburn Street in Manchester and serve the whole state.
Free legal help for tenants facing eviction
603 Legal Aid - 93 North State Street, Suite 200, Concord, NH 03301 — (603) 224-3333 or (800) 639-5290 — https://www.603legalaid.org/. 603 Legal Aid is the statewide starting point for free civil legal aid in New Hampshire. Housing cases include eviction defense, security deposit disputes, and problems with public housing or vouchers. Tenants can apply online at any time or by phone during weekday morning intake periods, and qualifying cases are handled by staff attorneys, volunteer lawyers, or New Hampshire Legal Assistance (nhla.org), which takes many Hillsborough County eviction cases.
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