Bill Text: NH HB1320 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to real property and flood risk disclosure.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-07-26 - Signed by Governor Sununu 07/19/2024; Chapter 236; eff. I. Secs 1 & 3 eff as provided in sec 4 II. Rem eff 7/19/24 [HB1320 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2024-HB1320-Introduced.html
HB 1320 - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2374
12/10
HOUSE BILL 1320
AN ACT relative to real property and flood risk disclosure.
SPONSORS: Rep. Muns, Rock. 29; Rep. Vallone, Rock. 5; Rep. DiLorenzo, Rock. 10; Rep. Knab, Rock. 12; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24
COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires disclosures to purchasers of property and to tenants or lessees of the flood risk of certain property.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2374
12/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to real property and flood risk disclosure.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Sections; Notification of Flood Risk Prior to Sale of Real Property. Amend RSA 477 by inserting after section 477:4-h the following new sections:
477:4-i Flood Risk Notification Required, Purchase and Sale of Real Property.
I. Purpose. Committing to lease or purchase a property is one of the largest financial investments any individual makes. The purpose of this section is to ensure that prospective renters and purchasers of property in New Hampshire have a fair and full understanding of the conditions of the property they lease or purchase as it relates to flood risk and prior damage caused by flooding or storm events and the potential liability, they may be assuming by entering into a lease or purchase agreement.
II. In this section:
(a) “Floodplain” means any land area defined as such by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It includes any land area susceptible to being inundated by flood waters from any source. This can include coastal areas impacted by storm surge, land along a river that is flooded when that waterway rises out of its banks or low-lying land that fills with water when it rains. The definition of a floodplain also includes FEMA Special Flood Hazard and Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Areas.
(b) “Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)” means the official map of a community provided by FEMA which defines the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the Moderate Flood Hazard Area, and the designated flood zones applicable to the community. This map is used by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for floodplain management, mitigation, and insurance purposes. The flood map is the official source for determining flood risk within a community.
(c) “Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)” means any area that will be inundated by a flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 1-percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood. On a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), the SFHA is labeled by Zones with letters starting with “A” or “V”.
(d) “Moderate Flood Hazard Area” means any area that will be inundated by a flood event having a 0.2-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 0.2-percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the 0.2-percent-annual-chance or 500- year flood. They are labeled as Zone B or Zone X (shaded) on the FIRM.
(e) Areas of minimal flood hazard, means the areas outside the SFHA and higher than the elevation of the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood, are labeled Zone C or Zone X (unshaded) on the FIRM.
III.(a) This paragraph shall only apply to restricted property as defined in RSA 540-1:a, II and “tenant” or “tenancy” as defined in RSA 540-1:a, IV.
(b) The lessor or owner of restricted property shall notify each of his or her tenants if the rental property which is the subject of a lease has been determined to be in a FEMA flood zone, and the lessor or owner of the restricted property has factual knowledge that the rental premises or any portion of the parking and/or common areas of the real property containing the rental premises has been subjected to flooding during the period which landlord has owned the property.
(c) Each new tenant shall be notified pursuant to this section in writing at the time of application and prior to the time that the lease of the rental unit is signed. The flood risk disclosure required under this subsection (“Flood Risk Disclosure”) may be incorporated into the rental application a lessor or owner of restricted property requires all prospective tenants to fill out or it may be in the form of a separate rider. In either case, the application or separate rider shall be individually signed or otherwise acknowledged by an authorized agent of the lessor or owner of the restricted property and tenant and witnessed accordingly and it shall include the following questions, and space for landlord to answer yes or no:
(1) “Is any or all the property located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated flood zone?”; and
(2) “During the period when lessor or owner of restricted property has owned the property, has the rental property premises or any portion of the parking areas of the real property containing the rental premises subject to the lease experienced any flood damage from flood waters entering a building or pooling, making the property inaccessible due to a natural flood event, such as heavy rainfall, coastal storm surge, tidal inundation, or riverine flooding.? If “yes” when did those damages occur?”
(d) The application or separate rider shall also provide notification concerning flood insurance stating: “Flood insurance may be available to renters through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to cover renter’s personal property and contents in the event of a flood. A standard renter's insurance policy does not typically cover flood damage. You are encouraged to examine your policy to determine whether you are covered.”
(e) A lessor or owner of restricted property who complies with the requirements of this chapter and answers the required questions truthfully shall be exempt from claims of liability by a tenant if that tenant suffers any damage to his/her personal property because of flooding that may occur during the term of tenant’s lease of said restricted property.
(f) If a lessor or owner of restricted property does not comply with the requirements of this chapter and/or is shown to have not answered the required questions truthfully the tenant may at any time terminate the lease by giving a 30-day written notice of termination to the lessor or owner of restricted property as provided under RSA 540:11.
(g) If lessor or owner of restricted property does not comply with the requirements of subparagraph (c) and/or is shown to have not answered the required questions truthfully and flooding occurs that results in damage to a tenant’s personal property, affects the habitability of the leased premises, or affects the tenant’s access to the leased premises for an extended period of time, the tenant may terminate the lease immediately with the effective date of the termination being when the tenant surrenders possession of the dwelling. In the event the lease is terminated pursuant to this subsection, tenant shall only be liable to pay for rent through the effective date of the lease’s termination.
(h) Not later than the 30th day after the effective date of the termination of a lease under subparagraph (f), the lessor or owner of restricted property shall refund to the tenant all rent beyond the effective date of the termination of the lease or other amounts paid in advance under the lease.
IV. Sales of Real Property. Prior to the execution of any contract for the purchase and sale of any interest in real property which includes a building, the seller, or seller's agent, shall provide the following notification to the buyer. The buyer shall acknowledge receipt of this notification by signing a copy of such notification. This notification shall be titled "flood zone," and shall state:
(a) Whether the property has been determined to be in a flood zone and whether the seller has factual knowledge that the property has been subjected to flooding during the period which seller has owned the property.
(b) “Flooding: Properties in coastal and riverine areas may be subject to increased risk of flooding over time. A standard homeowners insurance policy typically does not cover flood damage. You are encouraged to examine your policy to determine whether you are covered.
(c) Is any or all the property located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated flood zone? Yes or No
(d) Is there flood insurance currently on the property? Yes or No.
(e) During the period seller has owned the property, has the property experienced any flood damage from flood waters entering a building or pooling, making the property inaccessible due to a natural flood event, such as heavy rainfall, coastal storm surge, tidal inundation, or riverine flooding.? Yes or No. If “yes” when did those damages occur and did seller file a claim for flood damage with any insurance provider, including the National Flood Insurance Program?
(f) Is there a FEMA elevation certificate available for the property? Yes or No. If “yes”, the elevation certificate must be shared with the buyer.”
V. Support and Assistance. The department of business and economic affairs through its floodplain management program shall at a minimum provide information on its website that helps property owners provide the disclosures related to FEMA-designated flood zone locations and type enumerated in this section. The website shall include access to a user-friendly look-up tool searchable by street address that identifies if a property is in a FEMA-designated flood zone.
VI. Nothing in this section shall be construed to have any impact on the legal validity of title transferred pursuant to a purchase and sale contract, or to create or place any liability with the seller or seller's agent for failure to provide the notifications described .
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
