New Hampshire program
One-off help to keep the roof and the heat
One-time help paid to a landlord, fuel dealer or utility to keep or secure permanent housing.
What it is
One-time help paid to a landlord, fuel dealer or utility to keep or secure permanent housing.
If a rent, mortgage, utility or fuel bill threatens your housing or heat, Emergency Assistance may be worth discussing. A pay change alone does not tell us that a bill is overdue. The district office checks the emergency and the program’s current financial rules.
Eligibility rules
- The purpose is to help a family keep or secure permanent housing.
- Emergency Assistance has its own income, resource, emergency and repeat-payment rules. A pay cut does not by itself establish a housing emergency, and income alone does not tell us whether an overdue bill exists. The district office can check a rent, mortgage, utility or fuel notice and explain the current limits before the family relies on a payment.
What you get
- A possible payment toward an eligible housing or heating expense, subject to current program rules.
What the help covers
- The district office checks the type of emergency, expense limits and whether help can be offered again.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the district office for Emergency Assistance, with the hospital social worker’s help if useful.
- Bring the unpaid bill or notice, the landlord or fuel dealer’s details and current income records.
NH Department of Health and Human Services · 1-844-275-3447 · Official page ↗
After you apply
- The district office confirms the decision deadline and any missing documents.
Good to know
The money goes directly to the landlord or company. It is not ongoing monthly help.
Other details
- Fuel Assistance is a separate program through the community action agency.
“If a bill threatens our housing or heat, could Emergency Assistance cover it? What would remain for us to pay, and could you help with the request?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know what one-time help exists if lost pay puts our home at risk.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for Emergency Assistance by name and bring the arrears notice and the provider's details.
Your social worker
The social worker can help gather the paperwork the same day.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- NH DHHS decides under the current Emergency Assistance rules.
- Ask your social worker
- “Could we discuss whether a housing or heating notice fits Emergency Assistance and whether pursuing it makes sense?”
How to apply
First step: The social worker can discuss the emergency and available options. If you decide to pursue Emergency Assistance, the district office reviews the bill or notice.
- The social worker can discuss the emergency and available options. If you decide to pursue Emergency Assistance, the district office reviews the bill or notice.
- Bring the bill, the notice and the landlord or fuel dealer's details.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: The social worker can discuss the emergency and available options. If you decide to pursue Emergency Assistance, the district office reviews the bill or notice.
What to gather
- The arrears notice or bill
- The landlord or fuel dealer's details
- This month's income
How long: The district office confirms the current decision deadline and any missing documents; the previously recorded 15-working-day standard remains unverified.
What a yes looks like
A payment made directly to the landlord, fuel dealer or utility.
What a no looks like, and the next move
A no on the programme's own conditions. Ask which condition, and ask about fuel assistance instead.
Watch out
- The money goes to the landlord or fuel company, never to you.
- The district office confirms current caps and repeat-payment rules before the family relies on an amount.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Emergency Assistance may help with a qualifying housing or heating emergency. The district office checks the current financial, emergency, payment and repeat-payment rules.
- $650 — Cap for rental deposit and first month's rent combined — previously recorded; current operative value unverified
- $700 — Cap for home heating fuel deliveries — previously recorded; current operative value unverified
- $2 — Months of rent, mortgage or utility arrears that can be paid — previously recorded; current operative value unverified
- $15 — Working days to a written decision — previously recorded; current operative value unverified
Covers: Payment to a landlord, fuel dealer or utility
Legal protection: The payment goes to the provider of the service, not to the family
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Purpose
- to help a family secure or retain permanent housing
- Caps
- Emergency Assistance may help with a qualifying housing or heating emergency. The district office checks the current financial, emergency, payment and repeat-payment rules.
- Decision
- The district office confirms the current decision deadline and any missing documents; the previously recorded 15-working-day standard remains unverified.
The trap: The money goes to the landlord or the fuel company, never to the family. Have the bill and the arrears notice in hand when you ask.
Where I read this
- New Hampshire Administrative Rules, He-W 600 (financial assistance) — NH Office of Legislative Services, read September 10, 2026