HB 1004 - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-2286
07/06
HOUSE BILL 1004
AN ACT exempting certain dwelling units from automatic sprinkler system requirements.
SPONSORS: Rep. Drew, Hills. 19; Rep. Labrie, Hills. 2
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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ANALYSIS
This bill exempts certain dwelling units from automatic sprinkler system requirements.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2286
07/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT exempting certain dwelling units from automatic sprinkler system requirements.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Public Safety and Welfare; State Board of Fire Control; State Fire Code; Rules. Amend RSA 153:5, III to read as follows:
III. The state fire code and associated rules shall not require automatic fire suppression or sprinkler systems in [detached one, or 2-family dwelling units in a structure] a detached building with up to 4 dwelling units used only for residential purposes.
2 Public Safety and Welfare; State Board of Fire Control; Automatic Fire Warning Devices and Carbon Monoxide Detection Devices in Dwellings. Amend RSA 153:10-a, III to read as follows:
III. The state fire marshal may adopt such rules pursuant to RSA 541-A as necessary to enforce paragraphs I, II, and II-a; provided that under no circumstances shall the rules require the installation of a fire sprinkler system in a [one- or 2-family dwelling unit] detached building with up to 4 dwelling units, used only for residential purposes, that otherwise meets the requirements of this section. The state fire marshal shall either enforce the provisions of this section or appoint the appropriate municipal authority to enforce the provisions of this section.
3 Public Safety and Welfare; New Hampshire Building Code; State Building Code Review Board. Amend RSA 155-A:10, VI to read as follows:
VI. The state building code review board shall not adopt or enforce any rule requiring the installation of fire sprinkler systems in any new or existing detached [one- or 2-family dwelling unit in a structure] buildings with up to 4 dwelling units used only for residential purposes. This paragraph shall not prohibit a duly adopted requirement mandating that fire sprinkler systems be offered to the owners of dwellings for a reasonable fee.
4 Planning and Zoning; Regulation of Subdivision of Land; Subdivision Regulations. Amend RSA 674:36, VI to read as follows:
VI. In accordance with RSA 153:5, III, the planning board shall not require, or adopt any regulation requiring, the installation of a fire suppression sprinkler system in proposed [one- or 2-family residences] detached buildings with up to 4 dwelling units used only for residential purposes as a condition of approval for a local permit. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a duly adopted regulation mandating a cistern, dry hydrant, fire pond, or other credible water source other than a fire suppression sprinkler system.
5 Applicability. This act shall apply to all new construction, renovations, or conversions of detached buildings with up to 4 dwelling units used only for residential purposes on or after the effective date of this act. Existing detached buildings with up to 4 dwelling units used only for residential purposes that do not have automatic sprinkler systems as of the effective date shall not be required to retrofit such systems.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Nov. 7, 2025: Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Executive Departments and Administration HJ 1