HB 1135 - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-2311
09/05
HOUSE BILL 1135
AN ACT prohibiting the acquisition of prescriptive rights in private roads through adverse use.
SPONSORS: Rep. Aylward, Merr. 5; Rep. Fracht, Graf. 16
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill prohibits acquiring of rights in private roads, ways, driveways, or trails through adverse use.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2311
09/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT prohibiting the acquisition of prescriptive rights in private roads through adverse use.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Subdivision Heading Change. Amend the subdivision heading preceding RSA 477:33 to read as follows:
[No] Prescription Prohibited [Against the Public]
2 New Section; Private Roads and Trails. Amend RSA 477 by inserting after section 34 the following new section:
477:34-a Private Roads and Trails.
The use of a landowner’s roads, ways, driveways, or trails, by any person or the public, regardless of duration, shall not create or establish any right, title, interest, or easement by prescription, adverse use, or implication, nor raise any presumption of a grant thereof.
3 Application. This act shall not apply to any claims already fully adjudicated before the effective date of this act.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
| Date | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Feb. 24, 2026 | 2026-0731h |
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 10, 2026 | House | Hearing |
| Feb. 17, 2026 | House | Exec Session |
| Feb. 17, 2026 | House | Floor Vote |
Feb. 24, 2026: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0731h 02/17/2026 (Vote 17-0; CC)
Feb. 11, 2026: Executive Session: 02/17/2026 09:00 am GP 154
Feb. 5, 2026: Public Hearing: 02/10/2026 09:45 am GP 154
Dec. 1, 2025: Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government