For condo unit owners, RSA 356-B:42(I)(c) gives the association real, direct authority over exterior changes: it can grant or withhold approval of any action by a unit owner that would change the exterior appearance of a unit or any other part of the condominium, and it can do that itself or delegate the decision to an elected or appointed architectural control committee, whose members have to meet the same qualifications required of association officers. That power isn't unlimited, though — the statute frames the whole section as applying "except to the extent prohibited by the condominium instruments, and subject to any restrictions and limitations specified therein," which means the committee's authority is bounded by whatever your own recorded declaration and bylaws actually say it can do, the same textual limit that runs through the fines and selective-enforcement guides.
New Hampshire also protects one specific category outright: RSA 356-B:47-a bars a condo association from prohibiting the outdoor display of the United States flag, consistent with the U.S. flag code and the state's own flag statute, and it goes further than most states' flag rules by addressing the physical mechanics — a flag flown from a bracket on a unit owner's balcony or deck may extend over the vertical line of the deck, into what would otherwise be common-area airspace, without that being treated as a violation. The association can still adopt reasonable rules about the flag's size and the manner of display; what it can't do is ban it outright.
No solar or EV-charger carve-outs — and the flag rule doesn't reach non-condo HOAs
Be clear-eyed about what New Hampshire's statute doesn't cover. There's no solar-panel protection, no EV-charging-station protection, and no antenna carve-out the way some other states have written into their condo or HOA statutes. If your condo board denies one of those, you won't find an automatic statutory win — your case has to rest on RSA 356-B:42's textual limit (the committee's power is bounded by the actual condominium instruments) and on comparable-approval evidence (see the selective-enforcement guide).
And even the flag protection New Hampshire does have is written specifically for "the unit owners' association" — condo language, by its terms. RSA Chapter 292 doesn't extend or duplicate RSA 356-B:47-a for a non-condo homeowners' association, and it says nothing at all about architectural review, exterior standards, or protected uses. If you're in a subdivision HOA fighting an architectural denial, you have no state list of protected categories to point to; your entire argument runs through what your own declaration's ARC standards actually authorize, and whether the committee applied them consistently. The federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 still applies to you regardless of what New Hampshire law says about condos specifically, but that's a matter of federal law, not anything in this state's statute book.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
RSA 356-B:42
Authorizes the condo association to grant or withhold approval of exterior appearance changes directly, or to delegate that authority to an architectural control committee, bounded by the condominium instruments.
RSA 356-B:47-a
Bars a condo association from prohibiting outdoor display of the U.S. flag, allows only reasonable size/manner rules, and addresses the flag's physical extension over common-area airspace from a unit's deck or balcony.
RSA 356-B:35
Ties any architectural or exterior standard back to what the bylaws actually authorize as an adopted rule — the same properly-adopted-rule requirement that runs through fine disputes.
RSA 292:6
Confirms that New Hampshire's general voluntary-corporation statute, which non-condo HOAs are organized under, has no architectural-review or protected-use provision of its own.
Step by step
How to challenge an architectural denial in New Hampshire
Steps to push back on a committee denial in a New Hampshire condo or HOA, using RSA 356-B:42 and RSA 356-B:47-a where they apply.
- 01
Confirm whether you're in a legal condominium
RSA 356-B:42 and RSA 356-B:47-a apply to condominiums. A non-condo HOA has no equivalent statute to invoke; your case rests entirely on your declaration's own architectural standards.
- 02
Ask the committee to point to the recorded standard
Request, in writing, exactly which provision of the condominium instruments or bylaws your project supposedly violates. A denial that can't name one is weak under RSA 356-B:42's own bounded-authority language.
- 03
Check for the flag carve-out
If your project is the U.S. flag, the association can regulate only size and manner under RSA 356-B:47-a, including the specific allowance for a balcony-mounted flag to extend over the deck line — it can't ban the flag outright.
- 04
Don't expect a solar or EV-charger override
New Hampshire's statute doesn't carve those categories out the way some states do. Build your case on the recorded-standard and comparable-approval arguments instead.
- 05
Document comparable approvals and appeal in writing
Photograph similar projects the board has already approved, and submit a written appeal citing the recorded standard and your comparables (see the selective-enforcement guide).
Straight answers
Common questions
Can my New Hampshire condo association ban the American flag?
No. RSA 356-B:47-a bars an outright prohibition on displaying the U.S. flag; the association may only adopt reasonable rules about its size and the manner of display.
Does New Hampshire law protect solar panels or EV chargers from an HOA or condo ban?
No. New Hampshire has no solar-panel or EV-charging-station protection for either condos or HOAs, unlike some other states.
Who decides on exterior changes in a New Hampshire condo — the board or a committee?
Either. RSA 356-B:42(I)(c) lets the association grant or withhold approval directly, or delegate the decision to an elected or appointed architectural control committee whose members must meet the same qualifications as association officers.
I'm in a subdivision HOA, not a condo — does the flag law protect me?
Not under New Hampshire's own statute — RSA 356-B:47-a is written for condo unit owners' associations specifically, and RSA Chapter 292 doesn't extend it to HOAs. The federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act still applies regardless, but that's federal law, not this state's.