Selling landlocked land in New Hampshire

How New Hampshire law handles land with no road access

A landowner can petition selectmen to lay out a highway, and the superior court if they refuse. State law also protects access when a town discontinues a highway, and courts recognize reasonably necessary access to landlocked parcels.

Statutory route: Petition to selectmen to lay out a class V or VI highway, with a petition to superior court if selectmen refuse.

Common-law route: Reasonably necessary access to a landlocked parcel recognized, including over a discontinued highway (Shearer v. Raymond, N.H. 2021).

Law: RSA 231:8; RSA 231:38; RSA 231:43, III. Court routes take time and cost money. Ask a local attorney.

Your options as a landlocked owner

• Ask a neighbor to sell or grant an access easement, in writing and recorded.
• Offer the land to the neighbor who borders it. They are often the most natural buyer.
• Use the New Hampshire legal route above to create access, then sell.
• Sell as-is to a cash buyer who accepts land without access.

New Hampshire land at a glance

• Average farm real estate value: $6,670 per acre (2026, USDA).
• Average property tax on farmland: about $69.61 per acre per year (2022 Census of Agriculture).
• Transfer tax: Real estate transfer tax of $0.75 per $100 of price, applied twice under RSA 78-B:4, so the total is $1.50 per $100 (1.5%). Where the price is $4,000 or less, the statute sets a minimum tax of $20.
• Seller disclosure: New Hampshire requires a written seller disclosure for land used or proposed for a 1 to 4 family home, even with no building (RSA 477:4-d). It covers any private water and sewage systems, insulation, a federal flood hazard zone and a residential heating oil tank. If water, sewage or insulation information is not available, the seller must say so in writing. Any seller must also disclose known methamphetamine production on the property (RSA 477:4-g). The radon, arsenic, lead, PFAS and flood notice (RSA 477:4-a) and the RSA 477:4-c water and septic disclosure apply only where there is a building.

These are statewide averages, not an appraisal. See selling land in New Hampshire for county values, or try the land value estimator.

How a cash sale handles this

Liberty Acres is a family-owned cash land buyer. We buy land anywhere in the US, in any condition, including land with back taxes, inherited land and land with no road access. We pay back taxes and all closing costs, use no agents and charge no commissions, and close through a title company, escrow company or real estate attorney who pays you by wire or check.

Common questions