Long term rental properties in the Plymouth–Campton area earn from year-round tenants rather than nightly guests, and that demand comes from a handful of steady sources: Plymouth State University, Speare Memorial Hospital, the county and court offices, the schools, and the people who work at the ski areas and along Main Street in Lincoln and Bristol. In September 2026, local listings in Plymouth ran from about $1,600 for a two-bedroom apartment to $2,900–$3,250 for a three- or four-bedroom house.
The right long-term rental here suits the town's rules and its tenant base. Plymouth's zoning limits nightly rentals and how many unrelated people can share a unit, condo declarations can limit leasing altogether, and the farther north you go, the more a house competes with short-term rental economics. This guide covers each, for an owner who wants a rental that still works in ten years.
Where year-round tenants come from
Plymouth is the anchor. Plymouth is the only town in the Pemi-Baker region with a university, a 24-hour hospital and a courthouse in one place, so its rental demand does not depend on snowfall. Students, faculty, nurses, teachers in SAU 48 and I-93 commuters all compete for the same buildings, and many leases still run on the academic calendar. Our rentals in Plymouth NH guide covers that market from the tenant's side, including when to start looking and what rent costs.
The surrounding Pemi Valley towns draw tenants who work in Plymouth but want land and a quieter road. In Rumney, for example, year-round tenants are people who work at the university, the hospital and the businesses along Tenney Mountain Highway, and much of the supply in these towns is rural houses on private wells and septic. Our Rumney property management page covers that Baker River valley market.
The ski towns have a workforce of their own. In Lincoln and Woodstock, single-family homes and cabins house the people who work at Loon Mountain, in the restaurants and along Main Street. Lincoln and Woodstock share the Lin-Wood Cooperative School District, which matters to tenants who plan to stay more than a season. Our Lincoln property management page covers that side of the market.
The lakes side has a downtown market too. Bristol's houses and apartments lease by the year to people who work locally and along the Route 104 and I-93 corridors. That year-round tenant base is something the pure shore towns do not have, and our Bristol property management page explains how it differs from caretaking a lake house.
Long term rental homes vs short-term rentals
Long-term rental homes and nightly rentals can look like the same asset. They aren't, and in this corridor the choice is often made for you by the town.
| Long-term rental | Short-term rental | |
|---|---|---|
| Income pattern | Twelve monthly rents, set by a lease | Nightly rates that move with ski season, foliage and summer |
| Furnishing | Usually unfurnished | Fully furnished and stocked |
| State tax | No rooms tax on a lease | 8.5% Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax on stays under 185 consecutive days |
| Turnover | Once a year, often in May near campus | After every stay |
| Governing law | NH landlord-tenant statutes, RSA 540 and 540-A | Guest agreements, platform rules, town and association rules |
| Where it fits best | Plymouth, Ashland, Bristol, Rumney, in-town Lincoln and Woodstock | Campton, Thornton, Waterville Valley, Lincoln near Loon |
The tax line matters. New Hampshire charges the 8.5% Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax on stays of fewer than 185 consecutive days, and every operator needs a Meals and Rentals license from the NH Department of Revenue Administration before the first booking. A year-round lease avoids all of that.
If a house would work better by the night, buying a short-term rental covers how to evaluate one, and our vacation rental management service runs the guest side. Many owners in Campton and Thornton do both over the life of a property: a nightly rental while the ski market is strong, a year-round lease when they want fewer moving parts.
The local rules that shape long-term rental properties
Plymouth: zoning decides the strategy
Plymouth surprises investors because it is the strict town. Its zoning ordinance (as amended March 11, 2025) never says "short-term rental", but it defines a dwelling as non-transient and treats sleeping accommodations for transient guests as a "tourist home". A tourist home must be owner-occupied and is not permitted at all in the Single-Family or Multi-Family Residential zones. In practice, a Plymouth house in a residential zone earns as a long-term rental or not at all. Our Plymouth vs Campton vs Thornton comparison sets the three towns' rules side by side.
Two more Plymouth rules decide what a building can earn:
- Three unrelated persons per unit. The zoning ordinance defines an unrelated household as a group of three persons or fewer. A four-bedroom unit near campus cannot legally be leased to four unrelated students, so underwrite three tenants per unit, not one per bedroom.
- Winter parking. The town bans parking on any street from midnight to 6 a.m. between September 1 and June 1. A building with one small lot and three tenants' cars needs a plow contract and a lease that says exactly how many off-street spaces each tenant gets.
The landlord's view of those rules, including how lenders count student rent, is in our guide to homes for sale near Plymouth State University.
Elsewhere in the corridor
Campton has no short-term rental ordinance, permit or registration as of 2026. Lincoln registers every rental at $100 a year per tax parcel. Waterville Valley requires a $20 registration but exempts professionally managed units. None of those towns restricts a year-round lease the way Plymouth restricts nightly use, but every one can change its zoning at town meeting each March. Confirm the current answer with the land use office before you count rent.
Condo associations and RSA 356-B
A lot of the rental inventory here is condominium, and for a condo the binding rule is usually private. Under New Hampshire's Condominium Act, RSA 356-B, the declaration, bylaws and rules govern rentals. Some associations welcome them, some set minimum lease terms, some cap how many units may rent at once and run a waiting list, and some prohibit renting entirely.
RSA 356-B:58 entitles a prospective buyer of a resale unit to obtain the declaration, bylaws, rules, fees and the last three years of special assessments from the association, which must furnish them within ten days of a written request. A rental cap found in week one is a negotiating point; one found after closing is a vacancy.
Long term rental houses: what to look for when you buy
Long term rental houses that hold their tenants in this climate share a few traits:
- Off-street parking for every legal occupant. In Plymouth it is a lease term; everywhere else it is a plowing question.
- Heat that a tenant can afford. Ask for a year of fuel and electric bills. A house that is expensive to heat in January tends to turn over every spring.
- Water and septic that are documented. Most rural rentals are on private wells and septic. Test the well and inspect the septic during the inspection contingency, and keep the records for the next sale.
- Legal bedrooms. Confirm with the town what each sleeping room is permitted as, including egress and smoke and CO detectors. The rent roll should match what the building is permitted for.
- A tax rate you have run. Plymouth's 2025 rate is $23.77 per $1,000 of assessed value. Campton's is $17.46, rising to about $23.13 inside the Waterville Estates Village District. Lincoln's is $12.66, with a revaluation under way in fall 2026.
What a property manager handles on a long-term rental
A year-round rental is a small business with a tenant living inside it. The work is steady rather than constant, and most of it happens at the two ends of a lease. Our property management service covers:
- Marketing and screening. Listing the unit, showing it, checking income, references and rental history, and turning down the application that would have cost you a winter.
- The lease. Written around the local cycle and the local rules: occupancy, parking, snow removal, utilities and guests. New Hampshire's landlord-tenant statutes, RSA 540 and RSA 540-A, set the rules for security deposits, notices and evictions.
- Maintenance oversight. Plowing, roof snow, spring inspections and the repairs a four-season climate produces, through vendors who already work these roads.
- Reporting and payouts. Monthly direct-deposit owner payouts and statements you can hand to your accountant, and to a buyer when you sell.
In Plymouth, where most of what we manage leases by the year, our Plymouth property management page covers the academic-year lease cycle, the May turnover and the town's occupancy rules in more detail. For a home you might sell someday, our listing team can take a rental to market with tenants in place.
Frequently asked questions
Are long-term rental properties a good fit for Plymouth NH?
Plymouth is the most dependable year-round rental market in the Pemi-Baker region because the university, Speare Memorial Hospital and the courthouse create demand in every month. It is also the town where nightly rentals are most restricted: tourist homes are not permitted in either residential zone. That combination makes long-term leasing the usual strategy for a Plymouth house.
How many unrelated tenants can share a rental unit in Plymouth?
Three. Plymouth's zoning ordinance defines an unrelated household as a group of three persons or fewer, regardless of the number of bedrooms. Underwrite a four-bedroom unit as a three-tenant unit and confirm how the town applies the rule to a specific building with code enforcement before you buy.
Can a condo association stop me from renting my unit long-term?
It can. Under RSA 356-B the condominium declaration, bylaws and rules govern rentals, and some associations set minimum lease terms, cap the number of rented units or prohibit renting. Request the association documents under RSA 356-B:58 before the contract date and read the leasing provisions first.
Do long-term rentals pay the NH rooms and meals tax?
No. New Hampshire's 8.5% Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax applies to stays of fewer than 185 consecutive days. A year-round lease is not a taxable occupancy under it, so the license and monthly filing are short-term rental obligations.
What does a property manager do for a long-term rental?
Tenant marketing and screening, a lease written for local rules, rent collection, maintenance through local vendors, the move-out and deposit accounting, and monthly reporting and payouts.