Off-Grid Living in Northumberland, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Northumberland, New Hampshire, and I want to be upfront: this is a smaller North Country town, and a lot of the granular detail just isn't sitting out in public search results. Here's what I could confirm, and where you'll need to pick up the phone.

Zoning. Northumberland is a zoned town, not one of the "no zoning at all" towns you sometimes find in NH's North Country. The town has a Zoning Ordinance (the most recent version I found referenced is from 2020), and a three-member Zoning Board of Adjustment, appointed by the Board of Selectmen, handles variances, special exceptions, and appeals. What I couldn't pin down from the town's site is the district-by-district detail, things like whether raw land can be occupied without a permanent structure, minimum lot sizes, or setback rules. That's in the full ordinance text, which you'd want to pull directly from the town.

Dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs. I found no Northumberland-specific language addressing tiny homes or long-term RV living. The town does have a Building Code and a broader ordinance list, but the actual text wasn't accessible to me. This is a "call the Building Inspector or Planning Board" situation.

Building permits. Northumberland enforces building codes locally, which lines up with how New Hampshire law generally works: the state (RSA 155-A) leaves enforcement to municipalities that adopt their own codes. Northumberland has, per its ordinance list. What I couldn't confirm are specific permit thresholds or exemptions for small structures.

Septic and composting toilets. This one's clearer because it's a state rule. NH DES requires a septic system for any structure that has a water supply connected and discharges wastewater on site. That's a statewide baseline (Env-Wq 1000) and it applies in Northumberland just like everywhere else. I didn't find a town-specific composting toilet ordinance, though Northumberland does have its own Sewer and Water Ordinances whose text I couldn't retrieve.

Greywater. No town rule found, and New Hampshire doesn't have a dedicated statewide residential greywater rule either, so this sits in a gray zone. Ask DES or the town before setting up a greywater system.

Rainwater harvesting. I found nothing restricting it at the town level, and no state-level barrier either. This looks fine, but I'd still confirm with the town if you're doing anything large-scale.

Wells. Well permitting is a state function through the NH Water Well Board. Northumberland has its own Water Ordinance, likely tied to its municipal water district, but I couldn't get the specific text.

Utility disconnection. The state rule connecting any water-supplied structure to a wastewater system matters here, but I didn't find a Northumberland ordinance specifically requiring off-grid dwellings to hook into municipal services.

Bottom line: the state-level rules (septic, wells) are solid and well-documented. The town-level specifics need a phone call before you commit to a plan.