Off-Grid Living in Randolph, New Hampshire

Randolph, New Hampshire is a small White Mountains town, and like most NH towns, it isn't a legal free-for-all just because it's rural. Randolph has its own zoning ordinance (the Land Use Ordinance, adopted by the town in 1988 and amended at Town Meeting since, under authority granted by state law RSA 674:21), so anyone thinking "unzoned New Hampshire" should drop that assumption here.

Zoning and lot size. The Town of Randolph requires a minimum of 80,000 contiguous square feet (about 1.84 acres) of buildable land per principal use, and the Planning Board can require larger lots during subdivision or site plan review if that's what it takes to safely site a well and septic system. This is a local rule, not a state one.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. This is the part that trips people up. Randolph's ordinance defines "structure" broadly enough to include movable and portable units, and it treats any structure or vehicle occupying the same site for more than four months out of twelve, if used as a dwelling or sleeping place, as a regulated dwelling. So living in an RV or tiny house on wheels long-term isn't really a workaround, the town will eventually treat it as a house. Separately, state law allows one attached accessory dwelling unit without extra lot/frontage requirements, and Randolph has been working on its own detached ADU rules (size caps have been discussed at Town Meeting) - confirm current status with the Planning Board.

Building permits. Randolph issues its own building permits and enforces the state building code (authorized under RSA 155-A). I couldn't find fee schedules or inspector contact details in the town's public documents, so call the town office directly for that.

Septic and privies. Septic design statewide falls under NH DES rules (Env-Wq 1000). Privies (true outhouses) are allowed under state guidance as long as your local health officer signs off on location and construction, and waste is contained to protect groundwater. Randolph's subdivision rules tie septic and leach field placement to the setback requirements in the town's Land Use Ordinance.

Greywater. I didn't find a Randolph-specific rule or a clear statewide NH DES rule for residential greywater reuse. Treat this as unresolved and ask the Randolph Health Officer or NH DES directly before you build a greywater system.

Rainwater harvesting. No Randolph ordinance restricts it, so the general state plumbing/building code baseline applies.

Wells. Well construction is licensed at the state level by the NH Water Well Board. Locally, Planning Board site review considers protective well radius standards during subdivision, so your well's placement relative to septic and property lines matters.

Off-grid living generally. Nothing I found bans living without municipal utilities. Randolph doesn't have a hookup mandate, and off-grid water/wastewater setups are handled through the same lot-size and site-plan review that governs any other build here.

Bottom line: Randolph tolerates rural, self-sufficient living, but it does so through its zoning ordinance, not around it. Anyone planning something unconventional should talk to the Planning Board and Health Officer before committing money to a piece of land.