Off-Grid Living in Amherst, New Hampshire

Amherst, New Hampshire is a fully zoned town, not one of those unzoned New England spots people sometimes dream about for off-grid life. I want to be upfront about that going in, because it shapes everything else here.

Zoning. The Town of Amherst has a zoning ordinance (administered under state RSA 672) with several districts, plus overlays for flood plain, wetlands, aquifer protection, and a historic district. Any raw-land plan needs to be checked against these overlays through the Planning Board / Community Development Office before you assume you can just settle on a parcel.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I didn't find an Amherst provision specifically for tiny homes, and living in an RV on raw land outside a permitted dwelling isn't confirmed as allowed. The closest thing on the books is the Accessory Dwelling Unit rule, and it's in flux: a 2026 amendment being considered would let a detached ADU be built by right (with owner-occupancy and other conditions), which could matter if your plan is a small secondary structure. Confirm current status with Community Development.

Building permits. Amherst enforces the state building code (RSA 155-A) locally, currently the 2021 editions with New Hampshire amendments and the 2018 energy code, through its own Building Inspector / Code Enforcement office. You'll need a local permit and inspections regardless of how off-grid you intend the finished structure to be.

Septic and composting toilets. New Hampshire state law (via NH DES) requires that any structure connected to a water supply also be connected to an approved wastewater disposal system, and septic designs must come from a licensed designer and go through NHDES approval, plus local pre-approval in Amherst. I found no Amherst-specific rule on composting toilets as a substitute; that's not confirmed either way, so ask the Building Inspector or NHDES directly.

Greywater. No Amherst ordinance on residential greywater reuse turned up in my research. State DES guidance covers larger engineered discharge systems, not typical household greywater, so this is genuinely unclear at the local level.

Rainwater harvesting. I didn't find any Amherst restriction on collecting rainwater, so it appears to fall under the general state building/plumbing code baseline rather than any local rule.

Wells. Private wells are permitted and regulated at the state level by the NH Water Well Board, which maintains a well record database. Locally, well placement matters for meeting septic setback rules in Amherst's application process.

Utilities. There's no blanket town requirement to hook up to grid electric or water that I found, but the practical effect of the state wastewater-connection rule is that any home with running water needs an approved septic (or sewer) connection, which limits how "off-grid" you can go on that front.

Bottom line: Amherst isn't hostile to off-grid ambitions, but nothing here is a loophole town. Expect real permitting at both the state and town level.