Off-Grid Living in Goffstown, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, so you're working within a real ordinance, not a blank slate. Goffstown's Zoning Ordinance dates back to 1961 under state authority (RSA 31:60-89) and has been amended repeatedly since, most recently through early 2026. It includes several base districts plus overlays, including one for wetlands and surface water, so where your land sits matters a lot.

On raw land occupancy, I couldn't find anything in the ordinance that specifically addresses camping or living on unimproved land without an approved dwelling. The overlay districts are mostly about protecting resources and steep slopes, not about banning off-grid camping outright, but I'd call the Planning Board before assuming anything.

For dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs, Goffstown's ordinance draws a line between "seasonal" and "year-round" dwellings, and it hands the Building Inspector discretion to decide which one you've got. Things that can push a place into "seasonal" status include lack of central year-round heat, a septic system NHDES has restricted to less-than-year-round use, a lot too small for adequate water/wastewater service, or poor emergency access. I didn't find an explicit tiny-house-on-wheels or RV-as-residence rule, so this is genuinely a "call and ask" situation.

Building permits are handled locally: you'll need one plus inspections leading to a Certificate of Occupancy, administered through the Building Inspector's office at Town Hall.

Septic is where state and town overlap clearly. NHDES approves every septic system in New Hampshire, but Goffstown's staff complete a "local approval form" as part of that process. Composting and incinerator-type toilets fall under the state's individual sewage disposal system (ISDS) definition too, so don't assume an alternative toilet skips review.

Greywater and rainwater harvesting aren't separately addressed in anything I found at the town level, they'd fall back on whatever baseline state plumbing/building code applies, and that's genuinely unclear until you ask directly. Private wells are state-regulated (NH Water Well Board), with Goffstown only weighing in indirectly through its lot-adequacy language for water and wastewater services.

Living fully off utilities isn't explicitly banned, but because "seasonal" classification hinges partly on utility and service adequacy, an off-grid setup could get classified as seasonal rather than year-round, which matters for occupancy rights. That's a conversation to have with the Building Inspector before you build anything.