Off-Grid Living in Greenfield, New Hampshire

Greenfield, New Hampshire is a small, zoned town, and that surprises some people who picture off-grid living as happening only in unzoned places. It doesn't mean off-grid living is impossible here, it just means you're working within a real ordinance rather than a vacuum.

Zoning. Greenfield has an adopted Zoning Ordinance (most recently revised in 2025), administered by the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Board, under authority granted by New Hampshire RSA 676:1. The town is divided into districts like General Residence and Rural/Agricultural, and land use, including raw-land occupancy, falls under this ordinance plus the town's Subdivision Regulations. If you're eyeing a piece of land to live on without a conventional house, I'd start by asking the Zoning Administrator which district it sits in and what's allowed there.

Dwellings and tiny homes. The ordinance defines "Housing" as residential dwellings with a minimum of 320 square feet of living area (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen). That threshold matters if you're considering a tiny house, since anything under that size may not qualify as a legal dwelling in the town's eyes. I could not confirm from the materials I reviewed how Greenfield specifically treats RVs or tiny homes on wheels as permanent residences, so that's a direct question for the Zoning Administrator before you commit.

Building permits. Greenfield issues its own permits locally through the Building Inspector or Assistant Building Inspector. You'll need proof of ownership, tax map and lot number, a description of work, construction drawings, and a plot plan, and you should check your project against the Zoning Ordinance first. The Building Inspector sets the fee for each permit, so don't guess, ask directly.

Septic and composting toilets. This is a state rule with local approval baked in. New Hampshire DES allows composting toilets and privies for human waste, but they can't replace a septic system if you have plumbed fixtures. NHDES itself doesn't permit these, your town's Local Health Officer approves location and construction. Greenfield's current Local Health Officer wasn't confirmed in what I reviewed, so ask the Town Office who holds that role now.

Greywater and rainwater. I found no Greenfield-specific greywater ordinance, and this appears to be a genuine gap at the state level too, so treat it as unconfirmed territory and ask the health officer directly. Rainwater harvesting looks fine under the state's adopted plumbing code baseline, with no local restriction turning up in my research.

Wells. Well construction runs through the statewide NH Water Well Board licensing system; I found no Greenfield-specific well ordinance layered on top.

Utility disconnection. No explicit ordinance requiring hookup to utilities turned up in what I reviewed. In practice, the zoning definitions and health officer approvals for privies function as the real gatekeepers for going off-grid here.

Bottom line: Greenfield isn't hostile to off-grid living, but it is a zoned town with real local administration, so plan on conversations with the Town Office before you build.