Off-Grid Living in Chichester, New Hampshire

Chichester, New Hampshire looks rural on a map, but don't mistake that for unzoned. The town has its own Zoning Ordinance, most recently amended in 2025, administered by the Planning Board and enforced by a Building Inspector. If you're picturing quietly parking a camper on bare land and calling it home, this is not the town for that plan.

Zoning and land use. Chichester's Zoning Ordinance sets up several districts (Residential, Rural Agricultural, Town Center, Commercial-Industrial/Multi-Family) with different lot-size and frontage rules, plus setbacks, including a rule that new buildings stay at least fifteen feet from a side property line and thirty feet from the edge of a state or town road right-of-way. Minimum lot sizes vary by district and have shifted over past amendments, so confirm current numbers for your specific parcel with the Planning Board.

Dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs. This is where Chichester gets strict. A 2024 ballot amendment allows a property owner to host one guest RV for up to 120 days a year, but if it's used more than 10 days it needs a building permit plus actual water and sewer service, and it can't be rented out. In practice that closes the door on living long-term in an RV or tiny house on wheels as your primary residence.

Building permits. The town adopted its own building code back in 2009 and requires permits for any new structure over 200 square feet, plus most structural, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work. Before you get a permit, expect to need a septic design approved by the state's Department of Environmental Services (DES), a driveway permit from the town's Road Agent, a plot plan, and proof of compliance with the state Energy Code.

Septic and toilets. DES, the state agency, requires an approved on-site septic system for any structure without public sewer, which Chichester has none of. Composting or incinerating toilets are recognized by DES but only as an alternative where there's no water supplied to plumbing fixtures at all; once you have a sink or shower, DES says you need a real septic system.

Greywater and rainwater. I couldn't find a Chichester ordinance or a clear statewide DES rule addressing residential greywater reuse, so treat this as unclear and ask DES or the Building Inspector directly before you build a system. Rainwater harvesting doesn't appear to be separately restricted in the town's zoning text; state plumbing and residential codes, enforced locally by the Building Inspector, would apply by default.

Wells. Wells are licensed at the state level through the NH Water Well Board. Chichester doesn't seem to add its own well ordinance, but your building permit process will still touch on water supply as part of the septic and plumbing review.

Going off-grid on utilities. Chichester doesn't require hookup to municipal water or sewer, mainly because it doesn't have townwide systems. But DES's rule is blunt: any plumbed structure needs an approved septic system no matter where the water comes from. A truly bare-bones structure with no plumbing and no electric may dodge some of those triggers, though the Building Inspector's occupancy and Energy Code requirements still apply to permitted structures.

Bottom line: Chichester allows rural, low-density living, but it's an actively zoned and permitted town, not a legal gray zone.