Off-Grid Living in Kensington, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what it actually takes to live off-grid in Kensington, New Hampshire, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, so "off-grid" here doesn't mean "unregulated." Let me walk through what I found.

Zoning. Kensington adopted its own Zoning Ordinance under state authority (NH RSA 672 and 677), last amended in 2024. That ordinance sets district-based rules, and I saw specifics like a 100-foot frontage requirement and a 100-foot setback from property lines in at least one district. So you can't just plant a structure anywhere on raw land; the Zoning Board of Adjustment handles variances if your plans don't fit the standard dimensional rules.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. This one I couldn't pin down. The ordinance covers Accessory Dwelling Units in real detail (parking, occupancy certificates, dimensional conformance), but I didn't find explicit language on tiny homes on wheels or living in an RV. Don't guess here, call the Building Department directly before you commit to a plan.

Building permits. The town's Building Department, run by the Code Enforcement Officer, issues and enforces permits, and there's a base permit fee plus per-square-foot charges that the town publishes (worth confirming the current numbers directly, since these things get updated). I'd also flag that under state law (HB 1472), local building inspectors are now doing Energy Code inspections too, so that's part of the process even for an off-grid build.

Septic. This is state-regulated. NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), through its Subsurface Systems Bureau, requires that any structure connected to a water supply also connect to a wastewater disposal system, either sewer or an individual septic system. Designs generally need a permitted designer, and installation needs a permitted installer unless you're a homeowner building your own primary home's system. Local approval can also come into play alongside the state sign-off. I found no Kensington-specific rule on composting toilets, so that's a gap to ask the Building Department or NHDES about directly.

Greywater and rainwater. I found nothing specific to Kensington on either of these. Greywater reuse would likely fall under the general wastewater-connection requirement above, and rainwater harvesting would default to whatever baseline state plumbing code applies, since the town's own documents don't add separate provisions that I could find.

Wells. Private well permitting in New Hampshire runs through the state Water Well Board, not the town. I didn't find any Kensington-specific well ordinance layered on top.

Utility disconnection. Here's the real catch for anyone dreaming of fully off-grid: the state DES rule requiring wastewater connection to a septic system effectively means you can't just skip sanitation infrastructure. I found no separate town rule forcing you onto the electric grid, but that's not confirmed either way, so ask before assuming.

Bottom line: Kensington layers its own zoning and building permit process on top of New Hampshire's state septic and well rules. Nothing here says off-grid living is banned, but it's clearly not a free-for-all either.