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Panel hears bill to outlaw long-term 'unfair service' agreements that cloud property titles
Summary
Sen. Denise Ricciardi and AARP urged the committee to outlaw certain long-term, recorded service agreements that can encumber home titles and prey on vulnerable homeowners; the attorney general's elder-abuse unit backed the measure and said it would provide enforcement tools under RSA 358-A.
Sen. Denise Ricciardi told the Senate Commerce Committee that Senate Bill 164 would make certain long-term, recorded residential "service" agreements void and unenforceable. She said the agreements — sometimes marketed as quick-cash contracts in which a homeowner accepts an upfront payment in exchange for a decades-long agreement that is recorded against the property — can cloud title and trap future owners in obligations the original homeowner did not fully appreciate.
"These quick cash marketing techniques used by out of state companies offer a nominal upfront payment in exchange for a 40 year agreement for future real estate brokerage and other personal home services," Ricciardi said, and added the bill would protect Granite Staters by making those agreements unlawful.
AARP representatives testified in support, describing the transactions as predatory and saying the agreements can cause long-term harm to older homeowners. "This bill provides automatic protections against such practices that could jeopardize the most important asset that we seniors have, which is our home," Pat McDermott, AARP volunteer state president, told the committee.
Brian Townsend II, senior assistant attorney general and lead prosecutor in the elder-abuse and financial-exploitation unit, said the Consumer Protection Bureau and the elder-abuse unit back the bill and that the legislation gives the bureau authority to seek injunctive relief, civil penalties and criminal prosecution where appropriate under RSA 358-A. Townsend said the office has handled thousands of elder-abuse complaints and that preventive statutory authority would be valuable.
Chris Norwood of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors said the association supports the bill but sought clarifications over definitions, the role of registers of deeds and a two-year time window the bill uses for certain actions. He suggested the committee examine the exact contract forms at issue so the statute can be narrowly written to avoid unintended effects on common arrangements such as legitimate service contracts or property-sharing agreements.
The committee closed the hearing on SB164 after receiving broad support from AARP, the Attorney General's Office and realtors who asked for technical adjustments. Sponsors signaled a small drafting change to align the measure with Maine's recent law and said they would provide sample agreements to committee staff for review.
Why it matters: Witnesses described the agreements as a predatory practice that can encumber homes for decades and disproportionately affect seniors; the bill would give the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Bureau a clear statutory basis to act against companies that market and record those agreements.
