New Hampshire Landlord/Tenant Lease Laws

[Drew MacDermott]

Hello BP!  I have a personal rental question to pose those of you in the New Hampshire area.  My fiancee and I are moving to NH in four days, on Aug. 31.  We now have a predicament with an unnamed apartment complex regarding our lease.  

At the end of June, we signed a lease with a $500 deposit to hold a 2BR apartment.  It is a great apartment and we were very excited when we landed this unit.  We then began a 2-month cross-country trip, one of our dreams, through July and August before starting our new jobs in New Hampshire in September.  

On August 15, the property manager informed us they were bought out and we would have to sign a new lease before moving in.  They told me in an email the original lease will not stand because the company got bought out before our move-in date and therefore we are required to sign a new lease.

On August 27, we received an email stating the previous tenant in our unit had a sudden employment change and now wants to stay.  In both the original and new leases, a 60-day notice is required before moving out.  In our scenario, the previous tenant must have given a 60-day notice in order for the unit to be available to us.  The property manager has asked us to move into a Studio Apartment until they resolve the situation.  We have also sent a $1652 check as payment for the day of Aug 31 and the month of September last week.  It has not been cashed yet.  We are all-in currently at $2152. 

1) Does the new property manager have to uphold the original lease?

2) Would the new tenant have any rights to now stay in the unit, given the 60-day notice?

3) Would you have any other suggestions?

Thanks for any help!!

Drew