The Shoreland Act, RSA 483-B, would not prohibit construction of a 6 - 8 ft. deck between the house and the water. A Shoreland Impact Permit would be required. However, the Wetlands Act, RSA 482-A, could prove to be prohibitive. Wetlands Act jurisdiction includes the surface water and its banks. Wetlands law absolutely prohibits the projection of any new deck attached to a residence out over public waters. This is why I specified a 6 -8 ft. deck above and not the full 12 ft. width Shoreland law normally allows. Also under Wetlands, if the deck will involve construction in the bank, you would need a Wetlands Impact Permit. One of the main approval requirements is that you would need to show that the impacts are necessary and unavoidable. Simply wanting a deck on that side of the house is not going to meet these requirements since one could build a place to sit in another location on the property or a different side of the house; the location is preferred but not necessary. Odds are Wetlands will not issue a permit for impacts in the bank. This does not mean you cannot have a deck. A deck is still possible if it can be cantilevered off the house or supported in such way that no supports are located within the bank or surface water. Without knowing details about the existing structure's construction or the slope of the land between the house and the water that's the best answer I can give you.
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