Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Law Handbook: Deposits, Habitability, Evictions

Massachusetts landlord-tenant law sets some of the strictest residential rental rules in the country, built around M.G.L. c. 186 and the State Sanitary Code, and it reserves especially harsh penalties for landlords who mishandle security deposits, ignore habitability complaints, or try to force a tenant out without going through court. Whether you rent out a unit or live in one, the rules below are the ones that come up most often and carry the biggest consequences when ignored.

What a Landlord Can Charge Before Move-In

Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, a Massachusetts landlord may collect only four things at or before the start of a tenancy: first month’s rent, last month’s rent at the same rate as the first, a security deposit no larger than one month’s rent, and the cost of a new lock and key.¹ Pet deposits, application fees, move-in fees, and anything else are not allowed.

Security Deposit Rules

A security deposit remains the tenant’s property for the whole tenancy. The landlord has to hold it in a separate interest-bearing account at a Massachusetts bank, and it cannot be mixed with the landlord’s own funds or reached by the landlord’s creditors.¹ For any tenancy lasting a year or more, the landlord must pay the tenant interest on the deposit each year at the rate the bank actually pays. If the money was never deposited in a bank, the tenant is owed five percent per year.²

Receipts and the Condition Statement

Two separate receipts are required. The first is due when the deposit is handed over and must show the amount, the name of the person who collected it, the date, and a description of the unit. The second is due within 30 days and must identify the bank, its location, and the account number.¹

A written statement of the unit’s condition is also required, due within ten days after the tenancy starts or when the deposit is received, whichever is later.³ The tenant may add any pre-existing damage the landlord missed. A landlord who never provides this statement loses the right to deduct for damage at the end of the tenancy.

Returning the Deposit

Within 30 days of the tenant moving out, the landlord must return the deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions. The only allowable deductions are unpaid rent that was not lawfully withheld, unpaid water charges, agreed-upon tax increases, and reasonable costs to repair damage beyond normal wear and tear.¹ Damage deductions require a sworn itemized list with specifics on each item and the repair cost, backed by estimates, bills, or receipts.

The penalty for getting any of this wrong is severe. A landlord who fails to return the deposit within 30 days, fails to keep it in a proper escrow account, or fails to provide the itemized deduction list can be ordered to pay the tenant three times the deposit, plus five percent interest and the tenant’s attorney’s fees.¹ Courts enforce the paperwork requirements strictly.

Habitability and the Sanitary Code

Every residential lease in Massachusetts carries an implied warranty of habitability. The written lease cannot waive it. The State Sanitary Code at 105 CMR 410.000 sets the minimum standards: a structure that keeps out weather, freedom from pests, working plumbing and electrical systems, and potable water at adequate pressure.⁴ Water is usually the landlord’s cost unless there is a legally valid submetering arrangement.

Heat is the issue tenants call about most often. From September 15 through May 31, every habitable room must be kept at 68°F or above between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., and at least 64°F from 11:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m.⁵ A local board of health can shift the heating season, but it cannot end earlier than May 15 or start later than September 30.

Tenants who find a code violation should notify the landlord in writing. For conditions that pose an immediate danger to health or safety, the landlord generally has 24 hours to begin corrective work. For non-emergency violations, the landlord typically gets a short window, often around five to seven days, to start repairs. Missing those windows opens the door to enforcement by the local board of health, rent withholding by the tenant, or a civil suit.

Using Conditions as a Defense to Eviction

If a landlord sues a tenant for nonpayment, the tenant can raise the condition of the unit as a defense or counterclaim under M.G.L. c. 239, § 8A, and ask the court to reduce the rent owed by the difference between the agreed rent and the actual value of living in the defective unit. The defense requires that the landlord knew about the problem before the tenant fell behind and that the tenant did not cause the condition. When a Sanitary Code violation endangers health or safety, the court presumes a breach of the warranty, and the burden shifts to the landlord to prove otherwise.⁶ A tenant can also recover money spent on repairs they handled themselves under the repair-and-deduct provisions.

Rent, Late Fees, and Rent Increases

A late fee cannot be charged until rent is at least 30 days overdue, and a lease clause that tries to impose one earlier is unenforceable.⁷ That grace period is longer than most states and surprises landlords who are used to five- or ten-day windows.

Rent under a fixed-term lease stays the same for the term unless the lease has an escalation clause. For a tenancy at will, the landlord can raise rent with at least 30 days’ written notice, timed so the increase begins at the start of a new rental period. There is no statewide cap on how much rent can go up. Massachusetts banned rent control at the state level in 1994. The one real limit is that an increase cannot be retaliatory.

Entry, Quiet Enjoyment, and Retaliation

M.G.L. c. 186, § 14 gives every residential tenant a right to quiet enjoyment of their home. A landlord who shuts off utilities, tries to push a tenant out without a court order, or repeatedly harasses a tenant violates the statute, and a tenant who proves a violation can recover actual damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees.⁸ Criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment, are also on the table.

Entry into a rented unit is limited to making repairs, inspecting the property, or showing it to prospective tenants or buyers. There is no statute setting an exact number of advance-notice hours, but the landlord must arrange entry with the tenant ahead of time. Entry without prior arrangement is allowed only in a genuine mechanical or repair emergency that threatens the building, or when the unit appears to have been abandoned.

Retaliation

Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 18, a landlord who retaliates against a tenant for reporting a code violation, filing a complaint with the board of health, joining a tenants’ union, or pursuing any legal action about the property owes damages of one to three months’ rent, or the tenant’s actual losses, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees.⁹

If the landlord issues a termination notice, raises rent, or substantially changes the lease within six months of the tenant exercising a protected right, the law presumes retaliation. Only clear and convincing evidence of a legitimate, independent reason, one the landlord would have acted on anyway, defeats the presumption.⁹ Any lease clause purporting to waive these protections is void.

Discrimination and Tenant Screening

Federal fair housing law bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability. M.G.L. c. 151B, § 4 adds sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, marital status, veteran or active military status, genetic information, source of income, and receipt of public assistance.¹⁰ Source-of-income protection means a landlord cannot reject an applicant solely because they would pay rent with a Section 8 voucher.¹¹

When a landlord denies an application based on a credit or tenant-screening report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an adverse action notice identifying the reporting company and telling the applicant about the right to a free copy of the report within 60 days and the right to dispute inaccurate information.¹² Blanket policies rejecting every applicant with any criminal history can create fair housing liability if the policy disproportionately affects minority applicants. Screening records must eventually be destroyed securely; federal rules require shredding, burning, or electronic destruction so the information cannot be reconstructed.¹³

Assistance Animals

A no-pet policy does not override the duty to accommodate assistance animals, including emotional support animals, under federal fair housing rules. An assistance animal is not a pet; it works, performs tasks, or provides emotional support for a person with a disability.¹⁴ A landlord must grant the accommodation unless it would impose an undue financial burden, fundamentally change the housing operation, or the specific animal poses a direct safety threat. Pet deposits and pet fees cannot be charged for an approved assistance animal.

Required Disclosures

For any building constructed before 1978, the landlord must give the tenant a Tenant Lead Law Notification form and a federal lead paint disclosure explaining the health risks and the owner’s legal obligations.¹⁵ Under the Massachusetts Lead Law, if a child under six will live in a pre-1978 home, the owner must have the property deleaded or brought into interim control. Renovation or repair work that disturbs lead paint in a pre-1978 rental must be done by an EPA-certified lead-safe contractor under the federal Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule, whether the landlord hires out the work or does it personally.¹⁶

A written notice identifying the property owner or manager, with contact information, is also required. The deposit receipts and condition statement discussed earlier are part of the same disclosure duty.

Ending a Tenancy

How a tenancy ends depends on the type of agreement. For a tenancy at will, either side must give at least 30 days’ written notice, and the notice has to expire at the end of a rental period.¹⁷ If rent is due on the first, a 30-day notice delivered before the first ends the tenancy on the last day of the month.

A fixed-term lease ends on the date in the contract with no additional notice, unless it includes an automatic renewal clause. For nonpayment of rent, the landlord serves a 14-day notice to quit.¹⁷ The notice does not require the tenant to leave in 14 days; it ends the tenancy after 14 days so the landlord can begin court proceedings.

Active-duty servicemembers have added protection under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A servicemember who gets permanent change of station orders or deployment orders for more than 90 days can terminate a residential lease early by delivering written notice and a copy of the orders. The lease ends 30 days after the next rent payment is due following delivery. The notice must be hand-delivered or sent by return-receipt mail or a private carrier.

Going to Court

A notice to quit does not give the landlord the right to change the locks, remove belongings, or shut off utilities. After the notice period expires, the landlord must file a summary process action in Housing Court, Boston Municipal Court, or the District Court covering the property.¹⁸ The landlord buys a Summary Process Summons and Complaint from the clerk, has it served by a sheriff or constable, then files the papers with the court and pays the filing fee.

Deadlines are strict. The entry date must fall on a Monday between 7 and 30 days after service, the tenant has until the following Monday to file a written answer, and trial is usually scheduled about 10 days after the entry date, though a discovery request can push it back two weeks.¹⁸ A tenant who loses at trial has 10 days to appeal. Once judgment is final with no pending appeal, the landlord gets an execution from the court, and a constable or sheriff delivers a 48-hour notice before physically carrying out the eviction. Only then can the locks be changed. Self-help evictions, including changing locks, removing doors, or shutting off utilities, are illegal and trigger quiet enjoyment damages under § 14.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186, Section 15b
2
Mass.gov. Learn About Holding a Security Deposit
3
Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws c.186 15B – Entrance of Premises Prior to Termination of Lease
4
Mass.gov. 105 CMR 410.00 – Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation
5
Justia. Code of Massachusetts Regulations, Title 105 CMR 410.000 – Section 410.180
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239 Section 8A
7
Mass.gov. The Attorney Generals Guide to Landlord and Tenant Rights
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186 Section 14
9
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186 Section 18
10
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B, Section 4
11
Mass.gov. Overview of Fair Housing Law
12
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do if My Rental Application Is Denied Because of a Tenant Screening Report
13
eCFR. Disposal of Consumer Report Information and Records
14
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
15
Mass.gov. Tenant Lead Law Notification
16
US EPA. Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program
17
Mass.gov. Find Out How to Start the Eviction Process
18
Mass.gov. File an Eviction Case