Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Laws: A Plain-English Guide

Before the lease

Screening

Massachusetts bars discrimination against applicants who receive public assistance or rental vouchers, so a voucher counts as income. Lead paint also enters screening: you can’t refuse a family with a child under 6 because the unit has lead paint. Follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (written consent, and an adverse action notice when a report leads to a denial), and avoid blanket bans on criminal records, which still invite Fair Housing Act claims even though HUD withdrew its 2016 guidance in 2025.

Move-in money

You can collect four things: first month’s rent, last month’s rent, a deposit of up to one month, and a lock-change fee (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B). Nothing else up front. Since August 1, 2025, renters also can’t be charged a broker fee when you hired the broker (M.G.L. c. 112, § 87DDD½).

The deposit paperwork

This is where Massachusetts landlords lose money. Within the first 30 days:

1. Deposit the money in a separate interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank.
2. Give the tenant a receipt with the bank’s name and the account number.
3. Within 10 days of the tenancy starting, give a signed statement of the unit’s condition. The tenant can add their own list.

Each step has a deadline, and missing any of them can expose you to treble damages and attorney fees.

Lead paint

If a child under 6 lives in the unit, it must be deleaded, and liability is strict. Pre-1978 units also need the federal lead-based paint disclosure. Get a lead inspection before you list an older unit.

During the tenancy

Rent increases

Rent control is banned (ch. 40P), and the 2026 ballot challenge was struck by the Supreme Judicial Court. For a fixed-term lease, rent holds until the term ends. For a tenant at will, give at least 30 days or a full rental period, whichever is longer.

Late fees and interest

No late fee or interest on late rent until it’s 30 days late (§ 15B(1)(c)). Meanwhile, you owe the tenant interest every year: 5%, or the actual bank rate if lower, on both the deposit and last month’s rent. A $2,000 deposit at a 2% bank rate earns $40 a year.

Entry

There’s no statutory notice period. You may enter to inspect, make repairs, show the unit or under a court order (§ 15B(1)(a)), and reasonable advance notice is expected. Put 24 hours in your lease and follow it.

Ending the tenancy

Notices

• Nonpayment: a 14-day notice to quit, served by a constable or sheriff, with the required tenant rights and resources notice. A tenant at will can cure within 10 days of receipt if they haven’t had a notice in the past 12 months.
• Lease violations: no statutory cure period. The lease sets the notice (commonly 7 days) or, for tenants at will, 30 days or a full rental period. You must prove the cause. Confirm the right notice with the court or an attorney.
• Tenant at will, no cause: 30 days or one full rental period, whichever is longer, ending on a rent day (ch. 186, § 12).

Move-out and deposit return

Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, return the deposit with interest, or send an itemized list of damages signed under penalty of perjury, with receipts or estimates. Normal wear and tear doesn’t count.

Eviction overview

Massachusetts calls eviction summary process (ch. 239). After the notice expires, serve the Summary Process Summons and Complaint 7-30 days before a Monday entry date. File (enter) the case in Housing Court or District Court by the entry date: $135 in Housing Court ($120 plus a $15 surcharge) or $195 in District Court or the BMC, plus $5 summons fees. The tenant’s answer is due the Monday after entry, and mediation or trial is usually about two weeks later. After judgment and the 10-day appeal period, you get an Execution for Possession, and the sheriff or constable gives 48 hours’ notice before the move-out.

What’s different in Massachusetts

• One of the strictest deposit laws in the U.S. Separate Massachusetts bank account, receipts, condition statement, annual interest and treble damages.
• No late fees until 30 days. A lease that charges a fee on the 5th of the month is unenforceable here.
• No tenant-paid broker fees when the landlord hired the broker, since August 1, 2025.
• Lead paint liability. Delead where a child under 6 lives, and never refuse families because of lead.
• Tenant-friendly summary process. Discovery and jury rights, required notices on nonpayment cases, and rent control still banned after the 2026 ballot question was struck.