Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Laws: Key Rental Rules (2026)
Security deposits, notice periods, landlord entry, and other key rental rules in Massachusetts, each linked to the state law it comes from.
By the ListMyHomes.com™ Editorial TeamPublished Last reviewed
This page summarizes the main landlord-tenant rules in Massachusetts. Each rule in the table below links to the law it comes from.
Key rules at a glance
| Rule | Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Where these laws apply | General Laws chapter 186 has no county, city, town or population limit. The rules of § 15B (lease entry terms, advance payments and security deposits) do not apply to a vacation or recreational lease or rental of 100 days or less. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(9); c. 186 (no geographic limit) |
| Security deposit limit | At or before the start of a tenancy, the landlord or the landlord's agent may require no more than the first full month's rent, the last full month's rent at the same rate, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the cost of buying and installing a key and lock. This is the text in effect from August 1, 2025, as amended by 2025 Acts chapter 9. After the tenancy starts, the landlord may not demand rent in advance beyond the current month's rent, or a security deposit above this limit. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(1)(b), (d) |
| Where deposits are held | The deposit must be held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a bank located in Massachusetts, beyond the claims of the landlord's creditors and transferable to a later owner. Within 30 days after receiving it, the landlord must give the tenant a receipt naming the bank and its location and the deposit's amount and account number. If the landlord does not comply, the tenant is entitled to the immediate return of the deposit. The deposit remains the tenant's property and may not be commingled with the landlord's assets. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(1)(e), (3)(a) |
| Returning the deposit | Within 30 days after occupancy under a tenancy at will ends, or at the end of the term of a valid written lease. A landlord who does not return the deposit or balance owed, with any interest, within 30 days after the tenancy ends loses the right to keep any part of it. A landlord who does not return it on time, does not deposit it in an account as required, or does not transfer it to a new owner as required owes three times the amount owed, plus 5% interest from the due date, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(4), (6), (7) |
| Deposit deductions | The landlord may deduct only unpaid rent or water charges not validly withheld or deducted under law, unpaid real estate tax increases owed under a tax escalation clause that meets § 15C, and a reasonable amount to repair damage caused by the tenant or anyone under the tenant's control or on the premises with the tenant's consent, excluding reasonable wear and tear. For damage, within the 30 days the landlord must give the tenant an itemized list sworn under pains and penalties of perjury, with written evidence of the cost such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts. Damage listed in the move-in statement of condition, or in the tenant's list signed by the landlord, may not be deducted unless the landlord later repaired it and can prove the renewed damage is unrelated and was caused by the tenant or someone under the tenant's control or on the premises with the tenant's consent. A landlord who does not give the itemized list within 30 days after occupancy ends loses the right to keep any part of the deposit. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(4), (6)(b) |
| Interest on deposits | Required on a deposit held one year or longer: 5% a year, or the lower rate the bank paid, from the first day of the tenancy, payable at the end of each year of the tenancy. If the tenancy ends before its anniversary date, the tenant gets all accrued interest within 30 days. If the tenant has not received the interest or a notice to deduct it within 30 days after the end of a tenancy year, the tenant may deduct it from the next rent payment. Last month's rent paid in advance also earns interest at 5% a year, or the lower rate the bank paid, from the first day of the tenancy. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(2)(a), (3)(b) |
| Landlord entry notice | No notice period in General Laws chapter 186. A lease may not let the landlord enter before the lease ends except to inspect, make repairs, or show the unit to a prospective tenant, buyer or mortgagee or their agents. The landlord may also enter under a court order, if the unit appears abandoned, or, within the last 30 days of the tenancy or after either side has given notice to end it, to inspect for damage that could be deducted from the deposit. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(1)(a); c. 186 (no notice provision) |
| Notice to end a month-to-month lease | Either party may end a tenancy at will with three months' written notice; if rent is payable at periods of less than three months, notice equal to the interval between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer, is enough. The notice may include an offer of a new tenancy on different terms. Except as § 12 provides, when a tenancy at will of a dwelling (other than hotel rooms) ends without the tenant's fault, no case to recover possession may be brought until a period equal to the rent interval or 30 days, whichever is longer, has passed after the tenant receives written notice. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, §§ 12, 13 |
| Rent-increase notice | No notice period in General Laws chapter 186. A notice of a rent increase within six months after a tenant takes a protected step, such as a legal action to enforce housing laws, a report of a code violation, a written complaint to the landlord, or organizing or joining a tenants' union, creates a rebuttable presumption that it is a reprisal. The landlord can rebut the presumption only by clear and convincing evidence. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 18; c. 186 (no notice provision) |
| Late fees | No interest or penalty for late rent until 30 days after the rent was due. No limit on the amount in General Laws chapter 186. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, § 15B(1)(c); c. 186 (no amount limit) |
| Notice for unpaid rent | Under a written lease, 14 days' written notice to quit; the tenant can stop the termination by paying or tendering all rent due, with interest and costs, by the day the answer is due in the landlord's case for possession. For a tenant at will, 14 days' written notice to quit; a tenant who has not received a similar notice in the previous 12 months can stop the termination by paying or tendering the full rent due within 10 days after receiving the notice. The notice must tell the tenant of that right; if it does not, the time to pay runs to the day the answer is due in the landlord's case for possession. Every written notice to quit for nonpayment to a residential tenant must come with a form covering any repayment agreements, rental assistance programs, court rules and eviction restrictions, which states that the notice is not an eviction and that only a court order can force the tenant to leave. A court will not accept an eviction filing for nonpayment of rent without proof that the form was delivered. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, §§ 11, 12, 31 |
| Rent control | Not allowed: no city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control of any kind. The only exception: a city or town that accepts General Laws chapter 40P may adopt rent control only if, after six months, owners' compliance is entirely voluntary; it does not regulate occupancy, services, evictions, condominium conversion or removal from regulation, or cover units of owners with fewer than ten rental units or units with a fair market rent over $400; and the city or town pays owners the difference between fair market rent and the controlled rent from its general funds. Rent control here includes any regulation that in any way requires below-market rents for residential properties; it does not include rules for publicly owned, publicly subsidized or federally assisted housing, or mobile homes. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 40P, §§ 3, 4 |
| Required landlord disclosures | When a security deposit is received: a receipt signed by the person receiving it, with the amount, the date, who received it (and the landlord's name if an agent received it) and a description of the unit. Within 30 days after the deposit is received: a receipt naming the bank and its location and the deposit's amount and account number. On receiving the deposit, or within 10 days after the tenancy starts, whichever is later: a separate signed written statement of the unit's present condition, listing any existing damage, with the statutory notice in 12-point bold type at the top of the first page. When last month's rent is paid in advance: a receipt with the amount, the date, its use as last month's rent, who received it, the unit, and statements that the tenant is entitled to interest and should give a forwarding address at the end of the tenancy. At the end of each year of a tenancy with a deposit: a statement of the bank's name and address, the deposit amount, the account number and the interest payable. A landlord who orally agreed to sign a lease and obtained the tenant's signature must deliver a copy signed by the landlord within 30 days. On a tenant's written request: within 15 days, the name of the fire insurer, the amount of insurance and the name of anyone who would be paid for a covered loss. For homes built before 1978: before a tenancy agreement, the owner (or the person rent is regularly paid to) must give the prospective tenant the lead notification materials and completed standard form, the most recent lead inspection report, letter of interim control, letter of compliance or abatement plan, and two copies of a statement certifying the tenant received them; the owner must also disclose any known locations of materials with dangerous levels of lead, including covered or encapsulated ones. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 186, §§ 15B(2)(a)-(c), (3)(a)-(b), 15D, 21; c. 111, §§ 189A, 197A(d) Federal law: For housing built before 1978 (with limited exceptions): before the tenant is bound by the lease, the landlord must give the EPA lead-hazard pamphlet and disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards and any available reports. 42 U.S.C. § 4852d; 40 CFR 745.107 |
| Fair housing protected classes | Race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, being a veteran or member of the armed forces, and blindness, hearing impairment or any other handicap. A 2026 law (Acts of 2026, chapter 102, section 270, approved June 12, 2026, an emergency law) amends § 4 to replace the word "handicap" with "disability" in each place it lists. Also receiving public assistance or housing subsidies, including rental assistance, and having children who will live in the home. The age protection does not apply to minors, to state-aided or federally-aided housing for the elderly, or to certain other housing for people 55 or 62 and over. The rule for other covered housing (clause 7) does not apply to renting one apartment in a two-family home whose other unit the owner lives in. Gender identity, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, veteran or armed-forces status and receipt of public assistance or housing subsidies appear in Massachusetts law but not in the federal list. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 151B, § 4(6), (7), (10), (11); 2026 Acts c. 102, § 270; 42 U.S.C. § 3604 |
What this means for renters
Before you sign, compare the lease's deposit amount, rent due date, and late-fee terms with the rules above. At move-in, record the unit's condition with dated photos. When you move out, give the written notice your lease and the rules above call for, leave a forwarding address, and keep copies of everything you send and receive.
What this means for landlords who manage their own rental
List the unit with its rent, deposit, and lease terms. Screen every applicant by the same written criteria, within fair-housing law. Collect the deposit and give notices following the rules above, and keep records of the unit's condition at move-in and move-out.
List your rental on ListMyHomes.com for one flat fee, or browse rentals in Massachusetts listed directly by owners.
Frequently asked questions
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Massachusetts?
At or before the start of a tenancy, the landlord or the landlord's agent may require no more than the first full month's rent, the last full month's rent at the same rate, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the cost of buying and installing a key and lock. This is the text in effect from August 1, 2025, as amended by 2025 Acts chapter 9. After the tenancy starts, the landlord may not demand rent in advance beyond the current month's rent, or a security deposit above this limit. See the source in the table above.
How long does a Massachusetts landlord have to return a security deposit?
Within 30 days after occupancy under a tenancy at will ends, or at the end of the term of a valid written lease. A landlord who does not return the deposit or balance owed, with any interest, within 30 days after the tenancy ends loses the right to keep any part of it. A landlord who does not return it on time, does not deposit it in an account as required, or does not transfer it to a new owner as required owes three times the amount owed, plus 5% interest from the due date, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. See the source in the table above.
How much notice must a Massachusetts landlord give before entering?
No notice period in General Laws chapter 186. A lease may not let the landlord enter before the lease ends except to inspect, make repairs, or show the unit to a prospective tenant, buyer or mortgagee or their agents. The landlord may also enter under a court order, if the unit appears abandoned, or, within the last 30 days of the tenancy or after either side has given notice to end it, to inspect for damage that could be deducted from the deposit. See the source in the table above.
How much notice ends a month-to-month lease in Massachusetts?
Either party may end a tenancy at will with three months' written notice; if rent is payable at periods of less than three months, notice equal to the interval between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer, is enough. The notice may include an offer of a new tenancy on different terms. Except as § 12 provides, when a tenancy at will of a dwelling (other than hotel rooms) ends without the tenant's fault, no case to recover possession may be brought until a period equal to the rent interval or 30 days, whichever is longer, has passed after the tenant receives written notice. See the source in the table above.
How much notice is required for a rent increase in Massachusetts?
No notice period in General Laws chapter 186. A notice of a rent increase within six months after a tenant takes a protected step, such as a legal action to enforce housing laws, a report of a code violation, a written complaint to the landlord, or organizing or joining a tenants' union, creates a rebuttable presumption that it is a reprisal. The landlord can rebut the presumption only by clear and convincing evidence. See the source in the table above.
How much can a Massachusetts landlord charge for late rent?
No interest or penalty for late rent until 30 days after the rent was due. No limit on the amount in General Laws chapter 186. See the source in the table above.
How much notice must a Massachusetts landlord give when rent is unpaid?
Under a written lease, 14 days' written notice to quit; the tenant can stop the termination by paying or tendering all rent due, with interest and costs, by the day the answer is due in the landlord's case for possession. For a tenant at will, 14 days' written notice to quit; a tenant who has not received a similar notice in the previous 12 months can stop the termination by paying or tendering the full rent due within 10 days after receiving the notice. The notice must tell the tenant of that right; if it does not, the time to pay runs to the day the answer is due in the landlord's case for possession. Every written notice to quit for nonpayment to a residential tenant must come with a form covering any repayment agreements, rental assistance programs, court rules and eviction restrictions, which states that the notice is not an eviction and that only a court order can force the tenant to leave. A court will not accept an eviction filing for nonpayment of rent without proof that the form was delivered. See the source in the table above.
Does Massachusetts have rent control?
Not allowed: no city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control of any kind. The only exception: a city or town that accepts General Laws chapter 40P may adopt rent control only if, after six months, owners' compliance is entirely voluntary; it does not regulate occupancy, services, evictions, condominium conversion or removal from regulation, or cover units of owners with fewer than ten rental units or units with a fair market rent over $400; and the city or town pays owners the difference between fair market rent and the controlled rent from its general funds. Rent control here includes any regulation that in any way requires below-market rents for residential properties; it does not include rules for publicly owned, publicly subsidized or federally assisted housing, or mobile homes. See the source in the table above.
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