Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Law: Deposits, Leases, and Evictions

What Massachusetts landlord-tenant law covers

Renting a home in Massachusetts is governed by a handful of sources that work together. The core statute is General Laws Chapter 186, which sets the rules for tenancies at will and leases, security deposits, utilities, and a tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment. Evictions run through a separate court procedure called summary process, set out in Chapter 239 of the General Laws. Housing conditions are governed by the State Sanitary Code, and unfair rental practices fall under the Attorney General’s regulations and the consumer-protection statute, Chapter 93A.

This article orients renters and landlords to how those pieces fit together. It covers residential tenancies: apartments, houses, and rooms rented as a home. It does not cover commercial leases, public and subsidized housing (which add federal and program-specific rules on top of state law), or the specialized rules for mobile home parks and lodging houses. The Trial Court Law Libraries maintain a current index of the Massachusetts laws, regulations, and cases on landlord and tenant issues that collects these sources in one place.

The sections below explain the vocabulary, the money rules, the condition standards, and the eviction process at a high level. Each links down to a detailed guide where one exists.

Key terms in a Massachusetts tenancy

Two words describe how most residential arrangements are structured. A tenancy at will has no fixed end date and continues month to month until either side ends it with proper notice. A lease (also called a tenancy for a term) runs for a set period, usually a year, at a fixed rent. The distinction matters because the notice rules for ending the tenancy and for nonpayment differ between the two.

Summary process is the only lawful way for a landlord to remove a tenant. It is a court case filed in the District Court or Housing Court, not something a landlord can do personally. Quiet enjoyment is the tenant’s right to use the home without serious interference from the landlord, protected by Chapter 186, Section 14. A notice to quit is the written notice that ends a tenancy and must come before an eviction case can be filed.

Two more terms describe housing condition duties. The State Sanitary Code (105 CMR 410) sets the minimum standards a rental home must meet. The implied warranty of habitability is the common-law rule that a landlord must deliver and maintain a home fit for human habitation, independent of anything the lease says.

Leases, rental agreements, and move-in charges

A tenancy can be created by a written lease, a written rental agreement, or an oral agreement. An oral month-to-month agreement is a valid tenancy at will in Massachusetts. A written lease cannot waive rights the law gives tenants; a clause that tries to sign away the warranty of habitability or the security deposit protections is unenforceable.

At the start of a tenancy, a landlord may collect only four things: the first month’s rent, the last month’s rent, a security deposit no larger than one month’s rent, and the cost of a new lock and key. That limit comes from Chapter 186, Section 15B. A landlord who demands any other up-front payment, such as an amenity fee or a pet deposit on top of those items, is acting outside the statute.

The rules on who pays a rental broker changed recently. As of August 1, 2025, a broker’s fee for a rental unit must be paid by the person who hired the broker, which is usually the landlord, under a change described by the Trial Court Law Libraries’ landlord-tenant index. A tenant who did not hire the broker is not responsible for that fee.

Security deposits and last month’s rent

The security deposit rules are the most detailed money rules in Massachusetts tenancy law, and the penalties for getting them wrong are steep. Under Chapter 186, Section 15B, a deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent. It must be held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, and the tenant must receive a receipt naming the bank and the account number within 30 days.

The deposit earns interest. As of 2026, the statute sets the rate at 5 percent per year, or the lower rate actually paid by the bank, credited to the tenant at the end of each year of the tenancy. Last month’s rent, if collected, also accrues interest at the same rate under Section 15B.

Because the itemization, receipt, and separate-account rules each carry their own consequences, the deposit is one of the most litigated parts of a Massachusetts tenancy. The detailed rules on the one-month cap, interest, and the 30-day return deadline are covered in the security deposit guides linked in the index at the end of this article.

Repairs, habitability, and quiet enjoyment

Every residential landlord in Massachusetts owes an implied warranty of habitability. The home must meet the State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410, which sets minimum standards for heat, hot water, working plumbing and electrical systems, weathertight walls and windows, and freedom from pests and code violations. The Massachusetts landlord and tenant law index collects the sanitary code sections and the local board of health enforcement process. A local health authority inspects on complaint and can order a landlord to correct violations.

The warranty exists regardless of the lease. A tenant does not waive it by signing a lease that says the unit is accepted “as is.” When conditions fall below code, a tenant has remedies that can include rent withholding, repair-and-deduct, and a claim for the reduced value of the tenancy, subject to the specific procedures each remedy requires.

Utilities and interference are handled separately. Under Chapter 186, Section 14, a landlord who willfully fails to supply heat, hot water, electricity, gas, or water required under the tenancy, or who otherwise interferes with the tenant’s quiet enjoyment, is liable for actual and consequential damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. That same section makes an unlawful lockout or utility shutoff both a civil wrong and a criminal offense.

How evictions work in Massachusetts

A landlord cannot evict a tenant by changing the locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities. The only lawful method is summary process, the court eviction case created by Chapter 239 of the General Laws. The process begins with a written notice to quit, followed by a court complaint and summons, a hearing, and, if the landlord prevails, a court-issued execution that a sheriff or constable carries out.

The notice period depends on the reason and the type of tenancy. For nonpayment of rent, the notice to quit is 14 days for both leased tenants under Chapter 186, Section 11 and tenants at will under Chapter 186, Section 12. To end a no-fault tenancy at will, Section 12 requires notice equal to the interval between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer.

Massachusetts gives tenants a right to cure a nonpayment case in some situations. A leased tenant who pays all rent due, with interest and costs, before the answer is due in the eviction case reinstates the tenancy the first time, under Chapter 186, Section 11. A tenant at will who receives a 14-day nonpayment notice can cure by paying the rent owed within 10 days if no similar notice was received in the prior 12 months.

Discrimination, retaliation, and tenant protections

Federal and state law both bar discrimination in renting. The federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 3604, makes it unlawful to refuse to rent, or to set different terms, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. The statute’s protected classes and its reasonable-accommodation requirements for tenants with disabilities are set out in the Legal Information Institute’s text of Section 3604. Massachusetts law adds further protected categories and is enforced by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Unfair and deceptive rental practices are also reachable under the consumer-protection statute. Chapter 93A, Section 9 lets a tenant sue for an unfair or deceptive act and recover actual damages, and up to double or triple damages plus attorney’s fees when the conduct is willful. The Attorney General’s regulations at 940 CMR 3.17 spell out specific landlord practices that count as unfair, including the ones tied to conditions, notices, and security deposits described in the state landlord and tenant law index.

A landlord also cannot retaliate against a tenant for reporting code violations, organizing with other tenants, or asserting legal rights. Retaliation within six months of a protected activity is presumed unlawful and can carry damages of one to three months’ rent plus costs and fees.

Specific procedures and topics