Landlord Atlas

Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Laws

Verified October 1, 2026 Correction October 2, 2026

Local rent regulation in Massachusetts

Massachusetts law prohibits cities and towns from enacting rent control of any kind, allowing only a narrow opt-in scheme in which owner compliance is voluntary and the municipality must compensate owners from general funds — a pathway no municipality uses.

Cited to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40P, § 4 · Verified October 1, 2026 · Full Massachusetts rent-increase rules →

Massachusetts landlord-tenant laws by topic

Massachusetts security deposits

Massachusetts caps security deposits at one month's rent — and at move-in a landlord may collect only first month, last month, that deposit, and the cost of a new lock and key, nothing else.

Massachusetts rent increase notice

Massachusetts has no statute dedicated to rent-increase notice, but for tenants at will (month-to-month) the mechanism is built into the termination statute: a landlord raises rent by giving a written notice under G.L. c. 186, § 12 equal to the rent-payment interval or 30 days, whichever is longer — and the statute expressly allows that termination notice to include an offer of a new tenancy at different terms, which is how the rent-increase-by-notice-to-quit works.

Massachusetts late fees

Massachusetts law forbids any late fee, interest, or penalty on unpaid rent until the rent is a full 30 days overdue, and any lease clause purporting to charge earlier is void and unenforceable.

Massachusetts entry notice

Massachusetts sets no minimum hours of advance notice for landlord entry — the law instead restricts the purposes: a lease may permit entry only to inspect, make repairs, or show the unit to a prospective tenant, buyer, or lender, and beyond that a landlord may enter only with a court order, when the unit appears abandoned, or to inspect for deposit-deduction damage in the final 30 days of the tenancy.

Massachusetts eviction process

Massachusetts eviction — called 'summary process' — starts with a 14-day written notice to quit for nonpayment and runs, at its statutory fastest, about six to seven weeks from notice to lockout.

Massachusetts application & screening fees

Massachusetts does not allow a rental application fee: before a tenancy begins a landlord or the landlord's agent may require only rent for the first full month, rent for the last full month, a security deposit of no more than one month's rent, and the cost of a key and lock.

Massachusetts deposit interest

Massachusetts requires interest on a security deposit held for a year or longer, at five percent a year or the lower amount the bank actually paid on the account, whichever is less.

Massachusetts habitability & repairs

Massachusetts sets its habitability standards by regulation rather than by a single statute: the State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410.000, tells owners what a dwelling must have, and a landlord who falls short faces both code enforcement and private remedies.

Massachusetts lease termination

Massachusetts asks for three months' notice to end a tenancy at will, and the familiar 30 days is a floor that applies only where rent is payable at intervals of less than three months.

Massachusetts lease disclosures

A Massachusetts landlord must hand a prospective tenant the state lead notification with two copies of a signed certification and the unit's lead inspection or compliance papers before the tenancy agreement is made, must give each occupant or post the health department's notice of occupants' rights, and must deliver an executed copy of the lease within thirty days.

Massachusetts pets & assistance animals

A Massachusetts landlord may not take a pet deposit or an up-front pet fee from any tenant, but may charge a monthly pet rent in any amount.

Massachusetts mobile home park laws

Massachusetts regulates manufactured housing communities under the Manufactured Housing Act, G.L. c. 140, §§ 32A-32S: a community may end a lot tenancy only on the five grounds the act lists and only after thirty days' certified notice with a chance to cure, closing a community or changing its use takes two years' written notice plus a payment to each resident of either their moving costs or the appraised value of the home, and a group representing at least fifty-one per cent of the home owners holds a right of first refusal when the community is sold.

Massachusetts Fair Market Rents (FY 2027) — HUD's benchmark rents for every Massachusetts metro area and county.

Editable Massachusetts deposit kit · Editable Massachusetts disclosure packet — editable documents built on the verified Massachusetts rules on this page, in Word, fillable PDF and Excel.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (October 1, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Massachusetts General Court site (malegislature.gov) on October 1, 2026: G.L. c. 186, § 15B read in full (current text, including the St. 2024, c. 150, § 50 fee-in-lieu proviso and the St. 2025, c. 9, §§ 54-55 amendments effective August 1, 2025), c. 186, § 12 read in full, the c. 186 section list, c. 40P, §§ 1-5, c. 112, § 87DDD1/2, and each session law the record cites (St. 2024, c. 150; St. 2025, cc. 9 and 73; St. 2026, c. 137). The Attorney General's regulation 940 CMR 3.17 and the index of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities' regulations (760 CMR) were read on mass.gov the same day. G.L. c. 239, § 17 is not yet displayed in the online General Laws and is cited to its session laws.