How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Massachusetts?

1 month's rent — The deposit sits inside a four-item limit on move-in charges: first month's rent, last month's rent, a deposit equal to first month's rent, and the cost of a key and lock. Nothing else may be demanded (G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b)).

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Massachusetts?

30 days. The clock runs from termination of occupancy under a tenancy at will, or from the end of the tenancy specified in a valid written lease (§ 15B(4)). No forwarding address is required first — the deadline runs whether or not the tenant leaves one.

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Massachusetts?

The landlord loses the right to keep any part of the deposit. For the three worst failures — no compliant account, no transfer of the deposit on sale, or no return of the deposit within 30 days — the landlord also owes three times the deposit plus 5% interest, court costs, and attorney's fees.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Massachusetts?

Yes — Massachusetts requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. On a deposit held one year or longer, interest accrues from day one at 5% per year, or the actual bank rate if lower, and is payable to the tenant at each anniversary of the tenancy with an annual statement. The deposit itself must sit in a separate interest-bearing account at a Massachusetts bank.

Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Massachusetts?

No — non-refundable fees are not allowed in Massachusetts.

What are the security deposit rules in Massachusetts?

Verified July 8, 2026 Updated August 12, 2026 All Massachusetts topics →

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. The rules on this page reflect the law in force today. The following measure would change it:

HD2501 / 'An Act enabling local options for tenant protections' (194th General Court, 2025-2026) — Would repeal G.L. c. 40P (the Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act) and replace it with a local-option regime letting municipalities cap annual rent increases at the lesser of CPI or 5% and adopt just-cause eviction. Perennial refile of prior sessions' H.1304/H.1378/H.2103, none of which advanced.Status: Filed in the 194th General Court; in committee; not enacted as of the checked date. Chapter 40P remains fully in force. (checked 2026-07-08).

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.

Cited to G.L. c. 186, § 15B (1)(b)-(e), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) and 1 more Massachusetts statute · Verified July 8, 2026

The deposit must go into a separate interest-bearing Massachusetts bank account with a bank receipt to the tenant within 30 days, a signed statement of condition must be delivered within 10 days of move-in, 5% (or actual bank-rate) interest is owed annually, and within 30 days of move-out the landlord must return the deposit or deliver an itemized damage list sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury with written cost evidence. The statute is strict liability: miss the bank account, the 30-day list, or the 30-day return and the landlord forfeits the entire deposit — and the account, transfer, and return failures trigger mandatory treble damages plus interest, costs, and attorney's fees. Every one of these rights is non-waivable, which is why Massachusetts attorneys routinely advise small landlords that the safest security deposit in Massachusetts is the one you never collect.

Massachusetts security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	1 month's rent — The deposit sits inside a four-item limit on move-in charges: first month's rent, last month's rent, a deposit equal to first month's rent, and the cost of a key and lock. Nothing else may be demanded (G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b)). The last month's rent must be at the same rate as the first, and the key and lock item covers their purchase and installation cost. As amended effective 2025-08-01 the restriction expressly binds the lessor's agents too. After commencement, the landlord may never demand advance rent beyond the current month or a deposit above the allowed amount (§ 15B(1)(d)) — meaning the deposit stays pegged to the ORIGINAL first month's rent even after increases. Vacation/recreational rentals of 100 days or less are exempt from the entire section (§ 15B(9)).
Return deadline	30 days
Deadline conditions	The clock runs from termination of occupancy under a tenancy at will, or from the end of the tenancy specified in a valid written lease (§ 15B(4)). No forwarding address is required first — the deadline runs whether or not the tenant leaves one. The 30 days run from termination of occupancy, not from any tenant demand or forwarding address (§ 15B(4)). The last-month's-rent interest receipt does tell tenants to leave a forwarding address for delivery of that interest, but that is not a precondition for the deposit itself.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	Deductions are limited to exactly three categories (§ 15B(4)): (i) unpaid rent or water charges not validly withheld, (ii) unpaid real-estate-tax increases owed under a § 15C-compliant tax escalation clause, and (iii) reasonable repair costs for tenant-caused damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. For damage deductions the landlord must deliver, within the same 30 days, an itemized list SWORN UNDER PAINS AND PENALTIES OF PERJURY describing the damage and repairs in precise detail, with written evidence of cost (estimates, bills, invoices, or receipts). No deduction is allowed for damage listed on the move-in statement of condition (or the tenant's accepted addendum) unless the landlord repaired it and proves the new damage is unrelated. No deduction may be made for any other purpose.
Separate account required	Yes
Interest owed to tenant	Yes
Account & interest rules	On a deposit held one year or longer, interest accrues from day one at 5% per year, or the actual bank rate if lower, and is payable to the tenant at each anniversary of the tenancy with an annual statement. The deposit itself must sit in a separate interest-bearing account at a Massachusetts bank. If the landlord fails to pay the interest, or to send the notice allowing it to be deducted from rent, within 30 days of the year's end, the tenant may self-help by deducting the interest from rent (§ 15B(3)(b)). The account must be beyond the reach of the landlord's creditors, including foreclosing mortgagees and bankruptcy trustees, with transfer provisions for subsequent owners (§ 15B(3)(a)). A bank receipt (bank name and location, amount, account number) must be given within 30 days of receipt — failure entitles the tenant to immediate return. Last month's rent collected in advance separately earns the same 5%-or-bank-rate interest with its own receipt requirements, and failure to pay THAT interest within 30 days of termination carries an automatic treble-interest penalty plus costs and fees (§ 15B(2)(a)).
Pet deposits	Not permitted as a separate charge: § 15B(1)(b)'s exclusive list of move-in charges leaves no room for pet deposits or pet fees on top of first, last, one-month deposit, and lock/key cost.
Non-refundable fees allowed	No
Penalty for violation	The landlord loses the right to keep any part of the deposit. For the three worst failures — no compliant account, no transfer of the deposit on sale, or no return of the deposit within 30 days — the landlord also owes three times the deposit plus 5% interest, court costs, and attorney's fees. Two tiers. Forfeiture (§ 15B(6)): the landlord loses the right to retain ANY portion of the deposit — and to counterclaim for damage in a tenant's recovery suit — for (a) failing to hold funds in a compliant account, (b) failing to furnish the itemized damage list within 30 days, (c) putting a conflicting provision in a signed lease and attempting to enforce it or seeking a waiver, (d) failing to transfer the deposit on sale, or (e) failing to return the deposit or balance with interest within 30 days. Treble damages (§ 15B(7)): violations of (6)(a), (d), or (e) mandate three times the deposit or balance due plus 5% interest, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. The Attorney General's consumer-protection regulations (940 CMR 3.17) additionally make § 15B violations unfair practices under c. 93A, which carries its own multiple-damages exposure.
Tenant forwarding-address duty	Not addressed by statute

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Massachusetts Security Deposit Laws (verified July 8, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/massachusetts/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Massachusetts statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Massachusetts security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Massachusetts rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

Strict liability — read the traps below as a checklist — G.L. c. 186, § 15B is strict-liability territory, and every trap below comes straight from the full text of the section.
Any damage deduction needs a sworn, documented itemization — An itemized list sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury, with documentary evidence of cost, is required for ANY damage deduction.
The deposit can never be topped up after a rent increase — § 15B(1)(d) pegs the deposit to the original first month's rent even after increases — masslandlords.net teaches the same conservative reading.
Tenants can inspect the landlord's deposit records — The record-keeping duty in § 15B(2)(d) gives tenants inspection rights, and wrongful refusal alone triggers immediate-return liability.
Last month's rent is a parallel regulated instrument — It carries its own receipt, interest, and treble-interest penalty rules — a separate compliance track from the deposit itself.
Not every forfeiture carries treble damages — Forfeiture under § 15B(6)(b) — a late itemized list — does NOT trigger § 15B(7) treble damages; only (6)(a), (d), and (e) do. Courts enforce the distinction, and secondary sources routinely get it wrong.
New since August 1, 2025 (St. 2025, c. 9) — The move-in-charge restriction in § 15B(1)(b) now expressly binds the lessor's agents, and the law authorized EOHLC-regulated optional 'fee in lieu of deposit' arrangements — non-refundable, total capped at one month's rent, with the tenant's opt-out preserved.
Fee-in-lieu is authorized but not yet operative — As of July 12, 2026, EOHLC's official regulations index on mass.gov listed no deposit or fee-in-lieu regulation among current, emergency, or proposed regulations — so landlords cannot offer the arrangement until EOHLC acts.
The 2025 broker-fee law closed the other move-in loophole — The related c. 112, § 87DDD1/2 makes the hiring party — usually the landlord — pay broker fees effective August 1, 2025, closing the old move-in-cost loophole.
Vacation rentals of 100 days or less are exempt — Vacation and recreational rentals of 100 days or less are exempt from the entire section (§ 15B(9)).
A federal shutdown unlocks last month's rent held under § 15B — During a federal government shutdown, G.L. c. 239, § 17(g) (added by St. 2025, c. 73, § 54, and applicable to partial shutdowns since July 1, 2026 under St. 2026, c. 137, § 84) lets a lessor holding last month's rent in advance under c. 186, § 15B access and spend those funds. The lessor may not deduct from them for the tenant's shutdown-period nonpayment, must notify the tenant in writing, and the interest and end-of-tenancy application duties of § 15B continue to apply. Section 17 is not yet displayed in the online General Laws; the session laws are the operative citations.

Common questions: Massachusetts security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Massachusetts?: 1 month's rent — The deposit sits inside a four-item limit on move-in charges: first month's rent, last month's rent, a deposit equal to first month's rent, and the cost of a key and lock. Nothing else may be demanded (G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b)).
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Massachusetts?: 30 days. The clock runs from termination of occupancy under a tenancy at will, or from the end of the tenancy specified in a valid written lease (§ 15B(4)). No forwarding address is required first — the deadline runs whether or not the tenant leaves one.
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Massachusetts?: The landlord loses the right to keep any part of the deposit. For the three worst failures — no compliant account, no transfer of the deposit on sale, or no return of the deposit within 30 days — the landlord also owes three times the deposit plus 5% interest, court costs, and attorney's fees.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Massachusetts?: Yes — Massachusetts requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. On a deposit held one year or longer, interest accrues from day one at 5% per year, or the actual bank rate if lower, and is payable to the tenant at each anniversary of the tenancy with an annual statement. The deposit itself must sit in a separate interest-bearing account at a Massachusetts bank.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Massachusetts?: No — non-refundable fees are not allowed in Massachusetts.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (July 8, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official state sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Updated, August 12, 2026 — Massachusetts' standing federal-shutdown eviction moratorium is now recorded. G.L. c. 239, § 17 (St. 2025, c. 73, § 54) switches on during a federal shutdown: no nonpayment termination or notice to quit against a documented impacted federal worker, a certification requirement on every summary process complaint, no default judgment, tolled deadlines, a 30-day continuance right, a late-fee bar with a credit-reporting bar (§ 17(e)), and landlord access to last month's rent held under c. 186, § 15B (§ 17(g)). Since July 1, 2026 a partial shutdown also triggers the section (St. 2026, c. 137, § 84). The section is not yet in the online General Laws, so the session laws are cited. The eviction page's discretionary-stay wording also now tracks the statute's current 'person with a disability' terminology (St. 2026, c. 102).

Statute citations

G.L. c. 186, § 15B (1)(b)-(e), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) (verified 2026) Official source
St. 2025, c. 73, § 54 (G.L. c. 239, § 17(g)) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Massachusetts General Court site (malegislature.gov): G.L. c. 186, § 15B read in full (current text including the St. 2025, c. 9, §§ 54-55 amendments effective 2025-08-01), c. 186, § 12 read in full, c. 186 chapter index and c. 40P location confirmed on malegislature.gov, cross-checked against the Mass.gov official law-library pages on security deposits and landlord-tenant law (which also confirm c. 40P's continued force and the 2025 broker-fee change to c. 112, § 87DDD1/2).