Massachusetts residential lease agreement

State form

• A Massachusetts lease must give the name, address and phone number of the owner, of the person responsible for maintenance and of the person who receives formal notices and court papers.¹
• When a Massachusetts landlord takes a security deposit, the lease must show the amount paid and explain the tenant’s rights to that money.¹
• The Massachusetts Attorney General lists as illegal any lease term making the tenant pay for ordinary wear and tear or have the apartment professionally cleaned at the end of the lease.¹
• Under chapter 186, section 15B, a Massachusetts lease may not let the landlord enter before the lease ends except to inspect, make repairs or show the home.²

Signing

• The Massachusetts Attorney General advises that both landlord and tenant initial, in the margin, any handwritten change made to a lease.¹
• A Massachusetts landlord must make sure the tenant receives a legible copy of the lease or rental agreement.¹
• The receipt a Massachusetts landlord gives for a security deposit must be signed by the person who received the money.²
• For a Massachusetts rental built before 1978, landlord and tenant must sign and keep a copy of the Tenant Lead Law Notification and Tenant Certification.¹

Deadlines

• Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 186, section 12, either party may end a tenancy at will with three months’ written notice.⁴
• When rent is paid at intervals shorter than three months, Massachusetts accepts notice equal to the interval between rent days or thirty days, whichever is longer.⁴
• The Massachusetts Attorney General explains that with monthly rent, either side ends a tenancy at will with notice of 30 days or one month before the next rent due date, whichever is longer.¹
• For unpaid rent, a written 14-day notice to quit from the landlord is enough to end a Massachusetts tenancy at will.⁴
• A qualifying Massachusetts tenant at will keeps the tenancy by paying or tendering the full rent due within 10 days after receiving a nonpayment notice.⁴
• The Massachusetts Attorney General says the landlord should give a statement of condition within 10 days of the start of the tenancy or of receiving the deposit, whichever is later.¹
• A Massachusetts tenant has 15 days to add to or correct the landlord’s statement of condition.¹
• Within 30 days after receiving a security deposit, a Massachusetts landlord must give a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number.²
• Massachusetts General Laws chapter 186, section 15B gives the landlord 30 days after the tenancy ends to return the security deposit or its balance.²
• A Massachusetts landlord who deducts for damage must give, within those 30 days, an itemized list of damages sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury.²
• When a Massachusetts rental property is sold, the new landlord must notify the tenants in writing within 45 days of receiving the deposit and last month’s rent.⁵

Where it is filed

• Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 183, section 4, a lease for more than seven years is not valid against people without actual notice of it unless it is recorded in the registry of deeds.³
• For a long Massachusetts lease, a notice of lease can be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies, in place of the full lease.³
• A Massachusetts notice of lease must give the date the lease was signed, the premises, the term with its start date and all extension or renewal rights.³
• A Massachusetts landlord must keep the security deposit records for each unit for two years after the tenancy ends.²

Taxes and fees

• Massachusetts allows a landlord to collect the first and last month’s rent, a security deposit equal to one month’s rent and the cost of a lock and key.⁵
• The Massachusetts Attorney General says landlords may not charge up-front pet fees, broker fees or application fees at the start of a tenancy.¹
• Since August 1, 2025, Massachusetts law bars brokers who mainly serve the landlord from charging fees to tenants.¹
• A Massachusetts lease cannot charge interest or a penalty for late rent until the rent is 30 days overdue.²
• A Massachusetts tenant who stays at least one year earns 5 percent interest on the security deposit, or the lower rate the bank paid.⁵
• Interest on last month’s rent paid in advance is owed in Massachusetts even if the tenant stays less than a year, at 5 percent when the money is not in a bank.⁵
• A Massachusetts security deposit cannot be applied as the last month’s rent unless the landlord and tenant both agree.⁵

Law

• Massachusetts requires a security deposit to be held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a bank located in the state, out of reach of the landlord’s creditors.²
• Massachusetts lets a tenant recover three times the security deposit owed, with interest, court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees, for the landlord violations the deposit law lists.⁵
• Any lease clause that conflicts with Massachusetts General Laws chapter 186, section 15B, and any tenant waiver of it, is void and unenforceable.²
• The Massachusetts deposit rules of section 15B leave out vacation or recreational rentals of 100 days or less.²
• A Massachusetts landlord cannot evict by removing the tenant or the tenant’s belongings or by changing the locks.¹
• In Massachusetts, certain landlord actions taken within six months after a tenant’s protected activity are presumed to be retaliation.¹

• Property address and what is included (parking, storage, appliances)
• Start date, end date or month-to-month term
• Monthly rent, due date and security deposit amount
• Rules on pets, smoking, repairs and utilities

It is not a roommate agreement between tenants, and it is not a commercial lease for a store or office.