Massachusetts Rental Laws and Regulations for Tenants/Landlords

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There are quite the number of laws and regulations for landlords (lessors) and tenants (lessees) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts making this state quite tenant friendly. This increases the financial risk and responsibility of being a landlord. What I have observed is that many landlords and/or tenants aren't familiar, oblivious and/or purposefully ignorant of these laws and regulations. For those who aren’t aware or familiar of these laws this post will go over some of these laws and regulation for which can benefit a landlord or tenant. 

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and the following below are my interpretation of the law and regulations with partial excerpts. Always confer with a lawyer, particularly one who specializes in this type of knowledge as I have come across ones who are just as ignorant about these laws and regulations. 

105 CMR 410.000 MINIMUM STANDARDS OF FITNESS FOR HUMAN HABITATION

940 CMR 3.00 3.17: Landlord-Tenant

254 CMR 7.00 Apartment Rentals

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 186

Finder's Fee (Broker's fee): To most, this is that pesky fee that real estate agents and brokers charge and receive for seemingly doing nothing but showing a rental unit they probably haven't seen either, getting the prospective tenant to submit an application, sign a lease and voila, they take a check usually equivalent to one months rent. Hundreds if not thousands of these transactions take place every year around Boston and that calculates to at least a few million dollars if not tens of millions of dollars. I assume most of us have rented near a city at some point and have paid this fee, but let me ask you, did the agent/broker ever provide you a written rental brokerage fee disclosure? I will bet with great confidence that, at least near Boston, 85% of the time if not higher they haven't. Per 254 CMR 7.00 brokers and salespersons engaged in renting property shall give each prospective tenant a written notice that states that the prospective tenant will pay a fee, the amount of the fee and the manner and time in which the fee is to be paid. This written notice must be given by the real estate broker or salesperson at the first personal meeting between the broker/salesperson and a prospective tenant. It must be signed by the real estate broker/salesperson, contain the license number of such broker/salesperson, be signed by the prospective tenant and contain the date such notice was given by the broker/salesperson to the prospective tenant. The amount, due date, and the purpose of the fee must be disclosed to you prior to any transaction. Now most transactions probably occur without a problem but I have had brokers/salespersons change the fee from what they had on their online posting, when they first meet you, and when you are about to sign the lease.

Massachusetts Security Deposit Law: One of the most neglected rental laws in Massachusetts and one of the most disputed between landlords and tenants. First let me clarify what the law entails and then you can think about how many people have not been compliant with at least one part of the law. The Security Deposit Law (for lease agreements of a year or more) caps how much the security deposit is (one month's rent) and within thirty days the deposit must be placed in an interest bearing account where the landlord provides the tenant a receipt indicating the name and location of the bank where it is being held. The same applies to last month’s rents. If the landlord uses a lease that contains any provision that conflicts with the Security Deposit Law and attempts to enforce that provision or attempts to obtain from you or a prospective tenant a waiver of any provision of the Security Deposit Law, the landlord cannot keep your security deposit for any reason including making deductions for damages. Upon receiving the last month’s rent and/or a security deposit, the landlord must give you a receipt for security deposit and/or last months rent. If the deposit isn't deposited in the bank or the tenant doesn't receive the receipt of their deposit within thirty days, the tenant is entitled to the immediate return of the deposit. If the landlord doesn't comply, the tenant can go to court and may be entitled to three times the amount of the security deposit or the remaining balance to which the tenant is entitled after lawful deductions with interest, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. If the landlord collects a security deposit they must give you a signed, separate statement of the present condition of your apartment including a comprehensive list of any existing damage. The landlord must provide you with this statement upon receipt of the deposit or within 10 days after the tenancy begins, whichever is later. If you do not agree with the contents of the statement, you must return a corrected copy to the landlord within 15 days after you receive the list or 15 days after you move in, whichever is later. If you fail to return the list and later sue to recover your security deposit, a court may view your failure to do so as your agreement that the list is complete and correct. If you submit a separate list of damages, the landlord must return it within 15 days of receipt with a clear written response of agreement or disagreement. I have had only one of four landlords actually know about or comply fully with this law.

Late Rent: I have always paid rent on the very same day if not earlier however there is an important rule if a tenant doesn't pay on the date the rent is due. Landlords cannot impose any penalty for failure to pay rent until 30 days past the date that which rent is said to be due. If a written lease contains a clause that may say rent is due within five days of the 1st of the month, it cannot be enforced. Landlords should be wary of this if you are dependent on cashing that check in the very day it is due.

Minimum standards of habitability. Often overlooked but this often keeps a landlords' tenants happy and keeps the landlord at bay from legal matters and from losing a lot of money. From the stories and properties I have seen myself it's likely that at least 33% and if not closer to 50% of all properties rented in the greater Boston area violate at least one of the habitability standards (105 CMR 410) of which there are many. Some examples of habitability codes are functional toilets, functional sinks, functional smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms, weathertight windows and doors leading outside, bathrooms must have a mechanical vent or an easily opened window, a bedroom must have an easily opened window and either two electrical outlets or one electrical outlet and a light fixture and all pipes, plumbing and electrical must be per code. In a respectful and sophisticated world the tenant should kindly request and notify the landlord of anything that violates a habitability standard in the property and hopefully the landlord will oblige. Tenants have various avenues to pursue if a dwelling violates a habitability code and the landlord refuses to fix it. If the landlord refuses to repair the problem, the tenant can withhold rent until the landlord fixes the problem or alternatively a tenant can repair the problem and deduct from the rent. Withholding rent is easier as you only need to appeal to your landlord in writing to make necessary repair. Deducting rent for repairs needs the local Board of Health to certify the problem, the landlord must receive in writing the violations and landlord is given five days from date of notice to begin repairs or contact a company to perform repairs and there is a cap to how much rent can be deducted. If the problem is significant enough though, the board can deem the property uninhabitable and now the tenant is without a place to live.

Snow Removal. Massachusetts like any other state in northern US gets snow, for those who lived in Boston 2014-2015 haven’t forgotten about the 9 feet of snow that we had to shovel or tried to. In most leases I have came across the landlord passes snow removal as a responsibility of the tenant. However this can only be enforced where a dwelling has independent means of egress (not shared with other occupants). If the pathway, entrance/exit and/or driveway is shared the landlord is responsible for the snow removal. Something that may seem minor, until the city/town starts fining your property for not removing the snow off a sidewalk or heaven forbid, the tenant of the property slips and falls and then sues the property owner. Ensure when and who should be responsible for snow removal.

There are more rules and regulations out there however through my experience, so far anyway, these are the ones that often bother me the most and are most often the most significant.