@Michael Zack
There is lots of information on this simply by googling leases and tenant landlord information for massachusetts. Some tid bits are...
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.
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
Massachusetts Security Deposit Law: One of the most neglected rental laws in Massachusetts and one of the most disputed between landlords and tenants. 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.
Late Rent: 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. 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.
