Massachusetts rules for property managers

Massachusetts has no separate property management license. Anyone in the business of finding rentals for tenants for a fee must hold a broker or salesperson license. A managing agent acting under a contract with the owner, and that agent's regular employees, are exempt from the broker licensing sections, so the answer depends on whether you lease for a fee or manage under contract.

Owners and lessors acting for themselves and their regular employees; managing agents under contract with the owner and their regular employees; attorneys; receivers, trustees, executors, and other court fiduciaries; licensed auctioneers; public officers.

Anyone holding a tenant's security deposit must keep it in a separate interest-bearing Massachusetts bank account under § 15B(3). Broker escrow rules are in 254 CMR 3.00, which was not reviewed here.

At or before move-in you may collect only first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit no larger than first month's rent, and the cost to buy and install a new lock. Any other upfront charge is barred. A 2024 law lets the state allow an optional fee in lieu of a deposit, but that option works only after regulations are issued.

Return the deposit, or the balance, plus interest within 30 days. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent or water charges, certain tax escalation amounts, and damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. For damage, send an itemized list sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury with estimates, bills, or receipts. Missing a step can forfeit your right to keep any of it, and some violations cost three times the deposit plus interest, costs, and attorney fees.

Give a signed receipt when you take the deposit and a bank receipt within 30 days showing the bank name and address, account number, and amount. Pay interest each year at 5% or the lower rate the bank actually pays, and pay 5% interest on prepaid last month's rent. Keep deposit records for two years after the tenancy ends. Failing to hold the deposit properly entitles the tenant to its immediate return.

A lease or rental agreement may not impose any interest or penalty for late rent until 30 days after it was due. A fee charged sooner is unenforceable.

At or before move-in, a landlord or the landlord's agent may require only first month's rent, last month's rent, a deposit up to one month, and the cost of a new lock. Since August 1, 2025, that limit covers payments to the landlord's agent too, so a broker hired by the landlord cannot charge the tenant. An application that asks about evictions must state that applicants with sealed records may answer 'no record'.

For a fixed-term lease, rent changes only as the lease allows or at renewal. For a tenancy at will, a rent increase is usually done by a written notice that ends the old tenancy and offers a new one at the new rent, given at least one full rental period (and at least 30 days) ahead under § 12.

No city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control except as G.L. c. 40P allows. On June 23, 2026 the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Initiative Petition 25-21, which would have limited rent increases statewide, cannot appear on the November 2026 ballot because its religious facility exemption violates article 48. No rent cap applies today.

A tenant at will who has not received a nonpayment notice in the past 12 months can stop the termination by paying all rent due within 10 days, and the notice must say so in the statutory words. A tenant with a written lease can cure by paying rent, interest, and costs by the answer date. Every nonpayment notice to quit must come with the state form required by § 31, and courts must grant a continuance while a rental assistance application is pending.

For a lease, the notice for a breach comes from the lease terms, and state law gives no general right to cure. For a tenancy at will, many landlords use a no-fault notice of one rental period (at least 30 days) under § 12 instead of proving a breach. Either way, only a court judgment and execution can remove the tenant.

Tenancies at will end with written notice equal to the time between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer. If rent is paid quarterly or less often, the notice is three months. The notice may include an offer of a new tenancy on different terms.

After the notice to quit runs out, serve a summary process summons and complaint and file it by the entry date. Trial is usually set about 10 days after the entry date, and a tenant who asks for discovery adds about two weeks. Execution generally cannot issue until 10 days after judgment. Judges can stay no-fault evictions for up to 6 months, or 12 months for elderly or disabled tenants.

When an officer removes belongings on an execution, they go to a licensed, bonded public warehouse within 20 miles, or to a storage place the tenant picks in writing. The landlord pays the moving cost and can seek reimbursement. The warehouse may sell unclaimed property only after 6 months of storage. Do not remove a tenant's belongings yourself without a court execution.

A lease may allow entry only to inspect, make repairs, or show the unit to prospective tenants, buyers, lenders, or their agents. You may also enter under a court order, if the unit appears abandoned, or in the last 30 days of the tenancy to check for deposit damage. The statute sets no advance notice, so give reasonable notice and spell out your practice in the lease.

The Sanitary Code sets minimum standards for heat, hot water, pests, safe structure, and more, and was last overhauled in 2023. Local boards of health inspect and order repairs. Tenants can raise code violations they did not cause as a defense and counterclaim in eviction cases.

If you take a deposit, give a signed receipt, a statement of condition within 10 days with the required notice, and a bank receipt within 30 days. If you take last month's rent, give a receipt that states the 5% interest right. Nonpayment notices to quit must include the state form under § 31. On written request, disclose the property's fire insurer and coverage within 15 days. For housing built before 1978, give the federal lead disclosure and the Massachusetts lead law notice (G.L. c. 111; not reviewed here).

State law covers race, religious creed, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, veteran or military status, disability, children, and receipt of public assistance or housing subsidies. You cannot turn down a voucher holder because of the voucher or the program's requirements.

The Affordable Homes Act lets the state housing office write rules allowing an optional fee instead of a deposit, capped at one month's rent in total. The fee is not usable until those rules are issued.

Tenants can petition to seal eviction records. A rental application that asks about evictions must state that an applicant with a sealed record may answer 'no record'. Section 52 took effect 270 days after the act's August 6, 2024 approval.

The FY2026 budget amended § 15B so that no landlord or landlord's agent may require a tenant to pay the landlord or the agent more than first month, last month, deposit and lock cost. A broker hired by the landlord cannot charge the tenant.

The Supreme Judicial Court held Initiative Petition 25-21 (limiting rent increases) violates article 48 because of its religious facility exemption, and ordered that it not be placed on the November 2026 ballot.

• Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
• Boston Office of Fair Housing and Equity
• Massachusetts Fair Housing Center
• SouthCoast Fair Housing