Massachusetts tenant rights and lease laws offer robust protections that every renter should know, especially with notable updates coming into effect in August 2025. Here’s what matters most:
Key Tenant Rights in Massachusetts
1. Right to Habitable Housing
Landlords must provide safe, clean, and sanitary housing. This means working heat, hot water, pest control, adequate structural integrity, and compliance with the State Sanitary Code.
2. Lease Rules and Rent Increases
Leases and Early Signings: Leases can’t be signed more than 3 months before they begin or the current lease ends, curbing early lease lock-ins.
Rent Increases: As of August 2025, rent can be raised with at least 30 days’ notice (or more, if your rent is not paid monthly). Increases must not be retaliatory (in response to a tenant exercising rights), but currently, Massachusetts does not impose a statewide cap unless new rent control legislation passes.
3. Security Deposits
Limited to one month’s rent. Landlords must provide a “Statement of Condition” detailing any existing damage within 10 days of deposit or move-in. Failure to comply means forfeiting rights to deduct for damage.
4. Broker Fees Reform (Effective August 1, 2025)
Only the party who hired the broker (landlord or tenant) pays the broker fee—tenants no longer automatically pay unless they choose to hire a broker themselves.
5. Privacy and Entry
Landlords must give reasonable notice (usually 24 hours) before entering for repairs or inspections unless it’s an emergency.
Eviction and Lease Termination
1. Eviction Process
Landlords must follow specific legal steps—issuing a “Notice to Quit” and then filing a court case. Lockouts, utility shutoff, and “self-help” eviction are illegal.
Tenants can dispute an eviction in court, assert defenses (e.g., uninhabitable conditions, retaliation), and file counterclaims…