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Massachusetts Residential Lease Agreement

A plain-language lease for a house or apartment in Massachusetts. The deposit, notice and disclosure clauses follow Massachusetts statute, cited in the document. Download the blank PDF or e-sign it online; electronic signatures are recognized under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws.

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Massachusetts rules in this lease

Security deposit cap
No more than one month's rent
Deposit return
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the Landlord returns the deposit with any interest due and an itemized list of any damage, sworn to under the pains and penalties of perjury, with deductions limited to unpaid rent, unpaid real estate tax increases the Tenant agreed to pay, and damage beyond ordinary wear.
Where the deposit is kept
The deposit is held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, the Tenant receives a receipt naming the bank and account number within 30 days, and a deposit held one year or longer earns 5% interest a year, or the bank's actual rate if lower, paid to the Tenant each year.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice equal to the interval between rent payments or 30 days, whichever is longer.
Landlord entry
No notice period in the statute; the lease uses 24 hours
Disclosures
5 items, listed below with the section that requires each one
Local rules
Boston requires owners to register every rental unit with the Inspectional Services Department each year and to admit periodic city inspections.
Statutes
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 15B, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 12, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 14, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 21. Read the Massachusetts statute
Rules read on
2026-10-23

A general form, not legal advice, and not a claim that it complies with any law. Rules change and vary by city. Check the statute cited here, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on it.

What is different in Massachusetts

Pick Massachusetts and three parts of this lease change: the security deposit clause, the notice clause for a month-to-month tenancy and the disclosures checklist, each rewritten from the Massachusetts statute. The rest of the document reads the same in every state.

Start with the deposit. Massachusetts caps it at one month's rent, and the statute also says where the money sits while the tenant lives there. The return rule, quoted in full below, says when and how the deposit comes back, and requires an itemized statement of anything kept, sends the deposit back with interest and leaves ordinary wear out of the deductions.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy works the same from both sides in Massachusetts. Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice equal to the interval between rent payments or 30 days, whichever is longer.

On entry the Massachusetts statute is silent, so the lease fills the gap with at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time and no notice in an emergency, and the footer says the statute set no period.

The disclosures checklist carries four Massachusetts items on top of the federal lead paint notice, among them name, address, and phone number of the owner or managing agent, posted on the Premises when the owner does not live there, each with the section that requires it and a line for the landlord's initials.

City rules are the other thing to watch. Boston requires owners to register every rental unit with the Inspectional Services Department each year and to admit periodic city inspections. The state clauses follow four sections of Massachusetts law, read on October 23, 2026 and listed in the Statutes row above; the same citations print in the footer of the PDF.

Read the Massachusetts clauses

The wording below is what prints in the PDF for Massachusetts, word for word, under the headings Security deposit, Entry, Ending the lease and default, and Disclosures.

Security deposit

Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the Landlord returns the deposit with any interest due and an itemized list of any damage, sworn to under the pains and penalties of perjury, with deductions limited to unpaid rent, unpaid real estate tax increases the Tenant agreed to pay, and damage beyond ordinary wear. The deposit may not exceed one month's rent. The deposit is held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, the Tenant receives a receipt naming the bank and account number within 30 days, and a deposit held one year or longer earns 5% interest a year, or the bank's actual rate if lower, paid to the Tenant each year.

Entry

The Landlord may enter at reasonable times to inspect, repair or show the Premises after at least 24 hours' notice, and without notice in an emergency.

Ending the lease and default

Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice equal to the interval between rent payments or 30 days, whichever is longer. If rent is unpaid or a term is broken, the Landlord gives the written notice Massachusetts law requires before ending the tenancy, and the Tenant is responsible for rent through the end of the term unless the Premises is re-rented sooner.

Disclosures the Landlord initials

  • Lead-based paint and hazards, for a building built before 1978, with the EPA pamphlet (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
  • A signed statement of the condition of the Premises, listing existing damage, given when the deposit is taken or within 10 days after move-in (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 15B(2)(c))
  • A signed receipt for the deposit showing the amount, date, who received it, and the Premises, then the bank and account details within 30 days (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 15B(3)(a))
  • The name of the insurer and amount of any fire insurance on the Premises, within 15 days after a written request (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 21)
  • Name, address, and phone number of the owner or managing agent, posted on the Premises when the owner does not live there (105 CMR 410.481)

Boston requires owners to register every rental unit with the Inspectional Services Department each year and to admit periodic city inspections.

Footer of the PDF: Massachusetts clauses follow Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 15B, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 12, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 14, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 21 as read on 2026-10-23.

Massachusetts lease questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Massachusetts?
No more than one month's rent. The cap comes from Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 15B, and the lease repeats it in the deposit clause.
When does the security deposit come back in Massachusetts?
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, the Landlord returns the deposit with any interest due and an itemized list of any damage, sworn to under the pains and penalties of perjury, with deductions limited to unpaid rent, unpaid real estate tax increases the Tenant agreed to pay, and damage beyond ordinary wear.
Where does a Massachusetts landlord keep the deposit?
The deposit is held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, the Tenant receives a receipt naming the bank and account number within 30 days, and a deposit held one year or longer earns 5% interest a year, or the bank's actual rate if lower, paid to the Tenant each year.
How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Massachusetts?
Either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice equal to the interval between rent payments or 30 days, whichever is longer.
How much notice does a Massachusetts landlord give before entering?
Massachusetts statute sets no notice period before the landlord enters, so this lease uses at least 24 hours' notice at a reasonable time, and no notice in an emergency.
What does a Massachusetts landlord have to disclose with the lease?
Beyond the federal lead paint disclosure for a building built before 1978, the Massachusetts checklist has four items: a signed statement of the condition of the Premises, listing existing damage, given when the deposit is taken or within 10 days after move-in; a signed receipt for the deposit showing the amount, date, who received it, and the Premises, then the bank and account details within 30 days; and the name of the insurer and amount of any fire insurance on the Premises, within 15 days after a written request. The other one are on the checklist in the document. Each one names its statute and the landlord initials it in the document.
Do any Massachusetts cities or counties add rules of their own?
Boston requires owners to register every rental unit with the Inspectional Services Department each year and to admit periodic city inspections.
Which Massachusetts statutes does this lease cite?
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 15B; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 12; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 14; and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, 21, read on October 23, 2026. They print in the document footer so a reader can check each clause against the statute in a minute.
Should a lawyer look at this Massachusetts lease before I use it?
It is a general form, not legal advice, and it does not claim to comply with any law. The clauses state what the Massachusetts statute requires and name the statute. A lawyer who works with Massachusetts landlords can tell you whether the form fits your property, your city and the terms you want to add, which is worth the hour before signing a lease for a large rent or a long term.

Other states

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