Just cause eviction rules in Hampshire County, MA — sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances — list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Massachusetts has no just-cause eviction law, and no Hampshire County town can add one. But the state is strongly tenant-protective: a security deposit is capped at one month's rent under MGL c.186 §15B, and mishandling it exposes a landlord to treble damages.
No county government has existed since 1999, and no statute forces a landlord to prove cause before ending a tenancy at will; Chapter 186 §12 requires 30 days' notice, or 14 days for nonpayment. The teeth are elsewhere. Chapter 186 §15B caps a security deposit at the first month's rent, requires it held in a separate interest-bearing Massachusetts bank account, and awards a wronged tenant triple the deposit plus interest, costs, and fees. Chapter 239 §8A lets a tenant defend a nonpayment eviction by raising bad conditions, and Chapter 186 §18 bars retaliation. A landlord still needs a court judgment to remove anyone.
A landlord who mishandles a deposit owes three times the amount plus interest, costs, and attorney's fees under Chapter 186 §15B. An illegal lockout or retaliation triggers further damages under Chapter 186 §§14 and 18.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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