Rental Property Rules in Massachusetts (2026)
34 rules on the books across Massachusetts, 17 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Massachusetts: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsMassachusetts prohibits rent control statewide. Voters abolished it through a 1994 ballot referendum codified as Mass…
Read full rule →Plymouth County
Few RestrictionsRent control is illegal across every Plymouth County community. Massachusetts voters banned it in 1994 through Question…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Massachusetts: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsMGL Chapter 239 sets uniform statewide summary process eviction procedures for residential tenancies, establishing…
Read full rule →Plymouth County
Few RestrictionsMassachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Plymouth County town can add one. A landlord ends a…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Lynn
Heavy RestrictionsLynn requires every private residential rental unit, including condos, to register yearly with Inspectional Services…
Read full rule →Framingham
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Framingham, no owner or lessor may start a new tenancy in a rental unit without a rental unit inspection…
Read full rule →Haverhill
Significant RestrictionsBefore any Haverhill rental unit can be reoccupied, the owner or managing agent must have it inspected and secure a…
Read full rule →Quincy
Significant RestrictionsQuincy, Massachusetts requires every short-term rental operator to register their unit with the Department of…
Read full rule →Springfield
Significant RestrictionsSpringfield requires anyone renting a room to a non-family member to first get a rooming-unit rental license from the…
Read full rule →Worcester
Significant RestrictionsEvery non-owner-occupied rental property in Worcester, from single-family homes to commercial units and rented lots…
Read full rule →Boston
Some RestrictionsBoston requires every owner of private residential rental housing, including condominium units, to register each rental…
Read full rule →Brockton
Some RestrictionsEvery owner of private residential rental housing in Brockton must register each unit annually with the Public Health…
Read full rule →Lawrence
Some RestrictionsEvery owner of rental housing in Lawrence, including condo units, must register each unit annually with the…
Read full rule →Plymouth County
Some RestrictionsRental registration and inspection are local powers, not county ones. The State Sanitary Code under MGL c.111 §127A…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Massachusetts: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsMassachusetts recognizes an implied warranty of habitability and gives tenants strong remedies. Under M.G.L. c. 111 §…
Read full rule →Boston
Significant RestrictionsA Boston rental can be declared a 'problem property' and public nuisance if police respond to four or more criminal…
Read full rule →Everett
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Everett, Massachusetts, a dwelling unit must be certified by the Health Department as meeting Article II…
Read full rule →Fall River
Significant RestrictionsFall River's Minimum Housing Standards Director can bypass the normal notice-and-cure process when a violation poses a…
Read full rule →Revere
Significant RestrictionsRevere requires the Board of Health to certify a rental unit as sanitarily fit before any new occupancy, applying the…
Read full rule →Brockton
Some RestrictionsA vacated Brockton rental unit cannot be reoccupied until PHD inspects it and issues a certificate of fitness…
Read full rule →Cambridge
Some RestrictionsCambridge backs up the state Sanitary Code with its own fine schedule for landlords who ignore repair orders…
Read full rule →Chelsea
Some RestrictionsEvery rental unit in Chelsea must hold a certificate of habitability confirming it is fit for human habitation under…
Read full rule →Chicopee
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, § 122-1(A)(2) adopts the State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410 et seq., as the…
Read full rule →Haverhill
Some RestrictionsHaverhill ties every rental permit to the state's Sanitary Code minimum standard of fitness for human habitation, not a…
Read full rule →Lawrence
Some RestrictionsLawrence rental units that fail a city inspection must submit a compliance plan to bring the unit up to the state's…
Read full rule →Somerville
Some RestrictionsSomerville enforces the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410.000-419.000, as the city's own housing standard…
Read full rule →Springfield
Some RestrictionsSpringfield adopts the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410, by reference as controlling law citywide…
Read full rule →Worcester
Some RestrictionsWorcester's Certificate of Fitness program, Chapter 9, Section 9 of the Revised Ordinances, lets a landlord ask the…
Read full rule →Late Fees & Grace Periods
Whether late rent fees are capped, any required grace period before a fee can be charged, and limits on bounced-check (NSF) and other add-on charges under state law.
Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.