Massachusetts Landlord Compliance Kit: Deposit, Notice and Eviction Checklists with an Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in Massachusetts, and tenants who want the same record, from move-in through move-out or a court case.

Not the right fit if

Your rental is outside Massachusetts: get that state's kit. Not legal advice, not a lawyer's review of a lease, notice or court case, and not a set of legal notice forms; city and county rules aren't covered.

Why it is different

• Built only from our Massachusetts data files, checked November 2026 against 11 official pages, among them Massachusetts Legislature: General Laws c. 186, s. 15B; Massachusetts Attorney General: Guide to landlord and tenant rights; Massachusetts Legislature: M.G.L. c. 186, s. 12; Massachusetts Legislature: M.G.L. c. 186, s. 11; Mass.gov: Tenants' guide to eviction; Mass.gov: Uniform Summary Process Rule 2, plus National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (a vetted secondary source, marked in the kit) where no official page could be read.
• Every item is confirmed and linked to its source: an official page, or where none could be read, a vetted secondary source marked as such.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out Massachusetts notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 23 confirmed Massachusetts rules at a glance.
• Massachusetts landlord rules checklist. Deposits, notice periods, the eviction case and the small claims limit, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date. What it confirms: deposit limit: A security deposit equal to no more than the first month's rent (s. 15B(1)(b)); return deadline: Within 30 days after the end of occupancy: the deposit with interest, less any deductions, with a sworn itemized list of damages (s. 15B(4)); itemized list of deductions: An itemized list of damages sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury, with written evidence of the repair cost (s. 15B(4)(iii)); interest on the deposit: 5% a year, or the lower rate the bank actually paid, paid at the end of each year of the tenancy (s. 15B(3)(b)); where the deposit is held: In a separate, interest-bearing account in a bank in Massachusetts; a receipt within 30 days naming the bank, its address, the account number and the amount (s. 15B(3)(a)); penalty the law states: Three times the deposit, plus interest, costs and attorney fees, for the failures listed in s. 15B(7); ending month-to-month (landlord): Written notice by either side; ending month-to-month (tenant): Written notice by either side; rent increase notice: For a tenancy at will, rent can change with notice on the same terms as ending the tenancy; unpaid rent notice: 14 days' written notice to quit; entry notice: The landlord arranges entry with the tenant in advance (to repair, inspect or show); no set number of hours; late fee limits: A lease can't require a late fee for rent less than 30 days late; court: A District Court or Housing Court; a tenant can ask to move a case to Housing Court; filing fee: Depends on the court: $180 in a District Court or the Boston Municipal Court, $120 in Housing Court, plus a $15 surcharge and $5 for the summons; time to answer or appear: The written answer is due on or before the first Monday after the Monday entry date in the summons (counted here from filing on the entry date); hearing after filing: In the Housing Court, the clerk schedules the first court event 30 to 60 days after the case is entered; if the case isn't resolved there, trial is set about 2 weeks later (Standing Order 1-23, in effect until further order).
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with Massachusetts's return deadline (within 30 days).
• Notice calendar. When each notice must go out: the lead time for every notice the state's text confirms, with a 2027 month-by-month serve-by table worked out with our notice date calculator's rules.
• Eviction timeline sheet. The Massachusetts case in order from notice to lockout, with each confirmed stage, an example dated from a sample filing day where the rules give periods, and blanks for your own case dates.
• Massachusetts landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the Massachusetts rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.