Security Deposit Rules
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Massachusetts law says, what's specific to Boston - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b) lists what may be collected at or before the start of a tenancy, and the security deposit in that list is capped at one month's rent.
- Your deposit belongs in a separate interest-bearing account in a bank inside the commonwealth, with a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number due within 30 days.
- A deposit held one year or longer pays you 5% a year, or the lesser rate the bank actually paid.
- The deposit or its balance is due back within 30 days after the tenancy ends, and any damage deduction needs an itemized list sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury.
- Three specific failures cost the landlord three times the deposit plus 5% interest, court costs and attorney's fees. Confirm the current text of § 15B before you rely on a figure.
Understanding the Security Deposit Rules
Massachusetts writes one of the strictest deposit statutes in the country, and in Boston that statute is the whole story. M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B does not simply cap the deposit at one month's rent - it names the short list of things a landlord may collect at move-in and leaves everything else off it.
From there the law follows your money. It has to sit in a separate interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, it earns you interest, and it comes back within 30 days after the tenancy ends. Read the current published text of § 15B yourself before you act on any single number here.
What renters assume
Most Boston renters treat the move-in bill as a negotiation they lost - first month, last month, a deposit, an application fee, a redecorating charge, whatever the listing says the total is.
What is actually true
Massachusetts wrote that list out. § 15B(1)(b) allows rent for the first full month, rent for the last full month at the same rate, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the purchase and installation cost of a key and lock - and that is the list the statute gives.
Massachusetts sits in the strictest group on this chart at 1 month, alongside Los Angeles and New York City. Phoenix allows 1.5, while Atlanta and Philadelphia allow 2, and the largest block of cities here - Austin, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Denver, Nashville and Portland - has no state cap at all.
The number alone undersells Boston, though. Several of those no-cap states still regulate how the money is held and returned, but Massachusetts is capping the amount and policing the account and the deadline in the same section.
Plain English Version
Think of the deposit as money that stays yours the whole time, parked somewhere your landlord cannot spend it. Massachusetts limits how much can be parked, names the kind of account it has to sit in, pays you interest for the wait, and sets a deadline for handing it back.
Security Deposit Forfeiture Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Boston, MA
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
THE TENANT MAY NOT APPLY OR DEDUCT ANY PORTION OF THE SECURITY DEPOSIT FROM THE LAST MONTH’S RENT OR USE OR APPLY SUCH SECURITY DEPOSIT AT ANY TIME IN LIEU OF PAYMENT OF RENT.
IF TENANT FAILS TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION, THE SECURITY DEPOSIT SHALL BE FORFEITED AND THE LANDLORD MAY RECOVER THE RENT DUE…
Quoted from the published opinion in Burgess v. Stroud, 17 Kan. App. 2d 560, 840 P.2d 1206 (1992). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“THE TENANT MAY NOT APPLY OR DEDUCT ANY PORTION”
A ban on self-help - but in Boston the more useful question sits one step earlier: what could the landlord lawfully collect at all? M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b) names four things a landlord may require at or before the start of a tenancy: rent for the first full month, rent for the last full month at the same rate, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the purchase and installation cost for a key and lock. A fifth line on the move-in ledger is worth raising before signing.
“OF THE SECURITY DEPOSIT FROM THE LAST MONTH’S RENT”
Massachusetts keeps these two sums apart rather than pooling them, so a clause forbidding you to blur them tracks the statute rather than fighting it. Last month's rent is its own permitted charge at the same rate as the first month, and the deposit is separately held to one month's rent - tighter than Georgia's two months under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1 or Arizona's one and a half under A.R.S. § 33-1321.
“USE OR APPLY SUCH SECURITY DEPOSIT AT ANY TIME”
“At any time” is drafted to bind you around the clock. In Massachusetts the same words describe where the money is not: it sits in a separate interest-bearing account in a bank located within the commonwealth, out of reach of the landlord's own creditors. Failing to place it in a proper account is one of the failures § 15B(6) and (7) price at three times the deposit or balance owed, plus 5% interest, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
“THE SECURITY DEPOSIT SHALL BE FORFEITED AND THE LANDLORD MAY RECOVER THE RENT DUE”
This is the half a Boston lease cannot declare into effect on its own. § 15B(8) makes a lease term that conflicts with the section, or any attempted waiver of it, void as against public policy, so a forfeiture line does not widen what a landlord may keep. Burgess was decided in Kansas and settles nothing here, but its reading is the familiar one: forfeiture “impose[s] a drastic remedy and must be strictly construed”.
Forfeiture reversed - the clause was never triggered. The trial court had let the landlord keep the whole $400 deposit. On appeal the court held that statutory forfeiture “impose[s] a drastic remedy and must be strictly construed”, and so requires affirmative action by the tenant - not mere inaction or silence.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Massachusetts Law on Security Deposit Rules
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b) limits what a landlord may require at or before the start of a tenancy to four things: rent for the first full month, rent for the last full month at the same rate, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the purchase and installation cost for a key and lock.
- The deposit must be held in a separate interest-bearing account in a bank located within the commonwealth, beyond the reach of the landlord's creditors, and a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number is due to the tenant within 30 days of the landlord receiving the money (§ 15B(3)(a)).
- A deposit held for one year or longer pays the tenant 5% a year, or the lesser rate the bank actually paid, given or sent at the end of each year of the tenancy; if the tenancy ends first, all accrued interest is due within 30 days of termination (§ 15B(3)(b)).
- The deposit or its balance is due back within 30 days after the tenancy ends, and a deduction for damage requires an itemized list sworn to under the pains and penalties of perjury plus written cost evidence such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts (§ 15B(4)); reasonable wear and tear may not be deducted.
- Failing to deposit the money in a proper account, failing to transfer it to a successor owner, or failing to return it within 30 days costs the landlord three times the deposit or balance owed, plus 5% interest, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 15B(6) and (7)), and § 15B(8) makes any conflicting lease term or waiver void as against public policy.
M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B; 940 CMR 3.17(4) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Most deposit statutes tell you the maximum and stop. Massachusetts starts somewhere else: § 15B(1)(b) lists what a landlord may require at or before the start of a tenancy - rent for the first full month, rent for the last full month at the same rate, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the purchase and installation cost for a key and lock.
The handling rules are just as specific. The deposit has to be held in a separate interest-bearing account in a bank located within the commonwealth, beyond the reach of the landlord's creditors, and a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number is due to you within 30 days of the landlord receiving your money, under § 15B(3)(a).
Then it pays you. A deposit held one year or longer earns 5% a year, or the lesser rate the bank actually paid, given or sent at the end of each year of the tenancy; if the tenancy ends first, all accrued interest is due within 30 days of termination under § 15B(3)(b).
At the end, § 15B(4) gives the landlord 30 days after the tenancy ends to return the deposit or its balance, and a damage deduction requires an itemized list sworn to under the pains and penalties of perjury plus written cost evidence such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts. Reasonable wear and tear may not be deducted. Verify these points against the current published text of M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B and 940 CMR 3.17(4) before you rely on them.
Massachusetts Tenant Protections
Massachusetts caps the security deposit at one month's rent and lists the only charges a landlord may require at or before the start of a tenancy. The money must sit in a separate interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, beyond the reach of the landlord's creditors, with a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number within 30 days.
A deposit held a year or longer pays 5% a year or the lesser rate the bank actually paid, and the deposit or its balance is due back within 30 days after the tenancy ends, with wear and tear not deductible.
Failing to hold the money properly, failing to transfer it to a successor owner, or failing to return it on time costs the landlord three times the deposit plus 5% interest, court costs and attorney's fees, and any conflicting lease term is void as against public policy.
What's Specific to Boston
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Our record finds no Boston ordinance that changes the one-month cap or the 30-day return deadline, so M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B is what governs your deposit citywide. That is less of a gap than it sounds, because the state rule already does the work a local ordinance would have to do.
What Boston does add is a code-enforcement layer around the unit itself. Owners must register their rental units with Inspectional Services and have them inspected at least once every five years, at $25 per unit to register and $15 to renew, capped at $2,500 per building and $5,000 per complex.
There is a penalty of $300 a month for missing the July 1 registration deadline. None of that is deposit law, but a landlord who has skipped registration and inspection is a landlord whose paperwork habits are worth knowing about before you hand over a month's rent.
You need the security deposit stated separately to test it against the statutory limit of one month's rent under § 15B(1)(b).
§ 15B(3)(a) requires a separate interest-bearing account in a bank located within the commonwealth, and a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number within 30 days.
Our Massachusetts record says reasonable wear and tear may not be deducted, and a damage deduction needs an itemized list sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury plus written cost evidence.
§ 15B(8) makes a conflicting lease term or waiver void as against public policy. A clause giving up your interest or your 30-day refund is not enforceable simply because you signed it.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B; 940 CMR 3.17(4), read on law.justia.com. Massachusetts publishes the official text at malegislature.gov.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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More than one month demanded as a deposit
The security deposit in the § 15B(1)(b) list is capped at the first month's rent. A two-month deposit ask on a Boston lease is over that line whatever the second month is called.
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A move-in charge outside the list
§ 15B(1)(b) names first month's rent, last month's rent at the same rate, a deposit equal to one month's rent, and the key and lock cost. Ask in writing which line of that list a redecorating or move-in fee is supposed to be.
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Nobody will name the bank
Your deposit belongs in a separate interest-bearing account in a bank within the commonwealth, and the receipt has to name the bank, its location, the amount and the account number. A manager who will not say where the money sits is worth pressing before you pay.
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The interest is written out of the lease
A deposit held one year or longer pays you 5% a year, or the lesser rate the bank actually paid. A clause assigning that interest to the landlord runs into § 15B(8), which voids conflicting terms.
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Move-out language with no sworn itemization
A clause letting the landlord deduct "as needed" collides with § 15B(4), which requires an itemized list sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury plus written cost evidence such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts.
Your Rights as a Boston Tenant
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One month, and a closed list
§ 15B(1)(b) caps the security deposit at the first month's rent and names the other charges a landlord may require at or before the start of the tenancy.
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A named Massachusetts account
The deposit must sit in a separate interest-bearing account in a bank within the commonwealth, beyond the reach of the landlord's creditors, with a receipt naming the bank, its location, the amount and the account number within 30 days.
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Interest after a year
A deposit held one year or longer pays 5% a year, or the lesser rate the bank actually paid. If the tenancy ends first, accrued interest is due within 30 days of termination.
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Three times the deposit
Failing to hold the money in a proper account, failing to transfer it to a successor owner, or failing to return it within 30 days costs the landlord three times the deposit or balance owed, plus 5% interest, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
What To Do - Step by Step
Price the move-in against the statute
Before you sign, line the total up against § 15B(1)(b): first month, last month at the same rate, a deposit of one month's rent, and the key and lock cost.
Get the receipt that names the bank
§ 15B(3)(a) gives you a receipt within 30 days stating the bank, its location, the amount and the account number. Ask for it in writing rather than waiting to see whether it arrives.
Photograph the unit at move-in
Shoot every room, appliance, floor and existing scuff on day one and email the photos to yourself, so the dates are not yours to argue about later.
Photograph it again once it is empty
Take the same shots after the last box is out, ideally with a witness present. These are the pictures that answer a damage claim you have not seen yet.
Put your forwarding address in writing
Hand over the keys with your new address on paper and keep proof of delivery, so there is no question about where the refund and the sworn itemization were supposed to go.
Count 30 days, then demand in writing
No refund and no sworn itemized list 30 days after the tenancy ended? Send a written demand, and confirm the current text of M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B before you file.