Massachusetts Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Month-To-Month Leases in Massachusetts

Month-to-month agreements are a great alternative to the more rigid fixed-term leases. With a month-to-month agreement, you’re not committing to a long-term lease. This means you can end the lease if your circumstances change quickly. However, despite the flexibility, some legal aspects must be considered before signing a month-to-month agreement.

Lease Termination & Renewal

• To terminate a Massachusetts month-to-month lease agreement, either party must give at least 30 days’ notice. In this state, you don’t need to provide a reason for terminating the agreement as long as it’s not a retaliation against the other party or discrimination. 

Rent Increases

• While a month-to-month contract offers many benefits to tenants and landlords, rent increases don’t fall under this. As with most states in Massachusetts, the rent can only be increased at the end of the rental term before an agreement is renewed. 

• However, since month-to-month contracts don’t have an end date, the rent can be increased at any time. The only requirement is that the landlord gives the tenant 30 days’ notice before putting the increase in effect.

Security Deposit

• In Massachusetts, landlords aren’t allowed to charge a security deposit that’s more than one month’s rent. However, it should be noted that landlords are allowed to charge a security deposit, pet deposit, and the last month’s rent. 

• Once the landlord receives the deposit, they must transfer it into a separate interest-bearing account. At this point, the landlord must provide a deposit receipt to the tenant as proof that the deposit has been received and is being stored for damages, etc. Security deposits must be returned to the tenant, less any damages, within 30 days after the tenant vacates the property.

Tenant Rights

Massachusetts is generally considered a tenant-friendly state. This means that the landlord-tenant laws favor the tenant and provide several protections. The tenant rights in the state include the following:

• Right to peace and quiet.
• Right to an apartment that is clean, safe, and in compliance with the Massachusetts Sanitation Code.

Required Disclosures

Landlords in Massachusetts are legally required to disclose certain information in their month-to-month lease agreements. These required disclosures include:

• Lead-based paint disclosure
• Security deposit receipt and disclosure
• Toxic mold disclosure
• Asbestos disclosure
• Massachusetts statement of condition