Renters' Rights · Security Deposit
Security Deposit Laws in Massachusetts
The most a landlord can charge, how long they have to return it, and what it costs them to keep your money without cause in Massachusetts.
What your landlord can hold, and when it's due back
Enter your rent for the Massachusetts maximum, plus the return-deadline clock.
Estimate only, based on Massachusetts's statutory cap. Your lease may set a lower deposit, and local ordinances can be stricter. Not legal advice.
The full rules, with the statute
Every requirement and where it comes from in the code.
Penalties & recent changes
What happens if the landlord keeps your deposit wrongfully.
St. 2024 & St. 2025, c.9 §§54–55 (effective 2025-08-01): A 2024–2025 change lets the state housing agency authorize a "fee in lieu of security deposit" option (capped, opt-out to a traditional deposit). It adds an alternative; it does not change the one-month cap, 30-day deadline, 5% interest, separate account, or treble-damages rules.
What Massachusetts renters get wrong
Massachusetts has some of the strictest deposit paperwork rules in the country, and landlords who slip up pay dearly. The deposit is capped at one month's rent, must sit in a separate interest-bearing Massachusetts bank account beyond the reach of creditors, and earns you 5% a year. But the treble-damages hammer is narrower than many tenants assume: it applies only to three specific failures — not accounting properly, not transferring the deposit to a new owner, or not returning it within 30 days. Botching the sworn damage list forfeits the right to withhold, but isn't automatically triple damages.
Common questions
What is the maximum security deposit in Massachusetts?
One month's rent. A landlord cannot require a deposit larger than the first month's rent under M.G.L. c.186 §15B.
Does my Massachusetts landlord have to pay interest on my deposit?
Yes. If the deposit is held a year or more, you earn 5% per year (or the actual interest earned, if less), paid at the end of each year of the tenancy. The money must sit in a separate Massachusetts bank account.
When do treble damages apply in Massachusetts?
Only for three specific violations: failing to hold the deposit in a proper account, failing to transfer it to a new owner, or failing to return it within 30 days. Those trigger triple damages plus interest, costs, and attorney's fees.
What happens if my Massachusetts landlord skips the sworn damage list?
Failing to provide the sworn, itemized list of damages within 30 days forfeits the landlord's right to keep any of the deposit — though that failure alone is not automatically treble damages.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.