How much can a landlord request

The most a landlord can charge you when you first move into an apartment is:

• First month's rent;
• Last month's rent payment;
• A security deposit; and
• The cost of a new lock and key.²

The last month's rent and security deposit each can be no more than the first month's rent. For example, if your first month's rent is $1,000, a landlord can charge you $3,000 ($1,000 for the first month's rent, $1000 for a security deposit, and $1,000 for a last month's rent payment), plus the cost of a new lock and key.

Differences Between a Security Deposit and a Last Month's Rent Payment

A security deposit and a last month's rent payment are not the same thing. A security deposit is money that you pay and expect to get back after you move out. The purpose of this money is to protect the landlord in case you damage the apartment or leave owing rent. In the eyes of the law, a security deposit is your money. For this reason a landlord must keep it in a bank account separate from the landlord's money (and safe in case he goes bankrupt or gets foreclosed on) and must pay you interest every year. When you move out, you do not automatically have the right to withhold your last month's rent simply because the landlord holds a security deposit.

The purpose of a last month's rent payment is to protect a landlord against a tenant's leaving without paying the last month's rent. When you pay last month's rent in advance, you should not expect to get this money back when you move out. Instead, it will pay for your last month in an apartment. Also, a landlord does not have to put your last month's rent money in a separate bank account while she holds onto it. She does, however, have to pay you interest on it every year.

Illegal Practices

Illegal Fees

Massachusetts law clearly states that before you move in, a landlord can charge you only first month's rent, a last month's rent payment, a security deposit, and the cost of a new lock and key. Often, landlords try to impose extra charges on tenants. They may call these "holding deposits," "pet fees," "fees for credit checks," "cleaning fees," or "application fees." These extra fees are illegal.³

A separate broker, independent from the landlord, may, however, also charge a "finder's fee" or "broker’s fee." A landlord cannot try to escape the requirements of the security deposit law by taking what is really a security deposit and calling it a "cleaning fee" or something else.⁴This is also illegal.

The problem is that if a landlord demands these illegal charges and you either accuse the landlord of violating the law or refuse to pay, the landlord may not rent you the apartment. If you want the apartment and can afford to pay the extra fees, get a detailed receipt for whatever you pay and then take the extra fees out of your future rent after you safely move in. When you do this, write the landlord a letter telling her what you are doing and why.

Discrimination

You may want to consider whether a landlord is imposing either legal or illegal deposits as a way to keep out certain groups of people whom she doesn't want as tenants. It is illegal for a landlord to discriminate against people because they are single parents, people of color, people on welfare, people with small children, people who have a rental subsidy or people who are members of other protected groups. For more information about illegal discrimination, see Chapter 7: Discrimination.

Illegal Lease Clauses

Your landlord cannot take away your rights under the security deposit law by using a written lease that conflicts with the law. For example, a lease clause is illegal if it says that the landlord can keep your security deposit if you rent an apartment for less than six months. If a landlord has you sign a lease with a clause that conflicts with the security deposit law, you are entitled to get your security deposit back upon demand. For information about how to do this, see the section in this chapter called Getting Back Your Security Deposit.⁵

Increases in Deposits

If your rent increases during your tenancy, your landlord may not increase your security deposit. Your security deposit is limited to the amount of your first month's rent.⁶Your landlord may, however, request an increase for the last month's rent payment if she has terminated your tenancy and you have accepted a new tenancy at a higher rent. In this case, the landlord may lawfully request that the last month's rent payment match the new higher rent.