How Much Can a Landlord Charge
When you move in, the most your landlord can charge you is:
- The first month's rent,
- The last month's rent,
- A security deposit up to the amount of the first month's rent, and
- The cost of buying and installing a new lock.32
Whenever you pay the landlord any money, get a signed and dated receipt that says how much money you gave the landlord and what it was for.33
If the landlord requires that you pay the last month's rent in advance or a security deposit, the law requires that the landlord give you a receipt. You have the right to a receipt. If your landlord does not give you a receipt, ask for one. Or, you can use the sample receipt. See Rent Receipt (Form 2). The receipt must have certain information in it. To find out exactly what information a landlord must include in this receipt, see Chapter 3: Security Deposits and Last Month's Rent.
Never give your landlord cash for rent or anything else without getting a written receipt. If a landlord won't give you a receipt for cash, don't give her the cash. Use a check or get a money order and write on it what the payment was for. Then put the cancelled check or stub for the money order in a safe place.
Endnotes
33 . For certain items, such as security deposits and last month's rent, the landlord is required to give such a receipt. G.L. c. 186, §15B(2)(a) and (3)(a).
34 . Under G.L. 186, §15B(1)(b), the law is clear that a landlord can charge only first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit, and the cost of a new lock. Perry v. Equity Residential Management, LLC, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Civil Action No. 12-10779-RWZ (August 26, 2014) (G.L. 186, §15B(1)(b) does not authorize landlords to charge prospective tenants an application fee, amenity fee, a community fee or an upfront pet fee.) Broad Street Associates v. Levine, Northeast Housing Court, 12-SP-2041 (Kerman, J., July 30, 2012) (landlord’s acts of charging an application fee and a recurring “pet fee” of $50 per month were both violations of G.L. 186, §15B(1)(b)); Vazquez v. Fletcher, Worcester Housing Court, 09-CV-1032 (Fields, J., July 2009) (application fee is illegal).
35 . G.L. c. 112, §87DDD½. and 254 C.M.R. §7.00(1).
36 . See G.L. c. 186, §15B(1)(b).
37 . While there is very little case law directly addressing this issue, if there is no reason for the pet rental fee other than to protect the landlord against damage caused by the pet, a court may conclude that such a fee is illegal, at least to the extent that the landlord has collected a security deposit equal to the first months' rent. See also Broad Street Associates v. Levine, Northeast Housing Court, 12-SP-2041 (Kerman, J., July 30, 2012) (landlord’s act of charging a recurring “pet fee” of $50 per month was a violation of G.L. 186, §15B(1)(b); Belchertown Real Estate Co. v. Farina, Western Housing Court, 09-SP-1546 (Fields, J. June 30, 2009) Jenkins v. Warringer, Northeast Housing Court, 07-SP-2244 (Kerman, J, October 11, 2007) (pet fee constituted an additional security deposit which exceeded the first month rent limitation in G.L. 186, §15B); Madan v. Berrath, Boston Housing Court, 97-03156, p. 3 (Winik, J, August 20, 1997) (holding that a pet deposit is a security deposit within the meaning of G.L. 186, §15B).
38 . See G.L. c. 186 §22 which lays out the requirements landlords must meet in order to be able to bill tenants for water usage.
39 . 105 C.M.R. §§410.190, 410.201, 410.354. If no such written agreement exists, the landlord is legally responsible for the cost of heating the tenant's apartment even if the tenant has adopted the practice of paying for the heat herself. Young v. Patukonis, 24 Mass. App. Ct. 907, 908-09 (1987) (rescript). See also Lezberg v. Rogers, 27 Mass. App. Ct. 1158, 159 (1989).
40 . See previous endnote.
41 . 105 C.M.R. §410.354(A)-(C).
42 . See previous endnote.