Types of tenancies

If you have a written agreement to rent for a specific time period at a specific amount of rent, you are a tenant with a lease. Usually leases last 1 year. Your rent cannot be raised during this time. Make sure you know if you have to renew your lease or if it renews automatically from year-to-year. A landlord cannot evict you during your lease term, unless you have violated your lease.  

If your agreement with your landlord is a month-to-month tenancy, you are a tenant at will. Your agreement can be written or spoken. Most tenants are tenants at will. 

Your tenancy ends when your lease ends or your landlord sends you a Notice to Quit. If your tenancy ended but you are still in your apartment, you are a tenant at sufferance.

The biggest difference between a tenant at sufferance and other tenants is that a landlord does not need to give you a Notice to Quit if they want to evict you. But if the landlord wants to evict you, they must go to court, and you must receive a Summons and Complaint. They can only move you out with a court’s permission. See Eviction Basics. 

If you are a tenant in public or subsidized housing, you have special protections against rent increases and eviction. There are many different government housing programs. To learn more, see What is the difference between public and subsidized housing?

If you live in mobile home or a manufactured home, you have special protections. For more see Legal Tactics, Chapter 16: Mobile Homes.

If you are in a program that provides transitional housing and services while you look for permanent housing, you are a tenant in transitional housing. Some tenants in transitional housing may have protections against evictions. But others, for example, who are in Emergency Assistance shelters, are not entitled to defend an eviction in court.

If you rent a single room that is not an apartment and at least 4 other people who are not related to the landlord rent rooms there, you are a tenant in a rooming house. Your rights depend on how long you live there. For more, see Legal Tactics, Chapter 15: Rooming Houses.

As a renter in Massachusetts, you have certain rights no matter what type of tenancy you have. These include the right to:

• A safe and habitable place to live with heating, hot water, and electricity. See Legal Tactics, Chapter 1: Before You Move In.
• Ask the landlord to repair things that do not work or fix any unhealthy conditions. See Legal Tactics, Chapter 8: Getting Repairs Made.
• Privacy. The landlord is only allowed to enter your apartment if you give them permission, if it is an emergency, or if they have a court order. Even if repairs are needed, they must notify you first. See Landlord's right to enter your home.
• Stay in your apartment until you move or a judge orders you to move out. See Eviction Basics.
• Refuse to pay illegal fees. See Illegal retaliatory rent increases.
• Take your landlord to court if they do something illegal. See Legal Tactics, Chapter 13: When to Take Your Landlord to Court.