• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Legal Templates

Legal Templates
  • Business Forms
    Business & Contracts

    All of our legal contracts and documents are drafted and regularly updated by attorneys licensed in their respective jurisdictions, paralegals, or subject matter experts. Save your hard-earned money and time with Legal Templates.

    Top Business Forms
    Business Formation
    • Business Plan
    • LLC Operating Agreement
    • Articles of Incorporation
    • Corporate Bylaws
    • Buy-Sell Agreement
    Business Operations
    • Business Contract
    • Partnership Agreement
    • Non-Disclosure Agreement
    • Release of Liability
    • Letter of Intent
    Service Contracts
    • Purchase Agreement
    • Sales Agreement
    • Invoice
    • Purchase Order
    • Business Purchase
    Employment
    • Employment Contract
    • Employment Offer
    • Employment Verification
    • Freelance Contract
    • Non-Compete Agreement
    View All Business Forms
  • Real Estate Forms
    Real Estate

    All of our legal contracts and documents are drafted and regularly updated by attorneys licensed in their respective jurisdictions, paralegals, or subject matter experts. Save your hard-earned money and time with Legal Templates.

    Top Real Estate Forms
    Landlords
    • Lease Agreement
    • Property Management
    • Eviction Notice
    • Late Rent Notice
    • Lease Termination
    Tenants
    • Room Rental
    • Sublease Agreement
    • Roommate Agreement
    • Notice to Vacate
    • Early Lease Termination
    Home Ownership
    • Real Estate Purchase Agreement
    • Mortgage Deed
    • Quitclaim Deed
    • Deed of Trust
    • Moving Checklist
    View all Real Estate Forms
  • Personal & Family Forms
    Personal and Family

    All of our legal contracts and documents are drafted and regularly updated by attorneys licensed in their respective jurisdictions, paralegals, or subject matter experts. Save your hard-earned money and time with Legal Templates.

    Top Personal and Family Forms
    Estate Planning
    • Power of Attorney
    • Last Will & Testament
    • Living Will
    • Advance Directive
    • DNR Form
    Personal Finance
    • Bill of Sale
    • Loan Agreement
    • Purchase Agreement
    • Promissory Note
    • Sales Agreement
    Family Matters
    • Parenting Plan
    • Child Travel Consent
    • Divorce Agreement
    • Separation Agreement
    • Prenuptial Agreement
    Affidavits
    • General Affidavit
    • Gift Affidavit
    • Affidavit of Identity
    • Affidavit of Residence
    • Affidavit of Death
    View All Personal Forms
  • Support
    Resources
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Personal and Family
    • Financial
    • Estate Planning
    Support
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • All Legal Documents

    Monday - Friday | 9AM - 7PM EDT

    (855) 335-9779

  • Sign In
  • :email

Home Real Estate Rental Application Massachusetts

Massachusetts Rental Application Form

Updated August 7, 2023 | Legally reviewed by Susan Chai, Esq.

A Massachusetts Rental Application is a document that landlords use to screen prospective tenants for real estate property rental before offering a lease agreement.

Laws

  • Application Fee – No difference if it is refundable or not
  • Application Fee Limits – Landlords cannot charge an application fee; only real estate brokers and agents are allowed to do so (§ 254 CMR 7.00(1))
  • Security Deposit – Massachusetts security deposits cannot exceed one month’s rent (Section 15B(1)(b)(iii))

Table of Contents
  • State Laws
  • How To Conduct an Eviction Record Search
  • Other Landlord Resources
  • Sample

State Laws

Massachusetts has specific laws for how landlords should handle the rental application process. Ensure you’re aware of the state regulations before entering a lease agreement.

Application Fees

A landlord may charge only the following fees under Massachusetts law:

  • The first full month’s rent
  • The last full month’s rent
  • A security deposit equal to the first month’s rent
  • A lock-change fee (purchase and installation cost for key and lock)

Security Deposits

The tenant must provide the security deposit within 10 days from the beginning of the lease. The funds must be kept in a separate interest-bearing bank account in Massachusetts. Once you receive the deposit, you must provide the tenant with a written statement of the condition of the property that needs to include a list of any damages existing in the premises.

Security deposits in Massachusetts are refundable within 30 days from the termination of the tenancy, unless deductions apply.

Pet Deposits

Since Massachusetts law makes it clear that landlords can only charge tenants specific fees, pet deposits are not included.

Landlords cannot charge a security deposit greater than one month’s rent, nor can they impose any additional charges for pets that exceed this amount.

How To Conduct an Eviction Record Search

There is no single database for eviction records in Massachusetts. Landlords may use their method of choice to conduct an eviction record search. A popular way is to search the Massachusetts Trial Court records for any housing-related cases with the prospective tenant’s name:

  • Navigate to the Massachusetts Trial Court records website
  • At the bottom of the page, select “Click here to search public records”
  • Select “Housing Court” in the Court Department dropdown box
  • Select the desired Court Division and Court Location dropdown options (you can go through all divisions and locations one by one)
  • Enter the prospective tenant’s last name and first name
  • Click “Search” at the bottom of the page

Other Landlord Resources

Landlords must follow both federal and state laws against discrimination when screening prospective tenants. Federal and State Fair Housing Laws protect prospective Massachusetts tenants from being asked discriminatory questions.

Massachusetts also has anti-discrimination laws that additionally prohibit discrimination based on age, ancestry, genetic information, military or veteran status, marital status, and source of income (i.e., receiving public assistance).

Massachusetts has its own in-state criminal record database called the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI).

The landlord must ask the prospective tenant to provide a completed and signed CORI Acknowledgement Form if the landlord wants to conduct a criminal background check through CORI.

Further helpful resources for landlords in Massachusetts include:

  • Massachusetts Landlord/Tenant Laws
  • Massachusetts Attorney General’s Guide to Landlord/Tenant Rights
  • Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry

Sample

Below is an example of a standard Massachusetts rental application form. You may download this free form or use our document builder to create a customized application for your Massachusetts rental needs.

massachusetts rental application form

DOWNLOAD PDF
DOWNLOAD MS WORD

Create Your Massachusetts Rental Application in Minutes!

Legal Documents
  • All Legal Forms
  • Business Forms
  • Real Estate Forms
  • Personal and Family Forms
Popular Forms
  • Lease Agreements
  • Power of Attorney Forms
  • Eviction Notice
  • Living Will
  • Non-Disclosure Agreement
Resources
  • Legal Resources
  • Business
  • Real Estate
  • Personal & Family
  • Estate Planning
  • Financial
Company
  • Pricing
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Partner With Us
Users
  • Account
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
McAfee - Together is power.
Trustpilot

(855) 335-9779, Monday-Friday, 9AM - 7PM EDT

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube

Copyright 2023 Legal Templates LLC. Legal Templates LLC is not a lawyer, or a law firm and does not engage in the practice of law. Legal Templates cannot and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. All information, software and services provided on the site are for informational purposes and self-help only and are not intended to be a substitute for a lawyer or professional legal advice. Use of this site is subject to our Terms of Use. Legaltemplates.net is owned and operated by Resume Technologies Limited, London with offices in London United Kingdom.”

Esc
Massachusetts Rental Application Form

The document above is a sample. Please note that the language you see here may change depending on your answers to the document questionnaire.

Fill in the details

Thank you for downloading one of our free legal templates!

Would you leave us a review?

We hope you've found what you need and can avoid the time, costs, and stress associated with dealing with a lawyer.

A review would mean the world to us (it only takes about 15 seconds).

Please check your download folder for MS Word or open tabs for PDF so you can access your FREE Legal Template Sample

Thanks again, and good luck!

Leave My Review