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