G.L. c. 186, § 15B; G.L. c. 260, § 5A
Security deposits in Massachusetts — three violations treble, and the rest only forfeit
A claim in Massachusetts trial courts · Last verified August 26, 2026
Section 15B is the most technical statute in Massachusetts landlord-tenant law and the one landlords violate most often. It regulates what a landlord may collect at move-in, where the money must be held, what paperwork must be given, when interest must be paid, and what must happen within 30 days of the tenancy ending.
The remedies are not uniform, and this is where most descriptions of the statute go wrong. Treble damages attach to exactly three failures. Every other violation costs the landlord the right to keep any part of the deposit — a real consequence, but not the same one.
What the claim is
Your landlord mishandled your security deposit or last month's rent, kept money they should not have, or never paid you interest.
Where the right comes from
What a landlord may collect at move-in
Section 15B(1)(b) limits what may be required at the start of a tenancy to four things: the first month's rent, the last month's rent, a security deposit not exceeding one month's rent, and the cost of a new lock and key.
Nothing else. Not a pet fee, not a cleaning fee, not an amenity deposit, not a "move-in fee." Those are unlawful when collected, whatever they are called.
What the landlord must then do
Give a receipt. Section 15B(2)(d) requires a receipt for the deposit identifying the amount, the date, the premises, the person receiving it and, for an agent, the lessor for whom it was received.
Give a statement of condition. Within 10 days of the later of the start of the tenancy or receipt of the deposit, the landlord must give a separate written statement of the present condition of the premises, with the statutory language telling the tenant to return it with any disagreements.
Hold the money in a separate account. Section 15B(3)(a) requires the deposit to be held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, out of reach of the landlord's creditors, with the account details given to the tenant.
Pay interest annually. Section 15B(3)(b) requires interest at 5 percent, or the rate the bank in fact paid, paid or credited each year and at the end of the tenancy.
Return it within 30 days. Section 15B(4) requires return of the deposit with interest within 30 days after the tenancy ends, less lawful deductions — and any deduction must be supported by a sworn, itemised statement of damages with the repair costs, delivered within the same 30 days.
Deductions are limited. Unpaid rent, unpaid water or tax escalation charges lawfully due, and damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. Reasonable wear and tear may never be deducted.
The remedies, in the order the statute sets them
Section 15B(6) — forfeiture. The landlord "shall forfeit his right to retain any portion of the security deposit for any reason, or, in any action by a tenant to recover a security deposit, to counterclaim for any damage to the premises" if the landlord:
- (a) fails to deposit the funds in an account as required by subsection (3);
- (b) fails to furnish the itemised list of damages within 30 days after the tenancy ends;
- (c) uses a lease provision that conflicts with the section and tries to enforce it, or seeks a waiver of the section;
- (d) fails to transfer the deposit to a successor in interest; or
- (e) fails to return the deposit or balance, with interest, within 30 days after termination.
Note what forfeiture takes away — not only the deposit, but the right to counterclaim for damage to the premises at all.
Section 15B(7) — treble damages, for three of those five. "If the lessor or his agent fails to comply with clauses (a), (d), or (e) of subsection 6, the tenant shall be awarded damages in an amount equal to three times the amount of such security deposit or balance thereof to which the tenant is entitled plus interest at the rate of five per cent from the date when such payment became due, together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees."
So: no separate account, no transfer on sale, no return within 30 days — treble, with 5 percent interest, costs and mandatory fees. A defective itemised list, or a conflicting lease provision, forfeits the deposit and does not treble.
Unpaid interest trebles separately. Section 15B(3)(b) provides its own remedy: a tenant not paid the interest due is awarded three times the amount of that interest, with costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
Last month's rent is treated differently
Last month's rent is not a security deposit and much of § 15B does not apply to it — but it draws interest at 5 percent or the rate the account earned, payable annually, and § 15B(7A) governs what happens when the property is sold: the transferring landlord must credit the advance and the accrued interest to the successor, who then becomes liable for it and must notify the tenant within 45 days.
How long you have to file
Four years, under G.L. c. 260, § 5A, which sets a four-year period for actions "arising on account of violations of any law intended for the protection of consumers" and then names, expressly, "sections fourteen, fifteen B, fifteen C, and eighteen of chapter one hundred and eighty-six."
That is worth stating plainly, because § 15B claims are often described as six-year contract claims. The Legislature put them on the consumer clock instead. The claim accrues on the failure — for the return duty, 30 days after the tenancy ends.
What has to happen before you file
Nothing. A written demand is prudent and costs nothing, and if a chapter 93A count is added, the 30-day demand letter is required unless the claim is a counterclaim.
Which court
Housing Court, which has no monetary ceiling on these claims. District Court or the Boston Municipal Court within the $50,000 procedural threshold. Superior Court above it. And most often, as a counterclaim in a summary process case — where no 93A demand letter is needed.
Common defenses
- The deposit was returned in time, with a compliant itemised statement.
- The deductions were lawful — unpaid rent, damage beyond wear and tear.
- The money was last month's rent, not a security deposit, so the account and 30-day rules do not apply the same way.
- The violation was one that forfeits but does not treble.
- Limitations — four years.
What people get wrong
Not every violation trebles. Only clauses (a), (d) and (e) of subsection (6). Everything else forfeits the right to retain, which is a different remedy.
Mailing on day 30 is not returning on day 30. The tenant must receive it within the period.
Wear and tear is never deductible. Worn carpet, faded paint and ordinary use are the landlord's cost of doing business.
A landlord who mishandled the deposit cannot counterclaim for damage. Section 15B(6) removes that right along with the right to retain.
The interest is a separate treble claim. Unpaid annual interest carries its own three-times remedy under § 15B(3)(b).
Deadline is four years, not six. Chapter 260 § 5A names § 15B by section number.
Where it came from
Section 15B was written because a security deposit is the one debt in a tenancy where the creditor holds the money. A tenant chasing a returned deposit has a claim worth a few hundred dollars, which is not worth a lawyer, and a landlord who keeps it faces no consequence at all unless the law supplies one.
The Legislature supplied several, and calibrated them. Failures that suggest the money was never segregated or has disappeared — no separate account, no transfer on sale, no return — carry treble damages and mandatory fees, which makes a small claim worth bringing and makes a lawyer willing to bring it. Paperwork failures forfeit the deposit but do not multiply, because the money is still there.
Phillips v. Equity Residential Management, 478 Mass. 251 (2017), confirmed that the distinction is real: not every violation of § 15B carries the treble remedy. Reading the statute as though it did overstates the claim; reading it as a simple contract dispute understates it by a factor of three plus fees.
Common questions
How much can a landlord charge me up front in Massachusetts?
First month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit of no more than one month's rent, and the cost of a new lock and key. Nothing else.
When do I get my deposit back?
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends, with interest, less any lawful deductions supported by a sworn itemised statement delivered in the same 30 days.
Can I get triple damages?
Yes, for three specific failures: no separate interest-bearing account, no transfer of the deposit on a sale, or no return within 30 days. Those carry treble damages, 5 percent interest, costs and attorney's fees.
What if the landlord just sent a bad itemised list?
That forfeits the landlord's right to keep any of the deposit and to counterclaim for damage — but it does not treble.
Do I get interest on my last month's rent?
Yes, at 5 percent or the rate the account earned, payable each year.
How long do I have to sue?
Four years. Chapter 260 § 5A names § 15B expressly as a consumer-protection claim.