Learn when and how renters in Massachusetts may lawfully break a lease, as well as how to minimize their obligation for rent until the conclusion of the lease period.
Many renters who sign a lease for an apartment or rental unit intend to remain for the whole term of the lease, which is typically one year. Despite your best efforts, you may want (or need) to leave before your lease expires, for example, if you’re a student at UMass Amherst and just want to remain in your apartment during the school year. Or maybe you’re relocating with your boyfriend or girlfriend. You may need to relocate to be closer to your new career or an older parent who need your assistance.
Breaking the lease is leaving before the end of a fixed-term lease without paying the remaining rent owed under the lease. Here’s a quick rundown of Massachusetts tenant rights to end a contract without additional obligation for rent.
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Tenant Rights and Responsibilities in Massachusetts When Signing a Lease
A lease binds you and your landlord for a certain length of time, generally a year. A landlord cannot raise the rent or amend other provisions of a standard lease until the contract expires (unless the lease itself provides for a change, such as a rent increase mid-lease). A landlord cannot compel you to leave before the lease expires unless you fail to pay the rent or breach another key requirement, such as holding huge and raucous parties on a regular basis. Landlords in Massachusetts must follow particular processes to discontinue the tenancy in these instances. For example, before initiating an eviction case, your landlord must give you 14 days’ notice (if the matter is not addressed in the rental agreement) to pay the rent or leave (Massachusetts Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 186, 11 to 12).
Tenants are legally obligated to pay rent for the whole lease period, which is normally one year, whether or not they continue to reside in the rented unit—with the exceptions listed below.
When Is It Legal to Break a Lease in Massachusetts?
There are few key exceptions to the general rule that a tenant who breaches a lease must pay the whole lease term. In the following circumstances, you may be allowed to lawfully leave before the lease term expires.
You have begun active military service.
Under federal law, if you join active military duty after signing a lease, you have the right to break the contract. (The War and National Defense Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C.A. 501 and subsequent.) You must be a member of the “uniformed services,” which include the armed forces, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) commissioned corps, the Public Health Service’s commissioned corps, and the activated National Guard. You must notify your landlord in writing of your intention to end your lease for military reasons. Once the notice is sent or delivered, your tenancy will end 30 days after the next due date for rent, even if that date is many months before your lease ends.
The rental unit is dangerous or violates Massachusetts health and safety standards.
If your landlord fails to provide habitable housing in accordance with local and state housing codes, a court will most likely rule that you have been “constructively evicted,” which means that the landlord has effectively “evicted” you by providing unlivable housing, and you have no further responsibility for the rent. Massachusetts law (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 111, 127L, and 239 8A) specifies the processes you must take before to moving out due to a severe repair concern. The issue must be really significant, such as a loss of heat or another critical service.
You Are a Domestic Violence Victim
State law (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann, ch. 186 24) grants renters early termination rights if they are victims of domestic abuse, rape, sexual assault, or stalking (or have reasonable concerns of impending bodily danger), if certain requirements are satisfied (such as the tenant securing a valid protection order).
Your landlord is harassing you or infringing on your privacy rights.
The Massachusetts General Laws Ann. ch. 186 15B(1)(a) does not define how much notice your landlord must provide you before entering rental property. If your landlord repeatedly violates your privacy rights, or does things like removing windows or doors, disconnecting utilities, or changing the locks, you will be considered “constructively evicted,” as described above; this will usually justify you breaking the lease without further rent obligation.
In Massachusetts, it is the landlord’s responsibility to find a new tenant.
The law in Massachusetts is a little hazy. A lengthy line of precedent supports the idea that a landlord has no obligation to alleviate damages. Landlords, according to consumer information pamphlets provided by the state (A Massachusetts Consumer Guide to Landlord Rights and Responsibilities) and tenants’ rights groups (MassLegalHelp), have such a responsibility. In reality (that is, in unpublished trials and agreements that do not function as formal pronouncements of the law), landlords are expected to mitigate and do badly if they do not mitigate but nonetheless try to recover rent from long-gone renters. To find out what the practice is in your region, speak with an experienced landlord-tenant lawyer who understands how practitioners and courts handle this matter.
If you violate your lease and leave without a legal reason (as indicated above), attempt to negotiate with your landlord. Don’t simply leave and hope your landlord quickly finds a new renter and doesn’t charge you for the remaining time on your contract. Give your landlord as much notice as possible, and compose a heartfelt letter explaining why you must go early. To sign a new lease, you should ideally be able to give your landlord a suitable replacement renter with strong credit and references.
However, if the landlord does not agree to get you off the hook, you may be obligated to pay rent for the balance of your term. If you leave many months before your lease expires, this might be a significant sum of money. Your landlord will almost certainly utilize your security deposit to pay the amount you owe initially. If your deposit is insufficient, your landlord may sue you, most likely in small claims court, where the cap in Massachusetts is $7,000 per case.
How to Reduce Your Financial Liability When Breaking a Lease
If you want to leave early and don’t have a legal reason, there are better choices than just packing out and praying your landlord finds a new renter swiftly. There are many things you can do to reduce the amount of money you have to pay your landlord—and to assist assure a positive recommendation from the landlord when you’re searching for your next place to live.
You may greatly improve the situation by giving your landlord as much notice as possible and drafting a heartfelt letter explaining why you need to leave early. Ideally, you should be able to provide your landlord a suitable replacement renter, someone with strong credit and solid references, to sign a new lease.