Effective Date: November 1, 2025
Jurisdiction: State of Massachusetts
Applies To: All landlords, property managers, agents and listing entities using Tentunit to list residential rental properties (including student-, young-professional and family housing) in Massachusetts.
1. Purpose
This Statement sets forth the operational, legal, and ethical obligations that landlords must meet when listing properties via Tentunit in Massachusetts. Use of the Tentunit platform constitutes the landlord’s acknowledgment and agreement to comply with this Statement, the Tentunit Terms of Service, Payment Terms, Fair Housing & Equal Access Policy, and applicable federal, state and local laws. This document is not legal advice; landlords should consult counsel for full compliance.
2. Listing Accuracy, Transparency & Advertising Standards
Landlords must ensure their listings are truthful, current, and fully reflective of the actual unit and terms offered.
Required Disclosures
Each listing must clearly disclose the following:
- Monthly rent amount, lease term (start/end or renewal/notice period), earliest availability date.
- All one-time and recurring fees: application/processing fees, move-in fees or administrative fees, pet deposits/fees, parking/amenity fees, utility allocation or sub-metering charges.
- Security deposit amount (or any fee in lieu, if permitted) and full disclosure of conditions for return or deduction, including timeframe.
- Utility responsibilities: which utilities the tenant pays, which landlord pays; method of any allocation/sub-metering if used.
- Unit condition and amenities: photographs must represent the actual unit being offered, not a model unit unless clearly disclosed as such.
- Screening criteria: income/credit thresholds, guarantor/co-signer policy, student eligibility or other relevant criteria.
- Availability: The unit must genuinely be available for lease. If already leased, held, or otherwise unavailable, listing must be removed or promptly updated.
Prohibited Practices
- Advertising units that are not genuinely available or failing to update availability status promptly.
- Misrepresenting square-footage, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, finishes, views, condition, or amenities.
- Use of “starting at” or “from” pricing without full disclosure of conditions, eligibility, timing and actual unit availability.
- Omitting material fees or using hidden cost structures so that a reasonable renter is misled about total cost.
- Bait-and-switch tactics: advertising one set of unit/terms and offering materially different ones without disclosure.
Applicable Law & Context
Massachusetts landlord-tenant relationships are governed by statutory frameworks including but not limited to the Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 186 (Summary Process for eviction, lease enforcement) and the State Sanitary Code (105 CMR 410) which sets minimum health/safety standards. Advertising and listing obligations must also comply with federal truth-in‐advertising and fair‐housing laws.
3. Fair Housing & Equal Access
Landlords must comply with the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.) and applicable Massachusetts and local non-discrimination laws.
Landlords must:
- Apply neutral, consistently enforced screening criteria to all applicants, regardless of protected class (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, familial status).
- Provide reasonable accommodations and modifications for persons with disabilities when required by law.
- Avoid discriminatory language or practices in advertising, screening, communications or lease terms.
- Maintain documentation of criteria, decisions and any accommodation requests.
4. Communication Standards & Platform Responsiveness
To support Tentunit’s student/young-professional focus and to maintain platform integrity, landlords must maintain timely commitments and documented communication:
- Acknowledge rental listing inquiries, application submissions or maintenance/repair requests via Tentunit (or another documented channel) within 24 hours, with a substantive follow-up within 48 hours.
- Inform applicants of their status and keep tenants informed about repairs and scheduled entries.
- Keep listing information current availability, rent, amenities, photos, policies must be promptly updated.
- Maintain professional, non-discriminatory communication. Repeated failures or abusive conduct may trigger Tentunit enforcement (listing removal or account suspension).
5. Lease Execution, Legal Compliance & Contract Terms
All leases executed via Tentunit for Massachusetts properties must comply with MGL and reflect best‐practice standards.
Required Lease Elements
- Lease must be in writing, delivered, and properly executed. While Massachusetts law allows tenancy at will and oral agreements under certain conditions, for platform integrity a written agreement is strongly recommended.
- Must include full legal name and address of the landlord/agent for notices and service of process.
- Must clearly specify: rent amount, due date, lease term (fixed or periodic), renewal/termination mechanics; security deposit amount and conditions; all recurring and one-time fees; utilities responsibilities; screening criteria; student/young professional relevant terms (roommates, sub-letting, early-termination policy) if applicable.
- Must include required disclosures: e.g., federal lead-based paint hazard disclosure for pre-1978 units; required receipt language; required deposit account disclosure.
- Lease must not contain provisions that waive statutory tenant rights or permit unlawful self-help (lock-outs, utility shut-off). Massachusetts law prohibits such practices.
- Termination/notice provisions must align with Massachusetts law: e.g., for nonpayment of rent a 14-day “Notice to Quit” under MGL c. 186 § 11; for tenancy without cause a 30-day notice for month-to-month tenancy under MGL c. 186 § 12.
6. Habitability, Maintenance & Repair Obligations
Landlords have a duty to provide and maintain rental premises in a safe, habitable, clean and code-compliant condition under Massachusetts law and the State Sanitary Code.
Key obligations include:
- Structural integrity: roof, walls, floors, windows/doors, stairways, porches, handrails must be maintained in safe condition.
- Provide and maintain utilities and systems if provided or implied (e.g., heat, plumbing, electricity, sanitation, locks) in compliance with the State Sanitary Code.
- Respond to tenant repair requests that materially affect health or safety within a reasonable time; while Massachusetts law may not prescribe an exact timeframe for all conditions, credible guides recommend remediation within roughly 14 days after notice.
- Maintain documentation of repair requests, vendor/work orders, completion dates, tenant communications, photographs.
- Retaliation is prohibited: Landlord must not raise rent, reduce services or evict a tenant for exercising rights (repair requests, deposit claims).
7. Inspections, Access & Tenant Privacy
Landlords must respect the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment of the premises and provide access in compliance with law and best practice.
- Landlords must provide reasonable notice for non-emergency entry; while Massachusetts statute does not prescribe a fixed number of hours, industry best practice and Massachusetts guidance expect notice and arrangement in advance (e.g., 24 hours).
- Entry may be for repair, inspection, showing the unit to prospective tenants or purchasers, agreed improvements, or other lease‐specified purposes.
- Landlord must document: notice of entry, date/time of actual entry, purpose, tenants or representatives present, condition observed, photographic evidence if applicable.
- At move-out, best practice: provide tenant opportunity for a walkthrough, use a condition checklist with timestamped photos to support any deposit deductions.
8. Security Deposit Handling & Administration
Massachusetts has stringent rules governing security deposits under MGL c. 186, § 15B (and related statutes).
Key Rules
- A security deposit may not exceed an amount equal to one month’s rent for most tenancies.
- The deposit must be deposited in a Massachusetts bank in an interest-bearing account within the first month of tenancy; landlord must provide tenant written notice of bank name, address, account number and interest rate.
Annual interest: If deposit is held at least 6 months, landlord must pay simple interest at a statutory rate or allow deduction by tenant of same amount from next rent.- Return timeframe & itemization: Upon termination of tenancy, landlord must return the deposit (plus interest) within 30 days unless an itemised statement of deductions is provided.
- If landlord fails to provide required statements or returns late, tenant may recover up to three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney’s fees.
Tentunit Requirements for Landlords
- Use a signed move-in condition checklist, with date-stamped photographs and tenant acknowledgement, at start of tenancy.
- Clearly disclose in listing and lease: security deposit amount; conditions for deductions; holding account information; timeframe for return; tenant rights to interest.
- Maintain full ledger of deposit receipt, account/holding institution information, forwarding address received from tenant, itemised deduction statements, refund date and method of delivery.
- Ensure deposit is handled in compliance with Massachusetts statute: deposit in bank within first month; return or itemised statement within 30 days.
- Ensure no non-refundable fees are disguised as “deposit” unless lawful and clearly disclosed.
- If property ownership transfers during tenancy, ensure deposit account and forwarding address handling is properly managed and documented according to best practice.
9. Student-Housing & Young-Professional Specific Standards
Given Tentunit’s focus on student and young-professional rentals, landlords must observe additional elevated standards:
- Disclose in listing: proximity to campus/university, public/transit/parking policy/costs, sub-letting policy, early-termination or release options, move-in roommate strategy and lease renewal or non-renewal policy.
- Provide digital onboarding materials: move-in guide, utilities setup instructions, campus/local area orientation, emergency contact info, roommate/shared-housing rules (if applicable).
- Avoid exploitative practices aimed at students — e.g., excessive non-refundable fees, unclear early-termination terms, forced guarantor/co-signer without alternative.
- Maintain accessible communication channels suited to younger renters (mobile/app messaging, after-hours support, clear roommate/lease-sharing expectations).
- House-rules, cleaning schedules, noise/guest policies must align with statutory tenant rights and lease obligations; must be clearly disclosed and enforced consistently and fairly.
10. Documentation, Audit, Compliance & Platform Enforcement
Landlords must maintain full documentation and operate at institutional-compliance level; Tentunit retains strong enforcement rights.
Record-Keeping Requirements
For each tenancy, landlord must maintain:
- Listing metadata: upload dates, photo version history, fee schedule and changes, availability updates.
- Screening/application logs: inquiry date/time, screening criteria applied, approvals/denials, communications.
- Executed lease file: signed lease (digital or paper), amendments/renewals, disclosures, guarantor/co-signer documentation if applicable.
- Maintenance/repair logs: tenant-submitted request date/time, vendor/work-order reference, completion date/time, tenant notification, before/after photos.
- Entry/inspection logs: notice sent date/time, entry date/time, purpose of entry, tenant or representative present, condition observation, photographs.
- Security deposit records: deposit amount & date collected; bank account/holding institution; forwarding address documentation; itemised deduction statements; refund date and proof of delivery.
- Communication logs: tenant-landlord messaging via Tentunit portal or documented alternative: listing inquiries, application status updates, maintenance scheduling, entry/inspection notices, lease renewal/termination communications.
Tentunit Enforcement Rights
Tentunit reserves the right to:
- Audit landlord’s listing practices, documentation, deposit handling at any time without prior notice.
- Suspend or remove listings for material or repeated non-compliance with this Statement, with Tentunit policies or Massachusetts/federal law.
- Freeze or withhold landlord payouts related to units flagged for unresolved compliance issues (e.g., deposit complaints, habitability concerns).
- Terminate a landlord’s platform account permanently for serious or repeated violations.
- Report violations to appropriate regulatory agencies (e.g., Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office) and support audits/enforcement.
- Seek recovery of damages, attorney’s fees and enforcement costs where permitted by law.
11. Indemnification
Landlord shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Tentunit, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors from and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or related to the Landlord’s actions or omissions, including (a) breach of this Statement or any Tentunit policy; (b) violation of any law or third-party right; (c) negligence, mis-representation or fraud; (d) injury or damage caused by the listing, property, or services; and (e) disputes with tenants or other users.
12. Governing Law & Reference Statutes
Massachusetts Statutory & Reference Materials
- M.G.L. Chapter 186 – Summary Process; Landlord and Tenant. Massachusetts General Court+1
- M.G.L. Chapter 186 § 15B – Security deposit escrow and interest rules. nolo.com+1
- State Sanitary Code – 105 CMR 410 et seq. (“Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation”) – landlord habitability obligations. Massachusetts.gov
- Massachusetts Attorney General “Landlord Responsibilities” guide. Massachusetts.gov+1
- Massachusetts Legal Help – Tenant Rights overview and deposit procedures. Massachusetts Legal Help
Federal Law Foundations
- Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.)
- Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (for units built prior to 1978)
- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) for eligible tenants