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Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy & Response Division
Phone
Consumer Hotline
(617) 727-8400
You may file a consumer complaint with CARD online. If you have questions about filing a complaint, please contact the AGO’s Consumer Hotline.
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Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy & Response Division
Terms of a rental agreement
Every rental agreement must have certain terms and is prohibited by law from containing certain other terms.
The lease must set forth the name, address, and phone number of the owner, the person responsible for maintenance, and the person to whom the tenant can give copies of formal notices, complaints, or court papers.
If the landlord receives a security deposit, the lease or rental agreement must show the amount paid and must explain the tenant’s rights to that security deposit money.
The landlord must make sure that the tenant is given a legible copy of the lease or rental agreement. The lease must not include illegal terms such as:
• Requiring the tenant to pay the cost of repairing ordinary wear and tear to the apartment;
• Requiring the tenant to have the apartment professionally cleaned at the end of the lease;
• Requiring the tenant to pay for repairs to parts of the building beyond the tenant’s apartment;
• Prohibiting the tenant from suing the landlord or reporting violations of the Sanitary Code;
• Prohibiting the tenant from joining a tenants’ union; or
• Requiring the tenant to pay a late fee if a rent payment is less than 30 days late.
The lease must include the name, address, and phone number of the owner, the person responsible for maintenance, and the person to whom the tenant can give copies of formal notice.