Massachusetts security deposit · open for purchase

Massachusetts security deposit deadline — and the letter that cites it

What Massachusetts’s deposit statute requires, the deadline computed from your dates, and a ready-to-send demand letter that quotes the rule.

Deadline: 30 calendar days after the date your occupancy ended — counted in calendar days.
Statute: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B
Itemized statement: Required with the return of the deposit
Penalty: If if the statutory deadline is missed, the statute awards damages equal to 3× the amount of the security deposit or the balance of it, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
Rules checked: 2026-11-04

The rule this page is built on

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B. The citation and the quoted fragments below come from the official source recorded for this state.

Quoted from the official statute text

“fails to furnish to the tenant within thirty days after the termination of the occupancy the itemized list of damages”

“the tenant shall be awarded damages in an amount equal to three times the amount of such security deposit or balance thereof”

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 15B — fragments captured from the official source on 2026-11-05.

Sources and review date

This row was marked verified on 2026-11-04.

Primary official source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter186/Section15B
Second official source — verdict agree: Massachusetts Housing Court (mass.gov) (checked 2026-11-04)

What the statute says a deposit may be kept for

Itemized list of damages within 30 days; ordinary wear and tear excluded; forfeits the right to retain any part of the deposit if the itemized list is late.

What happens if the deadline is missed

If if the statutory deadline is missed, the statute awards damages equal to 3× the amount of the security deposit or the balance of it, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.

Penalty amounts depend on facts a court or agency decides. The letter states the statutory exposure as possible, never as money already owed.

Get the Massachusetts letter

The form asks for the deposit paid, the amount returned, and the dates. You see the whole letter, watermarked, before you pay. $9.99 for the letter, $19.99 for the pack with the follow-up letter, complaint options and the small-claims checklist.

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Questions about a Massachusetts deposit letter

What deadline will the letter use?

The deadline is computed from the dates you enter using the rule recorded for Massachusetts: 30 calendar days after the date your occupancy ended.

Can the letter claim a penalty?

Where the statute has a verified penalty, the letter states it as possible exposure and names the condition the statute sets. If if the statutory deadline is missed, the statute awards damages equal to 3× the amount of the security deposit or the balance of it, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.

What if the landlord sent an itemized statement?

Tell the builder that you received one. The letter acknowledges it and disputes the amounts you say are wrong.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a self-help document tool, not a law firm. If your claim is large or disputed, speak to a landlord-tenant lawyer or legal aid.