Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.19
Published interest rates and the cleaning rule are now written as dated values, one value from each date. No rule changed and no answer moved.
- Changed: Deductions.
Massachusetts rule history
Every change we have made to the rules we apply in Massachusetts, newest first. Each entry gives the ruleset version, the day we made the change and the rules it touched.
Changes, newest first
Dates are the days we made each change. A change reaches tektolo.com with the next release of the site. Changes that apply in every state are in the rules changelog. Rules changelog.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.18
TEKTOLO-407 to 410: one due date on the letter; inputs the engine ignored (GA, MT, MA, NC); blanks to describe each deducted item (TX, WI, GA, WA, NH, MA); CA estimates, demand wording and tenant-door gaps.
- Changed: Itemized statement and records.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.14
Adds the wording the statute requires on the statement in Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, in the version in force on the day it is sent.
- Added: Wording required on the statement.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.13
New York, Massachusetts, Texas and Maryland set deposit law statewide, so a city named there no longer gets a warning about local ordinances.
- Added: Local ordinances.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.11.3
California's $125 receipt exemption also covers its photo conditions; a Massachusetts balance returned without its interest is a contested forfeiture; Washington keeps rent outside the checklist bar.
- Changed: Loss of the right to withhold.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.29
Uses inputs the statutes refer to: pet deposits and prepaid rent in caps and interest, Minneapolis's prepaid cap, North Carolina's term, published interest rates and move-in reports.
- Changed: Interest.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.27
Unpaid required interest counts in the penalty base where the statute says so: New Hampshire, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
- Changed: Penalties.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.24
Where two clocks apply, the earlier one leads when the facts given make it possible; adds Massachusetts tenancy at will and Washington abandonment.
- Changed: Return deadline.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.23
Adds trash and abandoned items as a deduction, Maine's bar on a fee for ending the tenancy, cap variants for small landlords and older tenants, and owner-occupancy exemptions.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.18
The penalty base follows each statute's words (what was wrongfully withheld, the balance owed, or more than the actual damages) in 24 states; Maryland's remedy for a deposit over the cap.
- Changed: Penalties.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.10
Weekend and holiday roll-forward under each state's time-computation statute (32 states), with each state's own legal holidays.
- Changed: Return deadline, Sources.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.9
Where the statute is silent on depreciation (49 states), an aged item is limited to its remaining value as an estimate; Colorado carpet over ten years old is barred.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.8
Cleaning is typed per state, as named in the statute or recoverable only as damage beyond normal wear; a cleaning line of unknown kind is 'depends', never refused outright.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.7
Documentation duties computed (California move-in photos, Washington records); Massachusetts utilities, Delaware painting, and interest held until returned in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
- Changed: Deductions, Interest.
- Added: Points the tool does not compute.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.6
Late-fee caps (17 states, Chicago and Seattle) and lease-break limits; a lease-break charge is 'depends' everywhere.
- Changed: Deductions.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.4
Each statute's clock start checked for all 51 rows; Indiana's list of damages and Massachusetts's sworn list run from the move-out.
- Changed: Itemized statement and records.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.3
Loss of the right to withhold is typed per state and computed into the totals; consequences the tool does not compute are listed as unknowns.
- Added: Loss of the right to withhold.
Security deposit rules sd-2026.10.1
Review fixes: inclusive tenancy thresholds, state holiday sets, Los Angeles and Maryland interest per rate year, Florida's notice of claim, Colorado's carpet and paint limits.
- Changed: Notes.
The rules we apply now
Each rule we apply in Massachusetts, with the day it took its current form.
| Rule | In this form since | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Deductions | October 15, 2026 | sd-2026.11.19 |
| Deposit cap | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Interest | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.29 |
| Itemized statement and records | October 15, 2026 | sd-2026.11.18 |
| Local ordinances | October 13, 2026 | sd-2026.11.13 |
| Loss of the right to withhold | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.11.3 |
| Notes | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.1 |
| Penalties | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.27 |
| Points the tool does not compute | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.7 |
| Recent amendments | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Return deadline | October 10, 2026 | sd-2026.10.24 |
| Statute | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Statute text | October 9, 2026 | sd-2026.10.0 |
| Wording required on the statement | October 14, 2026 | sd-2026.11.14 |
Get this as data
The same history is available as JSON. The API is free and needs no key.
- Changes this year:
/v1/rules/changes?state=MA&since=2026-01-01 - Every value of one rule:
/v1/rules/history?rule=deposit-settlement/states/MA%23return - What we said on a date about the law on another:
/v1/rules/as-of?rule=deposit-settlement/states/MA&known=2026-10-01&valid=2025-12-01