Each Massachusetts landlord must know and comply with the essential matter of when to return a safety deposit. The seemingly minor mistake of not returning a safety deposit in a well timed method can incur huge penalties for landlords.
Safety Deposit Overview
The Massachusetts safety deposit regulation regulates practically each facet of a landlord’s acceptance, holding, and return of a safety deposit. Each landlords and tenants are sometimes shocked by the small print of this regulation and what number of nuances exist with safety deposits. Few legal professionals (myself included) declare to grasp each line of this regulation.
What ought to a landlord do in the event that they don’t wish to comply with the safety deposit regulation? Don’t take a safety deposit! Few landlords ever totally adjust to this regulation, and the dangers of not doing up to now outweigh the advantage of having a safety deposit from a tenant.
When to Return a Safety Deposit
As soon as a tenancy is over, the safety deposit deadline begins: a landlord has thirty days to (a) return the deposit to the tenant or (b) correctly withhold deductions from the deposit. As you possibly can in all probability guess, each of those choices include particular necessities on their very own, which is a subject for an additional weblog submit.
The important thing level, nevertheless, is that this thirty-day deadline is “set in stone.” If a landlord misses it, they face the potential for a lawsuit for treble damages, legal professional charges, and court docket prices. For that reason, landlords must be diligent in assembly this deadline.
Ultimate Ideas
In case you are a landlord or tenant with a safety deposit concern, contact me for a session.
