Renter guides
The laws hiding inside your lease, explained the way a straight-talking advocate would — direct answer first, every claim tied to the actual statute, and what to do about it next.
22 guides
Massachusetts
5 guidesBroker fees
Is a broker fee legal in Massachusetts?
Usually not anymore. Since August 1, 2025, Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 112, § 87DDD½) says a rental broker’s fee can only be charged to the party who hired that broker. If the landlord listed the apartment with an agent, the landlord pays the agent — a lease clause can’t shift that fee to you. You owe a broker fee only if you engaged the broker yourself, and charging you illegally exposes the landlord or broker to up to three times the fee under the state Consumer Protection Act.
7 min readUpdated
Deposits
What’s the maximum security deposit a landlord can charge in Massachusetts?
One month’s rent — that’s the cap. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, a Massachusetts landlord may collect only four things at or before move-in: first month’s rent, last month’s rent, a security deposit of up to one month’s rent, and the actual cost of a new lock and key. Application fees, move-in fees, pet deposits, and “amenity” fees aren’t on that list, and charging them is illegal — even when they’re printed in the lease you signed.
7 min readUpdated
Late fees
Can my landlord charge a late fee in Massachusetts?
Only after rent is 30 days late. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, a Massachusetts landlord may not impose any penalty or interest for late rent until the rent is a full 30 days overdue. A lease that charges a late fee on day 5 or day 10 is unenforceable on that point — no matter what you signed. The catch: once the 30 days run, Massachusetts sets no dollar cap on the fee itself, so the amount only has to survive as reasonable.
6 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Boston: the September 1 survival guide
Three things protect a Boston renter in the September 1 scramble: (1) move-in charges are capped by law — first, last, security deposit up to one month, and a lock fee, nothing else (M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B); (2) since August 1, 2025 you don’t owe the landlord’s broker a fee — whoever hired the agent pays them (M.G.L. c. 112, § 87DDD1/2); and (3) heat, habitability, and lead-paint duties sit on the owner and can’t be waived by a lease. Slow down long enough to check those three, even in a bidding war.
7 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Cambridge & Somerville: the triple-decker handbook
The same Massachusetts protections that govern Boston apply here — four capped move-in charges (M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B), no tenant-paid fee for the landlord’s broker (since August 2025), owner-carried heat and habitability duties — plus two that matter extra in triple-decker land: a landlord may not write themselves an unrestricted right of entry (940 CMR 3.17), and pre-1978 units where a child under six will live must be deleaded (M.G.L. c. 111, § 197). Small-landlord buildings are where well-meaning-but-illegal lease terms show up most.
6 min readUpdated
Rhode Island
4 guidesDeposits
What are the security deposit rules in Rhode Island?
One month’s rent, maximum. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19 caps the security deposit at one month’s rent (with one exception: a furnished unit whose furniture is worth $5,000 or more may carry a separate furniture deposit of up to one more month). The deposit must come back within 20 days of moving out, minus only unpaid rent, reasonable cleaning, and damage beyond normal wear. And since January 1, 2024, rental application fees are banned in Rhode Island outright.
6 min readUpdated
Late fees
Does Rhode Island limit late fees on rent?
Rhode Island has no statute that caps late fees or sets a required grace period before one can be charged — late fees are governed by your lease and by general contract law, which means a fee has to be written in the lease and can’t be an unreasonable penalty. The widely repeated “15-day grace period” is a myth: R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-35 says a landlord can’t start a nonpayment eviction until rent is 15 days in arrears, which is about eviction timing, not late fees. A late fee can still be charged earlier if your lease says so — but a grossly excessive one may not hold up as a reasonable charge.
5 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Providence: from College Hill to Federal Hill
Rhode Island law does a lot of work for Providence renters: application fees are banned outright (since January 2024), security deposits are capped at one month’s rent with a 20-day return deadline, a landlord needs at least 2 days’ notice to enter, rent increases require 60 days’ written notice, and pre-1978 housing — most of Providence — carries enforceable lead-hazard duties. The catch is that the student market runs on recycled, non-compliant lease forms, so the gap between the law and the paper is where you need to look.
6 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Newport: year-round leases in a summer town
All of Rhode Island’s renter protections apply in Newport — the one-month deposit cap, the 20-day return deadline, the application-fee ban, 2-day entry notice — with one twist built for this exact market: a furnished unit whose furniture is genuinely worth $5,000 or more may carry a separate furniture deposit of up to one additional month’s rent (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-19). Seasonal “winter rental” leases are still residential tenancies; the label doesn’t strip your rights.
6 min readUpdated
New York
4 guidesDeposits
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in New York?
One month’s rent — total. Under N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108, no deposit or advance on a non-rent-regulated rental may exceed one month’s rent, and that single limit covers the security deposit and any prepaid “last month’s rent” combined. A landlord cannot demand two months up front in any configuration. After you move out, the landlord has 14 days to return the deposit with an itemized statement — miss that, and they forfeit the right to keep any of it.
6 min readUpdated
Late fees
How much can a landlord charge for a late fee in New York?
The most a New York landlord can charge is $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and no late fee can be charged until rent is a full five days late (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a). Because it’s “whichever is less,” the $50 ceiling controls for any rent of $1,000 or more — a $3,000 apartment still caps at $50. The fee has to be written in the lease, it can only be charged once per late payment (no daily or compounding fees), and a landlord cannot evict you for unpaid late fees alone.
6 min readUpdated
City guides
Getting your first apartment in NYC: what the law actually guarantees
More than the market tells you. Since June 2025 (the FARE Act), the landlord’s broker can’t bill you their fee; deposits and advances are capped at one month total (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108); application fees max out at $20 or actual cost, whichever is less; and once you’re in, NYC’s Housing Maintenance Code adds a local layer — mandatory heat from October through May, 120°F hot water year-round, bedbug history disclosure before you sign, window guards on request, and an enforceable ban on landlord harassment.
7 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Brooklyn: brownstones, basements, and what to check first
Three checks protect a Brooklyn renter more than any negotiation: (1) confirm the unit is legal — a cellar apartment or an extra unit beyond the certificate of occupancy can be uninhabitable by definition and near-impossible to enforce rights in; (2) pull the DHCR rent history — prewar buildings of six or more units are often rent-stabilized, with renewal rights and capped increases the listing won’t mention; and (3) run the standard New York math: one month deposit maximum, $20 application fee cap, $50-or-5% late fee limit, all layered under the city’s heat, hot-water, and bedbug rules.
7 min readUpdated
California
4 guidesDeposits
What’s the maximum security deposit in California?
One month’s rent, for almost everyone. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5, a landlord may not demand a security deposit greater than one month’s rent — furnished or unfurnished, and regardless of what the deposit is called (security, pet, cleaning, or “last month’s rent”). The one exception: a small natural-person landlord with no more than two rental properties totaling four units may collect up to two months — though never from a service member. After move-out, you’re owed an itemized statement and the balance within 21 days.
6 min readUpdated
Late fees
Are rent late fees legal in California?
California has no statutory dollar or percentage cap on late fees, but that’s not good news for landlords. Under Civil Code § 1671(d), a late fee in a residential lease is a liquidated-damages clause that is presumed void — enforceable only if the landlord proves it was impracticable or extremely difficult to calculate the actual harm from late rent, and that the fee is a reasonable estimate of that harm, not a penalty. Courts have voided late fees that were just round numbers, and treat roughly 5% of rent as the practical outer edge of “reasonable.” A late fee that’s really a penalty is unenforceable no matter what the lease says.
6 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Los Angeles: rent caps, just cause, and which rules cover your building
Two rulebooks might cap your rent in LA. Buildings first occupied before October 1978 (in the City of LA) generally fall under the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance — annually-set increase limits and strong eviction protections. Most other multifamily housing older than 15 years falls under statewide AB 1482: increases capped at 5% plus local inflation (never more than 10% total) and “just cause” required to end a tenancy after 12 months (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1947.12, 1946.2). Statewide floors — the one-month deposit cap, 21-day return, 24-hour written entry notice — apply to everyone, everywhere in the state.
7 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in San Francisco: the Rent Ordinance, roommates, and master-tenant leases
If your SF building was built before June 1979 — most of the city — the local Rent Ordinance likely caps annual increases at a small city-set percentage and requires just cause for eviction, protections stronger than the statewide AB 1482 layer that covers most newer buildings. Statewide floors apply everywhere: one-month deposit cap, 21-day itemized return, 24-hour written entry notice, and late fees that must reflect actual damages or they’re void. In roommate/sublease arrangements, know whether you’re a co-tenant, a subtenant of a master tenant, or an unapproved occupant — your rights differ at each tier.
7 min readUpdated
Texas
3 guidesLate fees
How much can a landlord charge in late fees in Texas?
A Texas late fee is enforceable only if it’s written in the lease, it’s reasonable, and rent has remained unpaid for two full days after the due date. A fee is presumed reasonable at up to 12% of the rent for buildings with four or fewer units, or 10% for larger buildings — more is allowed only if it matches the landlord’s actual damages. Charging an unlawful late fee costs the landlord $100 plus three times the fee plus your attorney’s fees, and no lease clause can waive any of this (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019).
6 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Austin: student cycles, no rent control, and the lease that rules everything
Austin has no rent control (Texas law preempts it), no security-deposit cap, and no statutory entry-notice period — in Texas, the lease you sign is most of your protection, so read it like it matters. What state law does guarantee: late fees must be written, reasonable (12%/10% safe harbors), and can’t start until rent is two full days late; deposits must come back within 30 days with bad-faith retention costing the landlord $100 + triple damages; lockouts and utility shutoffs over unpaid rent are tightly restricted; and landlords must diligently repair conditions materially affecting health and safety — which an Austin summer makes very concrete.
7 min readUpdated
City guides
Renting in Houston: floodplains, no zoning, and the questions to ask before signing
Ask about water first: Texas law (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.0135) requires landlords to disclose in writing whether a unit sits in a 100-year floodplain and whether it has flooded within the past five years — and a tenant who suffers substantial loss after a disclosure violation can terminate the lease. Beyond that, Houston runs on standard Texas rules: no rent control and no deposit cap, but a 30-day deposit return with triple-damage teeth, late fees capped by safe harbors, and an absolute ban on shutting off utilities to force payment — which matters in a city where summer AC is survival equipment.
7 min readUpdated
Wherever you rent
2 guidesLate fees
Can a landlord take a late fee out of your security deposit?
It depends on the state and the lease. A security deposit can only be used for the categories the state’s deposit-return statute allows — typically unpaid rent and tenant-caused damage. Some states (like Massachusetts) list those categories exhaustively and late fees aren’t among them, so a late fee can’t be deducted at all. Others (like Texas) let the deposit cover any charge the tenant is legally liable for under the lease, so a lawful late fee can be deducted — but an illegal one can’t. In every state, a late fee that violated the late-fee statute is not a debt you owe, and a landlord can’t launder it through your deposit or your itemized deductions.
6 min readUpdated
Comparisons
Can ChatGPT review my apartment lease?
It can summarize your apartment lease, and it’s genuinely good at translating legalese into plain English. But don’t rely on a general chatbot to tell you what’s legal. State landlord-tenant law is exactly where general AI hallucinates: it cites statutes that don’t exist, misses recent changes (like Massachusetts’s 2025 broker-fee law), and only evaluates the clauses you think to ask about. Use ChatGPT to understand your lease — use a statute-grounded tool or a tenant lawyer to judge it.
6 min readUpdated