How to break a lease in Massachusetts without penalty

Every legal way out of a Massachusetts lease

Domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and stalking

The owner may ask for proof, and any one of these is enough: a protective order, a court or law enforcement record of the act, or a written verification from a qualified third party such as a counselor or advocate, with a signed statement from an adult victim. Prepaid rent for the later period must be refunded, and the deposit accounting is due within 30 days. Other co-tenants stay on the lease, and the owner must keep your information confidential. A landlord also may not refuse to rent to you later because you used this right.

Military orders

Serious Sanitary Code violations

The key word is certified. Call your city or town’s board of health (in Boston, Inspectional Services) and ask for an inspection. The written inspection report is what turns a bad apartment into a legal way out. Conditions you or your guests caused don’t count.

If no exit applies: getting a written release

The Attorney General’s guide to landlord and tenant rights says that during a lease the tenant is committed to paying rent for the term, and can usually end it early only if the landlord agrees. Unlike New York, Texas or Illinois, Massachusetts has no statute requiring the landlord to re-rent, so the cost of leaving is largely what you negotiate.

That rule cuts both ways. A landlord’s verbal “sure, you can go” may not protect you, so get the release signed. What usually works:

1. Find a qualified replacement tenant who will sign a new lease or take over yours, and send their details to the landlord in writing.
2. Offer to cover the landlord’s real costs, such as advertising, rather than the rest of the lease.
3. Get a signed release that names the end date and says you owe nothing further after it.

An example: on a $2,600-a-month lease with five months left, a release in exchange for a replacement tenant starting next month costs you about one month’s rent. Without a release, a landlord could claim the remaining $13,000 as it comes due.

Your deposit can’t be a lease-break penalty

Massachusetts limits what a deposit can cover to unpaid rent, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, and a few other items, with a sworn itemized list within 30 days (c. 186, § 15B). A forfeiture clause like this one conflicts with the deposit law. If your landlord cuts off heat, water or other utilities to push you out, that’s a crime under c. 186, § 14 and worth at least three months’ rent in damages.

Breaking a lease in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Worcester

The exits above are state law and apply in every Massachusetts city. What differs is timing. In Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, most leases run September 1 to August 31, so a replacement tenant is easiest to find in spring and early summer, when people are looking for September move-ins. Asking for a release in that window gives you the best leverage. See the Boston September 1 guide and the Cambridge and Somerville guide. In Worcester, Springfield and elsewhere, the same state rules apply.

How to leave, step by step

1. Check whether an exit applies. For a code-violation exit, get the inspection first.
2. Read your lease for any early-termination, subletting or assignment clause. Some Massachusetts leases already allow early termination on set terms.
3. Give written notice and keep a copy. Use a lease termination letter template.
4. Line up a replacement tenant if no exit applies, and propose a written release.
5. Get the release signed before you move out.
6. Document the move-out and give a forwarding address; the deposit or an itemized list is due within 30 days.

For clauses Massachusetts won’t enforce, see illegal lease clauses in Massachusetts, and for other states, the early termination rules by state.