A Massachusetts eviction notice form is a legal demand for a tenant to comply with the terms of the rental agreement or else move out of the premises. Massachusetts landlords may deliver an eviction notice because of unpaid rent, lease violations, or illegal activity on the rental property.
Types of Massachusetts Eviction Notice Forms
| Notice Form | Grounds | Curable? |
| 14 Day Notice To Quit | Unpaid Rent | Yes |
| Notice To Comply or Vacate | Lease Violation | Yes |
| 7 Day Notice To Vacate | Unlawful Conduct | No |
| 30 Day Notice To Vacate | End of / No Lease | No |
Massachusetts 14 Day Notice To Quit
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A Massachusetts 14 Day Notice To Quit evicts a tenant for nonpayment of rent. In Massachusetts, a landlord can file this notice the day after rent is due, with no grace period for the tenant. The tenant must pay all past due rent or else move out within within fourteen (14) calendar days.
Massachusetts Notice To Comply or Vacate
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A Massachusetts Notice To Comply or Vacate demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable,” i.e., the tenant may get a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. A curable lease violation might include failure to maintain health and safety on the rental property, interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighbors, or refusal to allow lawful entry by the landlord.
The tenant must take appropriate corrective action, or else move out by the specified date of termination. The amount of time allowed is set by the lease, according to state law. If there’s no written lease, the landlord may decide how much time to allow for compliance.
Massachusetts 7 Day Notice To Vacate
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A Massachusetts 7 Day Notice To Vacate evicts a tenant for an “incurable” lease violation, i.e., one which the tenant is not allowed to restore through corrective action. This might be for something like causing major property damage or substantially disturbing the quiet enjoyment of neighbors. The tenant must move out within within seven (7) calendar days of receiving notice.
Massachusetts 30 Day Notice To Vacate
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A Massachusetts 30 Day Notice To Vacate terminates a rental agreement, including a month-to-month or year-to-year lease as well as an expired lease or a situation with no written lease where the tenant pays rent monthly. The non-terminating party must receive notice at least thirty (30) calendar days before the date of termination.
How To Write an Eviction Notice in Massachusetts
To help ensure the legal compliance of an eviction notice:
- Use the tenant’s full name and address
- Specify the lease violation as well as any balance due
- Specify the date of termination
- Print name and sign the notice, including the landlord’s address of record
- Note the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Calculate Expiration Date in Massachusetts
The “clock” for an eviction notice period starts “ticking” the day after the notice gets delivered (served). For example, to give at least 30 days of notice and begin court action as of June 30th, delivery of the eviction notice must be no later than May 31st.
In most jurisdictions, if the last day of a notice period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. This is called the “next judicial day;” in other words, the next day a courthouse is open.
Massachusetts counts only judicial days (i.e., no weekends or legal holidays) for notice periods of less than seven (7) days. Longer periods are counted normally.
How To Serve an Eviction Notice in Massachusetts
Massachusetts landlords may deliver a written eviction notice by any method which results in actual notice to the tenant. The burden of proof is on the landlord to prove delivery. These are some common methods for notice delivery in Massachusetts:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Delivery by registered or certified mail, with the tenant’s signature used as proof of delivery
- Delivery by constable or sheriff
Mailed notice extends a notice period by three (3) calendar days, to account for variable delivery times.
Sources
- 1 Mass. Gen. Laws c.239 § 15(b)
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In an action for summary process for nonpayment of rent, a court having jurisdiction over said action for summary process shall:
Source Link(i) grant a continuance for a period as the court may deem just and reasonable if, either at the time the answer is timely filed or on the date the trial is scheduled to commence: (1) the tenancy is being terminated solely for non-payment of rent for a residential dwelling unit; (2) the non-payment of rent was due to a financial hardship; and (3) the defendant demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the court, a pending application for emergency rental assistance; provided, however, the court may consider any meritorious counterclaim brought in said action for summary process;
(ii) issue a stay of execution on a judgment for possession if the requirements in clauses (1) to (3), inclusive, of paragraph (i) are met; and
(iii) not enter a judgment or issue an execution before the application for emergency rental assistance has been approved or denied.
- 2 Massachusetts Court Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 6
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Computation
Source LinkIn computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute or rule, the day of the act, event, or default after which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than 7 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation. As used in this rule and in Rule 77(c), “legal holiday” includes those days specified in Mass. G.L. c. 4, § 7 and any other day appointed as a holiday by the President or the Congress of the United States or designated by the laws of the Commonwealth.
- 3 Mass. Ct. Sys., "Find out how to start the eviction process"
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The Massachusetts Court System provides the following guidance for delivery of a notice to quit the premises. Note that actual delivery of notice to the receiving party is the operative legal standard:
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There is no designated way to give the notice to quit to the tenant. A landlord can give the notice directly to the tenant in person, but it’s recommended that a disinterested person be present for this. The tenant doesn’t have adequate notice to quit if:
- A constable or sheriff leaves the notice at the tenant’s last usual address but the tenant doesn’t actually receive it for some reason.
- The landlord sends the notice by mail and the tenant doesn’t pick it up.
- 4 Mass. R. Civ. P. 6
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Additional Time After Service by Mail:
Source LinkWhenever a party has the right or is required to do some act or take some proceedings within a prescribed period after the service of a notice or other papers upon him and the notice or paper is served upon him by mail, 3 days shall be added to the prescribed period.
