- Tenant to Landlord (End of Lease) [.pdf] – Massachusetts does not require notice for move-out at the end of a fixed-term lease, but this is still preferable to avoid miscommunication.
- Tenant to Landlord (Month-to-Month) [.pdf] – Massachusetts requires at least 30 calendar days or one month of notice (whichever is longer) to end a month-to-month lease or an “at-will” tenancy with no written lease where the tenant pays rent month-to-month.
- Landlord to Tenant (End of Lease) [.pdf] – Massachusetts does not require notice for move-out at the end of a fixed-term lease, but this is still preferable to avoid miscommunication.
- Landlord to Tenant (Month-to-Month) [.pdf] –
- Massachusetts requires at least 30 calendar days or one month of notice (whichever is longer) to end a month-to-month lease or an “at-will” tenancy with no written lease where the tenant pays rent month-to-month.
Massachusetts Lease Termination Basics
A Massachusetts lease termination notice, or “Notice To Vacate,” is a letter which complies with state legal requirements to end a periodic-term lease (in other words, one where the end date is not fixed at the beginning of the rental agreement). A periodic-term lease in Massachusetts requires at least 30 calendar days or one month (whichever is longer) of advance notice to terminate. By contrast, a fixed-term lease normally ends on the agreed date of termination, without any requirement to provide further notice.
Massachusetts Notice Requirements for Lease Termination
Massachusetts requires the following amounts of notice to terminate a lease, depending on the lease term:
- Periodic Leases with Rental Periods Less than Three Months: 30 days of advance notice or the same number of days as the interval for rent payments (whichever is longer); month-to-month leases specifically require 30 days of advance notice or one month (whichever is longer)
- Periodic Leases with Rental Periods More than Three Months: Three months of advance notice
- Fixed-Term Leases: No notice required to end the lease at the end of the agreed term, BUT notice of termination is still preferable to avoid any ambiguity regarding lease status or move-out date
Early Lease Termination in Massachusetts
Massachusetts leases typically charge a penalty for early termination. These are some (not all) situations where early termination may occur without penalty:
- Material Breach of Lease Agreement: Either the tenant or the landlord can terminate early if the other party materially breaches (i.e., substantially violates) the lease agreement.
- Active Military Service: A tenant who has to move due to military service may terminate early with at least 30 calendar days of written notice, providing a termination date at least 30 days after the start of the next rental period.
- Landlord Fails to Remedy Health and Safety Violations: If the landlord fails, after written notice, to fix health and/or safety violations which render the premises uninhabitable, the tenant can terminate without penalty.
- Illegal Contract: An illegally executed lease or a rental property which cannot legally be occupied both allow early termination without penalty.
- Victimization: A victim of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or stalking may terminate a lease early by giving the landlord advance written notice according to particular standards, per Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 185, section 24. The tenant has three months to move out after giving proper notice.
