Landlord Atlas

How much notice is required to raise the rent in Massachusetts?

Verified July 8, 2026 All Massachusetts topics →

Massachusetts has no statute dedicated to rent-increase notice, but for tenants at will (month-to-month) the mechanism is built into the termination statute: a landlord raises rent by giving a written notice under G.L. c. 186, § 12 equal to the rent-payment interval or 30 days, whichever is longer — and the statute expressly allows that termination notice to include an offer of a new tenancy at different terms, which is how the rent-increase-by-notice-to-quit works.

For a monthly tenancy that means at least a full rental period's notice, timed to the rent day. There is no cap on the size or frequency of increases; rent control has been prohibited statewide since the 1994 voter initiative codified as chapter 40P, and no city or town — including Boston, whose home-rule petitions have stalled — may impose it.

Massachusetts rent increase notice at a glance

Notice — month-to-month 30 days
Varies by increase size Not addressed by statute
Fixed-term leases Rent under a lease for a fixed term cannot be raised mid-term unless the lease provides for it (e.g., a § 15C-compliant tax escalation clause). At expiration the landlord may propose any new rent for a renewal or new tenancy.
Statewide rent control / stabilization No
Rent control details Rent control is prohibited statewide by G.L. c. 40P, the Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act, adopted by voter initiative in 1994. Municipal home-rule petitions to reintroduce rent stabilization (e.g., Boston's 2023 petition) have not been approved by the Legislature, and the perennial local-option 'Tenant Protection Act' bills that would repeal c. 40P are flagged above, not incorporated.
Local rent control preempted Yes
Frequency limits Not addressed by statute

Notes and caveats

notice_days_month_to_month is 30 rather than null, unlike the TX/GA/NC derivation states, because § 12 expressly contemplates the notice 'includ[ing] an offer to establish a new tenancy... on terms different from that of the tenancy being terminated' — the statute itself codifies the rent-increase mechanism rather than leaving it wholly to derivation. Page copy must still explain the mechanics: the notice must equal the rent interval or 30 days (whichever is longer) and terminate on a rent day, so a mid-month notice can effectively require closer to 60 days. Tenancies with rent payable at intervals of three months or more require three months' notice. For leases, § 15C separately regulates tax-escalation clauses.

Common questions: Massachusetts rent increase notice

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How many days' notice must a landlord give before raising rent in Massachusetts?
30 days.
Does Massachusetts have rent control?
No — Massachusetts has no statewide rent control or stabilization. Rent control is prohibited statewide by G.L. c. 40P, the Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act, adopted by voter initiative in 1994. Municipal home-rule petitions to reintroduce rent stabilization (e.g., Boston's 2023 petition) have not been approved by the Legislature, and the perennial local-option 'Tenant Protection Act' bills that would repeal c. 40P are flagged above, not incorporated.
Does Massachusetts preempt local rent control ordinances?
Yes — Massachusetts preempts local rent control ordinances.
Can a landlord raise the rent during a fixed-term lease in Massachusetts?
Rent under a lease for a fixed term cannot be raised mid-term unless the lease provides for it (e.g., a § 15C-compliant tax escalation clause). At expiration the landlord may propose any new rent for a renewal or new tenancy.
How often can a landlord raise the rent in Massachusetts?
Not addressed by statute.

Statute citations

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Massachusetts General Court site (malegislature.gov): G.L. c. 186, § 15B read in full (current text including the St. 2025, c. 9, §§ 54-55 amendments effective 2025-08-01), c. 186, § 12 read in full, c. 186 chapter index and c. 40P location confirmed on malegislature.gov, cross-checked against the Mass.gov official law-library pages on security deposits and landlord-tenant law (which also confirm c. 40P's continued force and the 2025 broker-fee change to c. 112, § 87DDD1/2).