Massachusetts security deposit receipt requirements for landlords

Short answer

When a Massachusetts landlord accepts a residential security deposit, M.G.L. c.186, s.15B expects three documents in the file. First, an initial receipt for the deposit itself at intake. Second, a bank-account receipt within 30 days of receiving the deposit that identifies the bank's name and address, the amount, and the account number where the deposit is held in a separate interest-bearing Massachusetts account. Third, a signed statement of condition describing the present condition of the unit and any existing damage, delivered at receipt of the deposit or within 10 days after the tenancy begins, whichever is later. Missing the 30-day bank receipt with the required contents can entitle the tenant to the immediate return of the deposit under the statute.

What to check

• Issue an initial deposit receipt at intake. The receipt identifies the deposit amount, the date received, and the party receiving it. Keep a signed copy in the tenant file.
• Open a separate, interest-bearing account in a Massachusetts bank and confirm the terms keep the deposit beyond the claim of the landlord's creditors, as s.15B requires.
• Deliver the bank-account receipt within 30 days of receiving the deposit. The receipt must list the bank's name and address, the deposit amount, and the account number.
• Deliver the statement of condition at intake or within 10 days after the tenancy begins, whichever is later. It must be signed and must describe the present condition of the premises, including a comprehensive list of existing damage. The Mass.gov mandatory statement of condition page is a useful landlord-facing reference.
• Mark the tenant's 15-day response window on the statement of condition. If the tenant returns a separate list of damages, the statute gives the landlord 15 days to respond in writing.

Why this matters

The receipt requirements in s.15B are procedural and unforgiving. The expensive failures tend not to be judgment calls about what counts as damage; they are administrative — the bank receipt sent past day 30, the receipt that omits the account number, the statement of condition delivered a day after the 10-day window, or a deposit sitting in an operating account instead of a separate escrow. The guide's job is to keep the three documents and their windows visible, in one place, from the moment the deposit is accepted.