Massachusetts General Laws ch. 186, §15B is widely regarded as the strictest deposit statute in the country — so procedurally demanding that many Massachusetts landlords simply stopped taking deposits rather than risk it. Every requirement is a tripwire, and the penalty behind most of them is three times the deposit plus interest, costs, and attorney's fees.
How much can a landlord collect? A closed list
At or before move-in, a landlord may collect only: first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit of up to one month's rent, and the cost of a new lock and key. Nothing else — no "move-in fees," no pet deposits, no application surcharges beyond the list. Collecting anything extra is itself a violation.
The paperwork gauntlet
The deposit comes with mandatory documents: a receipt at collection; the deposit held in a separate interest-bearing Massachusetts account (never commingled) with the bank name, address, and account number disclosed within 30 days; a Statement of Condition given to the tenant within 10 days of move-in, which the tenant has 15 days to review, amend with existing damage, and sign. That signed statement is the legal baseline for every future deduction.
Interest — on both deposits
The tenant earns 5% annually (or the bank's actual rate) on the security deposit and on last month's rent held in advance, payable yearly and at tenancy's end. Skipped interest is one of the most common §15B violations.
The 30-day return and the sworn itemization
Within 30 days of tenancy ending, the landlord must return the balance with an itemized list of damages sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury, backed by written evidence — estimates, bills, invoices, or receipts. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, unpaid real-estate tax increases the lease lawfully passes through, and damage beyond reasonable wear and tear not listed on the Statement of Condition.
Treble damages — the hammer
Failure to return the deposit within 30 days, unlawful deductions, commingling, and several other violations expose the landlord to three times the deposit or the amount wrongfully withheld, plus 5% interest, court costs, and attorney's fees. Massachusetts courts apply this mechanically — good faith is often no defense to the procedural violations. And no lease clause can waive any of it.
Why Massachusetts deposit disputes are documentation disputes
§15B is documentation as law: the Statement of Condition defines the baseline, the sworn itemization defines the claim, and written evidence defines what's collectible. But the Statement is prose — and the fight is always about what "small scratch, kitchen counter" meant fifteen months ago. The parties who win pair the statutory paperwork with a visual record neither side can reinterpret.
SealMove is that record. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. At move-out, your walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required. In the strictest deposit state in America, it's the strongest evidence either side can hold.