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Massachusetts month-to-month lease agreement
Written for Massachusetts law, checked September 24, 2026 General information, not legal advice
A month-to-month tenancy renews each month until the landlord or the tenant gives notice. Choose month-to-month as the lease type, or set a fixed-term lease to convert to month-to-month when its term ends.
Massachusetts rules that apply
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Either side may end a tenancy at will by written notice. Where rent is paid at intervals shorter than three months, the notice must be at least as long as the interval between rent days or thirty days, whichever is longer; otherwise it is three months. The notice may offer a new tenancy on different terms.
More detail (2)
- When a landlord ends a tenancy at will without fault of the tenant, no eviction may be brought until that same period has run from the tenant's receipt of the written notice, and the tenant pays rent at the old rate while staying. Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 13
- A sale, transfer or foreclosure does not by itself end a tenancy at will of a home. Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 13
The lease says a tenancy at will may be ended by either party on thirty days' written notice or one full rental period, whichever is longer.
Rent increase notice
Chapter 186 sets no separate notice period for a rent increase. For a tenancy at will, the written notice that ends the tenancy may offer a new tenancy on different terms, such as a higher rent. The chapter has no provision for raising rent during a fixed lease term, apart from tax escalation clauses that meet section 15C.
Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 12 Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 15C
More detail (3)
- A rent increase within six months after a tenant's protected activity, such as reporting a code violation, is presumed to be a reprisal. Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 18
- You may not raise rent because a tenant made repairs under the repair and deduct law, except under a court order. Mass. G.L. c. 111, § 127L
- Before proposing a new rent, identify the tenancy type, review the current lease and check any housing-program restrictions. Make the proposal clear: name the tenants and unit, compare current and proposed rent, state the dollar difference and proposed start date, and explain any offered term and reply instructions. Keep the proposal, delivery record and any agreed revision together. A reply date in your letter does not replace the notice required to end a tenancy, and a proposed amount is not proof that the tenant accepted new terms. This is a practical planning checklist, not a prescribed statutory form. Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 12 Mass. G.L. c. 186, § 15C