Your lease is up, the renewal paperwork arrives, and somewhere on it there is a charge for a few hundred dollars just for signing. A "lease renewal fee," or a "new lease fee," or something with an administrative-sounding name.
In Massachusetts, the Attorney General's office says lease renewal fees like that are illegal, and it tells anyone who believes they were charged one to file a complaint. In July 2026 it settled a case against a Boston-area property manager over exactly this, for $500,000.
The statute everyone points to lists four things a landlord may charge, and it does not use the word "renewal" anywhere. The gap between those two facts decides how you handle the paperwork in front of you.
What can a Massachusetts landlord charge when a tenancy starts?
Massachusetts General Laws chapter 186, section 15B lets a landlord require four things at the start of a tenancy: the first month's rent, the last month's rent, a security deposit, and the cost of a key and lock. The operative words are narrow and they matter:
At or prior to the commencement of any tenancy
At the start of a tenancy, a landlord may require only these four things:
| What a landlord may require | The detail people miss |
|---|---|
| Rent for the first full month | Straightforward |
| Rent for the last full month | It must be calculated at the same rate as the first month. A last month set higher than the first is not what the statute allows |
| A security deposit | Capped at one month's rent, and only if it is held in a proper account and you receive the written statement of condition |
| The cost of a key and lock | The actual purchase and installation cost, not a round number someone picked |
Anything else a landlord demands at the start of a tenancy is outside what section 15B allows. We go through this in detail, including what landlords ask for anyway, in our guide to what a Boston landlord can ask you to provide before you sign.
Two other parts of the same section are worth carrying into a renewal conversation. A landlord cannot charge interest or a penalty on late rent until thirty days after it was due. And once a tenancy has begun, they cannot demand rent in advance beyond the current month.
Does the law ban a lease renewal fee?
Not by name. Section 15B does not mention renewal, so whether it covers a renewal fee turns on the phrase at or prior to the commencement of any tenancy. A renewal does not obviously look like a commencement. You are already living there. Nothing is starting.
What the statute says: four permitted charges, "at or prior to the commencement of any tenancy." Section 15B does not mention lease renewal or renewal fees anywhere.
What the Attorney General's position is: that a renewal begins a new tenancy, so the same four-item limit applies again at renewal. On that reading, a fee charged to execute a renewal is a charge outside the list, and therefore unlawful.
That is the AG's legal theory and it is the basis on which the office has enforced. It is not language you will find in the statute, and the Green Ocean case ended in a settlement, not a court ruling.
In practice, a landlord charging a renewal fee is not breaking a rule the statute names. They are doing something the state's chief law enforcement officer has called unlawful and has acted on, which gives you strong ground to push back.
What did the Green Ocean settlement with the Attorney General cover?
In July 2026 the Attorney General's office announced a $500,000 settlement with Green Ocean Property Management, a property management company that manages several hundred units around Boston. The announcement described the charges as junk fees operating as "lease renewal fees" and "move-in fees."
According to a report of the settlement by MassLandlords, a non-profit trade organization for Massachusetts landlords, the fees at issue included charges between $250 and $500 for executing a new lease, and similarly priced charges for tenants wanting to add someone to the lease during the renewal process. The same report lists several other practices the state objected to, each tied to a specific law.
The money is meant for the affected tenants. The Attorney General's announcement says the $500,000 will be used to pay restitution to the impacted tenants. Green Ocean pays it to the Attorney General in installments over about six months, and the agreement leaves the office free to decide how to use it.
Green Ocean did not admit wrongdoing. That is normal in a settlement, and it is why this is not a court ruling that renewal fees are illegal.
The settlement covered conduct from May 2020 until the agreement was filed on July 28, 2026, a span of more than six years.
There is also a newer Attorney General regulation, 940 CMR 38.00, in effect since September 2, 2025. The regulation makes it an unfair and deceptive practice to hide or leave out the total price of a product, or the fees that make it up. It defines "product" to include dwelling units for rent or lease. That makes it a rule about disclosing fees up front. It sits alongside section 15B and does not replace section 15B's list of what a landlord may require at the start of a tenancy.
What to do if your renewal has a fee on it
- Do not pay it on the spot to keep the apartment. A renewal is usually not a same-day decision, and paying first weakens your position considerably.
- Ask, in writing, what the fee is for and what it covers. Email, not a phone call. Fees with administrative-sounding names frequently do not survive the question.
- Check the rest of the paperwork against the four charges section 15B allows, particularly whether the last month's rent matches the first.
- Report it to the Attorney General, at the complaint form on mass.gov. The Attorney General's announcement of the settlement tells anyone who believes their rights were violated to file a complaint online or call 617-727-8400. Our guide to who to call about a landlord problem in Boston covers which office handles what.
- Keep every version of the paperwork, including the one with the fee on it, and any message where it is explained or withdrawn.
If the fee is the last straw and you decide not to renew, you can search Boston apartments with the no-broker-fee filter on Spot Easy and compare what is available before your deadline.
The other charges worth checking on a renewal
The Green Ocean settlement flagged several practices that tend to travel together, and a renewal is a good moment to check for them.
- A last month's rent set higher than the first month's. The statute says the same rate.
- A late fee applied before thirty days have passed since the rent was due.
- A "lease break fee" charged on top of your actual damages when you end a lease early.
- A broker fee charged to you regardless of who engaged the broker. The rules on that changed in 2025, and which fees are still legal covers it.
- A charge for adding someone to the lease. This was part of the settlement too. If you are thinking about it, adding a roommate to your lease covers what the process actually involves.
Where this stops being general advice
Whether a particular charge on your particular renewal is unlawful depends on how it is structured and what your lease says, and that is not something an article can tell you.
Two things specifically need someone looking at your documents. The first is whether a fee you were charged is recoverable: the Green Ocean settlement is meant to pay restitution to the tenants in that case, and it does not create a refund for anyone else. The second is any situation where you are being told that paying is a condition of staying in your home.
For both, the Attorney General's complaint form is the first stop, and MassLegalHelp publishes free information on tenant rights, and Greater Boston Legal Services gives free legal help to people in Greater Boston who qualify.
FAQ
Can my landlord charge a fee to renew my lease in Massachusetts? The Attorney General's office says no and has enforced against it, on the basis that a renewal begins a new tenancy and the four-item limit applies again. The statute itself lists those four items for the commencement of a tenancy and does not mention renewal, so the AG's position is the thing to lean on rather than a line you can point to in the law.
Is there a limit on what a landlord can charge for a new lock and key? The statute allows the actual cost of purchasing and installing a key and lock. That is a real expense, not an open figure, and a landlord can reasonably be asked to show what it cost.
I already paid a renewal fee. Can I get it back? Possibly, but not automatically. The Green Ocean settlement is meant to pay restitution to the tenants of that company only. The Attorney General tells anyone who believes their rights were violated to file a complaint, which is the route to take, and a legal aid service can tell you what is realistic in your case.