Someone showed you the apartment and told you something that mattered. The landlord will replace the stove. There is a month free. Approval is a formality. You signed on the strength of it, and now the thing you were told isn't happening.
What you were told before signing usually cannot be used to contradict what the lease says, and in many cases it cannot be used at all.
That is how written contracts work, and the practical response is cheap and takes about a minute, as long as you do it before you sign rather than after.
Why the written lease wins
Two legal principles combine to produce that result: the parol evidence rule, and the integration clause most leases contain.
1. The parol evidence rule. Evidence of negotiations that happened before or at the same time as signing generally cannot be used to contradict or vary the terms of the written agreement. The document is taken to be what the parties settled on.
2. The integration clause. Most leases contain one, often near the end, saying the written document is the complete and final agreement between the parties and that nothing outside it forms part of the deal. It may be called a merger or entire-agreement clause. Where one is present, courts generally treat the document as fully integrated and outside evidence becomes very difficult to introduce.
The exceptions worth knowing. The rule catches what came before. It does not bar changes you and your landlord agree to after signing. Those are modifications rather than prior negotiations. The rule also gives way to fraud. In Massachusetts, a clause saying nothing outside the lease counts does not protect a party whose deliberate misrepresentation got you to sign.
This is the general rule of contract law rather than a Massachusetts-specific doctrine, and how it applies to a particular lease and a particular promise is a question for advice.
The integration clause is boilerplate, easy to skim past, and its entire function is to close off exactly the argument you would want to make later.
If you want to know where these clauses sit and what else is hiding in a standard Boston lease, our guide to how to read a Boston apartment lease walks through the document properly.
Get it into the document, not into the conversation
The fix is unglamorous. If it matters, it goes in writing, and ideally into the lease itself.
| What you were promised | What to do about it |
|---|---|
| A rent concession, a free month, a reduced deposit | Into the lease, or a signed addendum attached to it. Not an email, not a handshake |
| A repair, a new appliance, or work done before move-in | Written into the lease with a date, so "we'll sort it out" has a deadline |
| Something about the building, the unit or how it will be used | At minimum, ask by email and keep the reply. It may not override the lease, but it dates the representation |
| Anything agreed after you sign | Still get it in writing. This is the one category the parol evidence rule doesn't bar, so a written record here is worth a lot |
An addendum sounds formal and isn't. It is a short document, signed by both parties, attached to the lease, saying the specific thing that was agreed. Leasing offices produce them routinely. Asking for one is a completely normal request and the reaction to it tells you something either way.
Two practical notes on how to ask, because the request lands better than people expect. Keep it specific and neutral: name the thing, name the date, and ask for it to be added. "Could we put the stove replacement in the lease with a date on it?" is an easy yes for someone who intended to do it anyway. It only becomes awkward if the promise was never firm, which is exactly the situation you want to discover before signing rather than after.
And watch what happens if the answer is no. A landlord declining to write down something they have just told you is giving you real information. It may be perfectly innocent, because leasing offices dislike varying a standard form and the person showing you the apartment may not have authority to agree anything. But the reason matters, and it is worth asking what it is rather than letting the moment pass.
A spoken promise is not the only thing left out this way. The same applies to anything the listing promised that the lease is silent about. A photograph, a floor plan, an amenity described in an ad and a spoken assurance during a viewing are all representations made before signing, and none of them is a lease term unless somebody puts it there.
Before you sign, you have leverage and the change costs nothing. After you sign, you are asking for a favor from someone who already has your signature.
What happened to one Boston renter
A Boston renter had a cosigner already in place, and the agent had told them approval would be a formality. The landlord backed out on the morning of the move anyway, with no explanation and no lease signed. It's a real case, from r/bostonhousing on September 1 this year. An agent's assurance is not a tenancy, and until a lease is signed there is nothing to enforce, no matter how strong the application was. We covered that renter's story, and what to do in the first hours of it, in our guide to what to do when an apartment isn't ready on move-in day.
When a representation might still matter
A verbal promise that can't be used against the lease doesn't mean a landlord or agent can say anything they like with no consequence. It just means the route to a remedy is different from the one people assume.
Massachusetts has a consumer protection statute, M.G.L. c. 93A, and the Attorney General's regulations at 940 CMR 3.00 set out what counts as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under it. Fraudulent or willful intent does not have to be proven. A renter does not need to show that someone lied on purpose.
There is also a procedural requirement to clear before filing a claim under this statute. Under c. 93A, § 9(3), a written demand has to be sent at least 30 days before filing, setting out the practice complained of and the injury claimed. The recipient then has 30 days to respond. Massachusetts courts treat the demand as a prerequisite to suing under § 9, and a claim filed without one can be dismissed. The statute's only exceptions are a claim raised as a counterclaim, or a respondent with no place of business or assets in Massachusetts.
This article is not telling you that you have a claim. Whether particular conduct was unfair or deceptive, and whether a demand letter is the right move, is exactly the kind of judgment to get from someone who can look at your documents. Our guide to who to call about a landlord problem in Boston covers where that conversation starts.
A narrower case comes up constantly with shared apartments: if what you were told concerned the physical unit rather than the paperwork, some of it may be governed by the code rather than by your lease. Locks on bedroom doors are the common example, and we have written that up separately in can a landlord refuse a lock on your bedroom door.
Where this stops being general advice
Whether a specific promise is enforceable in your tenancy. This depends on the exact wording of the lease, whether it contains an integration clause, and what was said and when.
What your lease's integration clause actually covers. They are not all identical.
Whether particular conduct was unfair or deceptive under 93A, and whether a demand letter is worth sending.
How to draft a demand letter. This guide deliberately does not supply one. The 30-day requirement and the content requirements are the kind of thing worth getting right the first time.
For any of those, MassLegalHelp is a good free starting point, Greater Boston Legal Services advises income-eligible tenants, the Attorney General's consumer line takes complaints, and a tenant-rights attorney can advise on your specific lease.
Frequently asked questions
Is a verbal promise from a landlord legally binding? Generally, a promise made before signing can't be used to contradict the written lease, and an integration clause makes that harder still. The written document is what governs.
What is an integration clause? Boilerplate stating that the lease is the complete and final agreement between the parties, so nothing said outside it forms part of the deal. Most leases contain one and most renters skim past it.
What if my landlord agreed to something after I signed? That's a modification rather than a prior negotiation, and the parol evidence rule doesn't bar it. Get it in writing anyway, because proving it is a separate problem from whether it counts.
Can I get a promise added to the lease? Yes, and it's a normal request. A short addendum signed by both parties and attached to the lease is the standard way to do it. Ask before signing, when you still have leverage.
The agent told me approval was a formality and it wasn't. Do I have recourse? Until a lease is signed there's no tenancy to enforce, which is why this is such a common and painful failure. Whether anything else is available depends on what was paid and what was said, and it's worth advice.
Does it help to have the promise in an email? It doesn't automatically override the lease, but it dates the representation and records exactly what was said, which is far better than remembering a conversation.
What is a 93A demand letter? A written demand under M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9(3), sent at least 30 days before filing, setting out the unfair or deceptive practice and the injury. The recipient has 30 days to respond, and skipping the step can get the claim dismissed.
Do I have to prove the agent lied deliberately? Not under 93A. Fraudulent or willful intent doesn't have to be proven for conduct to be actionable.
Sources, and when this was current
- The parol evidence rule and integration clauses, as general principles of contract law.
- M.G.L. c. 93A, and the Attorney General's consumer protection regulations at 940 CMR 3.00.
- M.G.L. c. 93A, § 9(3), for the 30-day written demand requirement.
Checked September 18, 2026. This article states the general rule rather than a Massachusetts-specific holding, and statutes change, so confirm before relying on it.
This article is informational and isn't legal advice. Whether a promise is enforceable in your tenancy, and whether particular conduct is actionable, depend on your lease and facts this article doesn't have, so confirm with MassLegalHelp, Greater Boston Legal Services, or a tenant-rights attorney.