Every September a lot of people in Greater Boston sign a lease, and the first thing they ask me is who pays the broker’s fee. That answer changed in 2025, and it is written into the license law itself.
What the license law says now
The state added two sentences to the section of c. 112 that governs people who find dwelling accommodations for a fee. The first sentence describes the two arrangements a licensed broker or salesperson may make: solely contract with a prospective tenant to find rental residential real property, present an offer to lease to the landlord or the landlord’s agent and negotiate on the tenant’s behalf, or solely contract with a landlord or the landlord’s agent to find a tenant for a property. The second sentence says any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson.
When it took effect
It arrived through the fiscal year 2026 budget act, St. 2025, c. 9, § 43, and the same act set the start date. The provision took effect August 1, 2025.
The move in limit, and why it also changed
The same act edited c. 186, § 15B. At or prior to the commencement of any tenancy, no lessor or agent of the lessor may require a tenant or prospective tenant to pay, to the lessor or to an agent of the lessor, any amount in excess of the following: rent for the first full month of occupancy; rent for the last full month of occupancy calculated at the same rate as the first month; a security deposit equal to the first month’s rent, provided it is deposited as the statute requires and the tenant gets the statement of condition; and the purchase and installation cost for a key and lock. Two phrases are new: ‘or agent of the lessor’, and ‘to the lessor or to an agent of the lessor’. A broker working for the landlord is now covered by the same ceiling as the landlord.
What it means when you go see an apartment
Ask who called the broker. If the listing agent is working for the owner, the owner owes the commission and you should not be asked to cover it. If you decide you want somebody working only for you, searching and writing your offer to lease, then you’re the one who engaged them and you’re the one who pays. Get that in writing before the search starts, so nobody is guessing later.
What this does not change
The deposit rules didn’t loosen. A security deposit is still capped at one month’s rent, and it has to be held and documented exactly the way the statute requires. Last month’s rent can be collected up front as before. So can the actual cost of a key and lock.
Looking at rentals in Greater Boston and not sure what you’re being asked to pay? Send me the listing and I’ll tell you who is working for whom. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.
Questions
Common questions
Can a landlord in Massachusetts make me pay the broker's fee?
Not if the landlord hired the broker. The license law says any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson. The change took effect August 1, 2025.
When would a renter still owe a broker's fee?
When the renter is the one who engaged the broker. A licensed broker may solely contract with a prospective tenant to find rental residential real property, present an offer to lease and negotiate on the tenant's behalf, and in that arrangement the tenant is the party who pays.
What can a Massachusetts landlord charge at the start of a tenancy?
Four things: rent for the first full month, rent for the last full month at the same rate as the first, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the purchase and installation cost for a key and lock. Since the 2025 amendment the limit also binds an agent of the lessor.
Sources
- Massachusetts General Laws c. 186, § 15B(1)(b), as amended, text effective August 1, 2025: 'At or prior to the commencement of any tenancy, no lessor or agent of the lessor may require a tenant or prospective tenant to pay, to the lessor or to an agent of the lessor, any amount in excess of the following: (i) rent for the first full month of occupancy; and, (ii) rent for the last full month of occupancy calculated at the same rate as the first month; and, (iii) a security deposit equal to the first month's rent provided that such security deposit is deposited as required by subsection (3) and that the tenant is given the statement of condition as required by subsection (2); and, (iv) the purchase and installation cost for a key and lock.' The page carries the note: 'Introductory paragraph of clause (b) of subsection (1) as amended by 2025, 9, Secs. 54 and 55 effective August 1, 2025.'
- St. 2025, c. 9 (An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026), § 43: 'Section 87DDD1/2 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following 2 sentences:- A licensed broker or salesperson may solely contract with a prospective tenant to find rental residential real property for a tenant and present an offer to lease to the landlord or landlord's agent and negotiate on behalf of the tenant or may solely contract with a landlord or landlord's agent to find a tenant for a property. Any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson.'
- Massachusetts General Laws c. 112, § 87DDD1/2, Real estate brokers and salesmen; persons finding dwelling accommodations for fee, current text effective August 1, 2025: 'No person shall engage in the business of finding dwelling accommodations for prospective tenants for a fee unless such person is a licensed broker or salesman as defined in section eighty-seven PP of chapter one hundred and twelve.' followed by the two sentences added in 2025, which end: 'Any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson.'
Written by Diana Yeji Kim — REALTOR® at eXp Realty, serving Greater Boston in English, Korean, and Japanese.
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