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Q: A prospective tenant has poor credit and offered to pay the full year’s rent up front – is that allowed? A: No, rentals for 100 days or more are governed by Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 186, Sec. 15b, which prohibits a landlord from collecting any funds in excess of: First month’s rent, Last month’s rent, Security deposit not to exceed first month’s rent, and The cost to change the lock and key. Regardless of whether the landlord requests funds in excess of these specifically enumerated amounts, or they are offered by the tenant, the collection of said funds would be a violation of the statute. Additionally, the collection of prepaid rent deprives the tenant of the ability to withhold rent which they may be legally entitled to do. Otherwise qualified tenants may offer to hold the funds in a…

Q: A tenant provided the landlord with a document stating that their dog is a registered service animal. Is this legitimate? A: It is unlikely that this document will aid a tenant in obtaining a reasonable accommodation to allow for their dog. While many online sites offer certificates, licenses, or other registration documents stating that an animal is a service animal, no such registration, licensing, or certification process exists under the law. The Fair Housing Act allows for a landlord to request reliable documentation from a tenant when a reasonable accommodation is requested and the disability and/or disability-related need for the animal is not obvious or is otherwise unknown. HUD has specifically noted that such documentation from the internet is generally insufficient to satisfy the reliable documentation requirement. It is important to note that this does not disqualify reliable documentation…

Below are some important updates to the MassForms™ library. Be sure to confirm you are using the latest versions.*   Notice Regarding Certain Matters (#305)  The content of this form remains the same; however, the order of the items included was updated so that Fair Housing appears at the top of the list. This underscores the REALTOR® commitment to Fair Housing.  Condominium Addendum (#528)  MAR has added a new form to the MassForms™ library that addresses the production and review of condominium documents in a purchase transaction. Similar to the inspection contingency, this new addendum provides a buyer with a timeframe to review selected condominium documents and to terminate the contract without penalty if timely notice is provided that the documents are unsatisfactory to the buyer.   New Naming Convention  The next time you log into your forms platform, you may notice…

Thank you to the hundreds of REALTORS® from across the state who joined us on Monday, June 12th for REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill! A special thank you to Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities, Ed Augustus, for their remarks and support. Congratulations to Ron Rusin of Fall River for receiving the 2023 Private Property Rights Award. Housing drives community and REALTORS drive housing. Our voice is strong and it was certainly heard! Media Coverage: The Gardner News: Real estate agents indicate willingness to support some state initiatives Banker & Tradesman: Realtors on Beacon Hill: Build More, Skip Rent Control Boston Herald: Editorial: Want affordable housing? Build more homes in Mass. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Realtors on board with some housing proposals, squelch others 7 News Boston: Realtors Take Build-More Approach To Housing Woes…

On May 25th, the Senate passed their budget, on the heels of the House’s work in April. Read our post on the FY24 House budget and our Senate budget comments. Some key housing-related notes from the Senate’s FY24 budget:   Continued investment in housing assistance – following on the steps of the Governor, House, and recent history, the state has continued to backfill funding for key housing assistance programs that proved their effectiveness during the height of the pandemic when the state received a significant influx of federal funds.   Program  FY23 Budget  FY24 Healey  FY24 House  FY24 Senate  Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) + HomeBASE (7004-9316)  $150M (+92%)  $162.6M (+8.4%)  $180.6M (+20%)  $195M (+30%)  MRVP (7004-9024)  $154.3M (+19%)  $168.3M (+9.1%)  $173.3M (+12%)  $179.6M (+16.4%)  Emergency Assistance Family Shelters (7004-0101)  $219.4M (+11.4%)  $324M (+48%)  $324M  (+48%)  $324M (+48%)  Local Housing…

Q: What changes were recently made to the Sanitary Code? A: Following several delays, amendments to the Sanitary Code became effective on May 12, 2023. The tracked changes version of the new Code may be viewed here. While many of these changes are relatively minor in scope, REALTORS® working in the rental sphere will want to take particular note of the following amendments: Landlords will need to provide 48-hours’ notice to tenants prior to accessing the property to effectuate compliance with the Code (in non-emergency situations). This notice requirement does not extend to access for other non-Code-related purposes, such as real estate showings, which should be addressed in a lease agreement. Landlords must now provide (and maintain) a refrigerator and freezer unless the written lease agreement requires the tenant to supply those appliances. Kitchen walls above the countertops must have…

On May 30th, Theresa Hatton, CEO of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® shared a comprehensive vision for a better state of housing in the Commonwealth. Here is a summary of her remarks: REALTORS® drive housing and communities. The current housing market presents incredible challenges with inventory at all-time lows and prices at all-time highs. Housing production via zoning relief is the key to solving our housing crisis. Without zoning relief, we will continue on our current track with land, regulatory, and litigation costs all inflating the cost of housing. With it we can lower prices, increase housing stability, and overcome historic redlining to become more diverse and inclusive. MAR also supports: Creating first-time homebuyer savings accounts to help more people achieve the American Dream of homeownership. Requiring fair housing and diversity education for all real estate licensees.   Read the…

As a real estate practitioner or brokerage owner, you must know what your weak points are. Business email compromise (BEC) is one of the biggest threats to small businesses and the real estate market offers a flashy target for scammers. The lease and sale of properties come with the transfer of large funds and endless correspondence. Couple that reality with the fact that most real estate firms are small businesses and are not large companies that would be backed up by an IT department, those Gmail and AOL accounts are prime targets. Scammers victimize and insert themselves to act as legitimate actors in the transaction. They either hack accounts or create spoof accounts with the intent of infiltrating the process and rerouting funds. As a Practitioner: Keep careful watch on your emails. Do not fall victim to emails that are…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_sd5Jx0CFA&list=PLsRPfilPTeJvASMdYkRC5BFpqI9Z_jgLe&index=2 Earlier we posted about the Governor’s FY2024 budget proposal. Next up in the budget process is the House, which spent the month of April drafting and refining its proposal, which it passed on April 26th. The House budget (H.3900) totaled $56.2 billion, around $700 million higher than the Governor’s proposal and about 7% higher than the FY2023 budget. Some key housing notes:  Continued investment in housing assistance – As we previously noted, the Legislature continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to increasing funding for housing assistance programs, many of which demonstrated their effectiveness during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with an influx of federal funds. While the Healey budget proposal averaged roughly 12% year-over-year increases across several housing assistance line items, the House averaged an 18% increase.   Expands Pandemic Tenant Protections – Coupled with a 20% increase in…

The Massachusetts Homeowner Assistance Fund (Mass HAF) will be winding down in coming months. The program was created by a $10 billion allocation to states in the American Rescue Plan Act. It provided Massachusetts with $179 million to help homeowners facing foreclosure due to COVID-19 impacts. The program has been highly successful paying out over $87 million on behalf of homeowners and helping to stop or pause over 171 foreclosure sales. Over 90% of assisted homeowners were under 100% of area median incomes (AMI) and roughly half are BIPOC households.   With funding dwindling and the impacts of COVID-19 decreasing, the program will be wrapping up this summer. The deadline for all new applications on June 30, 2023. After that, eligible homeowners can still access assistance through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, which will pay up to…