Pre-1978 Rental With a Child Under Six
Priya is a salesperson at Central City Realty representing landlord Victor, who owns a 1925 three-family in Worcester. Victor wants to rent Unit 2 to Nadia, who has a 4-year-old child, for $2,400 per month starting September 1. Victor asks Priya to collect first month's rent, last month's rent, a $2,400 security deposit, and a $150 'key and cleaning fee' at lease signing. The unit has original windows and peeling paint in the hallway; Victor has no lead certificate and says 'the tenant can just sign a waiver.' Priya also plans to advertise the unit as 'lead-free' because Victor replaced the kitchen cabinets. The broker's office holds rental deposits in its escrow account. Priya has not provided a tenant screening disclosure or receipt.
1. What are Priya's obligations regarding lead paint before this tenancy can proceed?
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Priya must treat the lead issue as a legal compliance problem, not a marketing inconvenience. The building predates 1978, there is peeling paint, and the tenant has a child under six. Massachusetts lead law, M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 189A–199B, and the associated regulations require the owner to provide the required lead-paint notification and, for a unit rented to a family with a child under six, to have a Letter of Compliance or Letter of Interim Control unless the property is deleaded. A parent cannot waive the child's statutory protection by signing a private waiver. Priya should not advertise the unit as 'lead-free' when there is no certificate; that is a misrepresentation. She should advise Victor to obtain a lead inspection and the required certificate before renting to Nadia, and she should not collect rent or help prepare a lease until the status is clear.
2. May Victor collect first month's rent, last month's rent, a $2,400 security deposit, and a $150 key and cleaning fee? What rules apply?
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Massachusetts security-deposit law, M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, limits the security deposit to one month's rent and requires it to be held in a separate, interest-bearing account at a Massachusetts bank. The landlord must give the tenant a receipt, a statement of the bank and account number, and later an accounting. Last month's rent is separately permitted, but it is also regulated. First month's rent is due at the start of the tenancy. A separately labeled, nonrefundable cleaning fee is generally treated as an additional security deposit and would exceed the one-month limit; the same concern applies to a $150 key fee if it is really a deposit or a cleaning charge. Actual documented costs for a new lock or keys may be handled differently, but Priya should not collect a vague nonrefundable fee. She should also provide the required tenant screening disclosure and receipts.
3. How should Priya handle the deposits, advertising, and fair-housing issues?
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Priya should keep any rental funds in the brokerage's escrow account under 254 CMR 3.00, issue receipts, and maintain a file ledger. She should not describe the unit as 'lead-free' without the required certificate, and she should correct any advertisement that already uses that phrase. Fair-housing law, including M.G.L. c. 151B, protects familial status, so Priya cannot steer Nadia away from the unit, impose different terms because she has a child, or treat her as a nuisance risk. She also should not draft a lead waiver for the tenant to sign; that is legal work and, more importantly, the waiver would not solve the compliance problem. Her proper role is to tell Victor what must be corrected, document the file, and decline to market or lease the unit until the lead and deposit issues are resolved.