Illegal Lease Clause?

Hi, Watchme. Massachusetts law only prohibits late fees for rent payments that are less than thirty days late. So you will have to look at the wording of your lease. If the lease clause is illegal, you should simply ignore it (assuming you want the apartment). Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, Sections 2(c) and 9, your landlord is prohibited from attempting to enforce illegal clauses.

Here are some other examples of illegal clauses:

-A clause that allows the landlord to use your security deposit for anything other than damage caused by the tenant or unpaid rent.

-A clause that attempts to make the tenant responsible for all repairs. Under MA law, the tenant is only responsible for repairs when she breaks something.

-A clause that requires the tenant to pay for utilities when those utilities are not separately metered.

Also, if the landlord tries to evict you based on your violation of an illegal clause, you can raise that as a defense to the eviction. (940 C.M.R. § 3.17(3)(a)(1)).