Boston has some of the highest rents in the country. It’s also got confusing rules about what fees tenants have to pay. GBH News put together a video with everything you need to know before you rent in Boston.
Here are four takeaways:
Should I be paying a broker’s fee?
No. That is, not in most cases.
Renters are only responsible for paying a fee to any broker working on their behalf. In most cases, the broker is working for the landlord.
With most apartments in the Boston area turning over on Sept. 1, this is the first major leasing cycle since a new law went into effect banning landlords from passing on broker fees to renters. But the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office says it’s uncovered several instances of brokers and landlords charging tenants unlawful broker’s fees.
If I’m not on the hook for the broker’s fee, what move-in costs am I responsible for?
Massachusetts landlords can only require four up-front costs: the first month of rent, last month of rent, a refundable security deposit and the cost of changing the locks. Pet deposits, application fees and any mandatory costs for amenities added on after the lease is signed are illegal.
Todd Kaplan, an attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services, warned renters about hidden fees imposed during the tenancy by the landlord, like pool access or gym memberships.
“Any time a landlord comes to you and says, ‘We have a new something, a new this, new that,’ it has to be optional,” he said.
What do I do if I’ve been charged an unauthorized fee?
The Massachusetts Attorney General is asking tenants that have been charged an unauthorized fee to report it to the office’s consumer hotline at 617-727-8400. That complaint form is also available online here.
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A (M.G.L. c. 93A) entitles consumers that have experienced unfair or deceptive fees to triple the amount of the fee, as well as the cost of an attorney.
Will my landlord just absorb the cost of the broker’s fee into my rent?
It’s hard to say as of now. Doug Quattrochi, executive director of the Cambridge nonprofit MassLandlords, said raising rents would be somewhat easy for landlords to pull off in Boston’s competitive housing market.
“It’s hard to impose price controls on a consumer,” Quattrochi explained. “All landlords can in unison, in the same market, raise their rents to recoup the cost.”
But the numbers tell a different story. According to Boston Pads’ real-time data, the average rent in the Boston area is up 1.13% compared to one year ago — not a notable increase. Meanwhile, real-time availability rates have spiked 66% since last year, suggesting landlords have an extra incentive to lower rents to fill vacant units this year.
The online apartment portal Zillow allows users to check the price history of a specific unit, to see trends in individual apartments or neighborhoods over time.
