Boston has no rent control, and that surprises people, but it does not mean Boston is lightly regulated. The city layers some of the strictest local rental rules in Massachusetts on top of an already tenant-protective state framework, and two of them are genuine traps for managers who work from a generic playbook: a mandatory rental registration and inspection ordinance, and an eviction-notification ordinance that carries per-day fines if you skip a required filing step. A manager who registers nothing, or who serves a notice to quit without giving the tenant the City's rights form and filing a copy with the City, is exposed to escalating fines, even where the underlying eviction reason is perfectly valid.

This guide focuses on the Boston-specific local layer a property manager has to run: the rental registration and inspection ordinance (RRIO), the Housing Stability Notification Act's eviction-notice requirements (and why "the Jim Brooks Act" is not the operative law), the condominium-conversion ordinance, the Boston Fair Housing Commission, and short-term-rental rules. Underneath all of it sits Massachusetts state law, the strict §15B security-deposit rules, the sanitary-code habitability duty, and the statewide rent-control ban, which is covered in RIOO's Massachusetts guide (linked below).

Does Boston have rent control?

No. This is the first thing to get straight, because it is widely misunderstood. Rent control is banned statewide in Massachusetts under M.G.L. c. 40P, passed by a 1994 voter referendum that eliminated the rent-control systems Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline had before. The ban is absolute: no Massachusetts city or town, including Boston, may enact or enforce rent control, rent stabilization, or any form of rent regulation without specific state authorization. There have been periodic proposals to bring local rent stabilization back (in Boston and elsewhere), but as of 2026 none has become law, and Boston does not have or enforce rent control.

The practical consequence is that a Boston landlord may set and raise market-rate rents without a local percentage cap, subject to the lease, the required notice, and the anti-retaliation and anti-discrimination rules. But "no rent control" is exactly why managers underestimate Boston, the city's control is exercised through registration, inspection, eviction-notice, and conversion ordinances instead, and those are strict.

Rental registration and inspection: the RRIO

Boston's foundational local requirement is the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO), administered by the Inspectional Services Department (ISD). Under it, owners must register rental properties with the City every year (by July 1), and registered properties are selected for inspection once every five years to confirm they meet the City's housing-code standards. Registration is not a one-time courtesy; it is the condition that brings a property into the city's rental-oversight system, and operating unregistered rental property exposes an owner to enforcement.

For a manager, RRIO means two ongoing obligations: keep every rental property registered and current with the City each year, and keep units in housing-code condition so they pass the periodic inspection. Because the inspection is on a multi-year cycle rather than annual, the risk is complacency, a property that has drifted out of code condition between inspections can face violations when its turn comes. The City's Tenant Rights and Responsibilities page summarizes the registration-and-inspection requirement.

The eviction-notice trap: the Housing Stability Notification Act

This is the Boston rule most likely to catch a manager off guard, and it is where getting the name right matters. Many guides refer to "the Jim Brooks Stabilization Act." The original Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act (2017) was a home-rule petition that failed to pass the state legislature, so it is not the operative law. What Boston actually enacted, and what a manager must comply with, is the Housing Stability Notification Act (2020), a city ordinance.

Under the Housing Stability Notification Act, whenever a landlord (or their agent or a constable) serves a residential tenant with a Notice to Quit or a Notice of Non-renewal of Lease, two things are required, regardless of the reason for ending the tenancy:

• Give the tenant the "Notice of Tenant's Rights and Resources." This is a City-prepared form (available in twelve languages) informing the tenant of their rights and available resources, and it must be delivered at the same time as the notice to quit or non-renewal.

• Notify the City. The landlord must complete the City's online Notice to Quit / Non-renewal Submission Verification Form, providing the tenant's contact information and uploading a copy of the notice.

The reason this is a genuine trap is that it applies to every notice to quit or non-renewal, including routine, no-fault non-renewals, and a manager who routinely sends non-renewal notices can easily skip the rights form and the City filing. Importantly, a violation does not halt or void the eviction itself, but it is separately enforced: the first offense draws a warning, and second and subsequent offenses carry a fine of up to $300 per day, investigated by the City's Office of Fair Housing and Equity and ticketed by the Inspectional Services Department. So the rights form and the City filing are not eviction-blocking steps, but skipping them is a real, escalating financial liability a manager should never ignore. The City's Housing Stability Notification Act page provides the forms and the online submission portal.

The Condominium and Cooperative Conversion Ordinance

If a Boston landlord wants to convert rental units into condominiums or a cooperative, the city heavily regulates the process, and the costs and tenant protections are significant. Under the Condominium and Cooperative Conversion Ordinance, a landlord of a covered property (generally a property built before December 1983 with four or more rental units) planning to convert must obtain both an Approved Conversion Plan from the Mayor's Office of Housing and a Conversion Permit from the Inspectional Services Department, with fees of $1,000 per unit, and violations carry fines of $300 or more per unit per day.

The ordinance also gives affected tenants significant protections a manager must honor. The landlord must provide tenants a Tenant Notification Form as soon as the intent to convert is formed, and each tenant is generally entitled to a one-year lease extension at the same or similar terms, the first right of refusal to purchase the converted unit, and $10,000 in relocation benefits if they choose not to buy. Tenants who are 62 or older, have a disability, or are low- or moderate-income (under 80% of Area Median Income) get enhanced protections: a five-year lease extension and $15,000 in relocation benefits. During the extension period, tenants have the right to terminate their own tenancy without penalty on 30 days' notice and the right to freedom from unreasonable disruption during conversion renovations, and either side can request a hearing from the Mayor's Office of Housing or ISD over compliance. (Boston has periodically considered further strengthening these protections, so a manager should confirm the current terms with the City before relying on the specifics.)

For a manager or investor eyeing a condo conversion in Boston, the takeaway is that conversion is a permitted-and-fee-heavy process with substantial, built-in tenant protections (a one-year, or five-year, lease extension plus relocation payments), not a private decision, and those protections materially change the timeline and economics of any conversion play.

Fair housing and short-term rentals: two more Boston layers

The Boston Fair Housing Commission. Beyond the federal and state fair-housing framework, Boston has its own Fair Housing Commission that investigates housing-discrimination complaints within the city. For a manager, this means a Boston discrimination complaint can be pursued through a local enforcement body in addition to the state and federal agencies, so consistent, documented, non-discriminatory screening and leasing practices are essential.

Short-term rentals. Boston heavily regulates short-term rentals (such as Airbnb) through a registration regime with limits on which properties qualify (owner-occupancy and primary-residence requirements figure prominently), separate from the long-term rental rules in this guide. A manager operating or considering short-term rentals in Boston should treat that as its own distinct compliance track with the City, not an extension of the long-term lease rules.

Where the Massachusetts state line sits

Everything above is the Boston local layer. Underneath it, Massachusetts state law governs the substance of the tenancy, and it is itself strict. The state's security-deposit statute (M.G.L. c. 186 § 15B), one month's cap, an interest-bearing account, a statement of condition, a 30-day return, and treble damages for specified violations, is among the most demanding in the country, and RIOO's guide to Massachusetts security deposit law walks it in full. On eviction, the notice to quit that the Housing Stability Notification Act requires you to file with the City then leads into the state's summary-process court proceeding, covered in RIOO's Massachusetts eviction process guide. Massachusetts also sets the habitability standard (the State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410), the late-fee rule (no late fee until rent is 30+ days overdue), and the month-to-month termination notice (30 days or one full rental period, whichever is longer). The Boston ordinances discussed here are additional to, not instead of, those state rules. 

What a Boston property manager should actually do

Putting it together, the Boston priorities are specific and local:

Register every rental property under RRIO each year and keep units in housing-code condition for the five-year inspection cycle. On every notice to quit or non-renewal, give the tenant the City's Notice of Tenant's Rights and Resources and file the notice with the City through the online submission portal, on every one, including routine non-renewals, because skipping it carries per-day fines even though it does not stop the eviction itself. If you convert to condos or a co-op, budget for the Conversion Plan, the Conversion Permit, the $1,000-per-unit fee, and the tenant protections, including the applicable one- or five-year lease-extension period, the relocation benefits ($10,000, or $15,000 for eligible tenants), the first right of refusal, and the tenant's 30-day no-penalty termination right, and never treat conversion as informal. Keep screening and leasing consistent and documented, because Boston has its own Fair Housing Commission. Treat short-term rentals as a separate City registration track. And handle the substance, deposits, habitability, late fees, and termination notice, under Massachusetts state law. Because so much of Boston compliance is registration-and-filing driven, running the leases, notices, and compliance dates through a disciplined lease management process is what keeps a Boston operation audit-ready rather than exposed.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does Boston have rent control?

No. Rent control is banned statewide in Massachusetts under M.G.L. c. 40P (a 1994 voter referendum), and no Massachusetts city or town, including Boston, may enact or enforce rent control or rent stabilization without state authorization. There have been proposals to allow local rent stabilization again, but as of 2026 none has become law. Boston landlords may set and raise market-rate rents subject to the lease, notice requirements, and anti-retaliation and anti-discrimination rules.

2. Do I have to register my rental property in Boston?

Yes. Boston's Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO), administered by the Inspectional Services Department, requires owners of rental property to register with the City every year (by July 1), and registered properties are selected for inspection once every five years to confirm they meet housing-code standards. Registration is an annual requirement, and operating unregistered exposes the owner to enforcement.

3. What is the Housing Stability Notification Act, and is it the same as the Jim Brooks Act?

They are not the same. The original Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act (2017) was a home-rule petition that failed in the state legislature, so it is not the operative law. The Housing Stability Notification Act (2020) is the Boston ordinance a manager must follow: when serving a Notice to Quit or Notice of Non-renewal, the landlord must give the tenant the City's Notice of Tenant's Rights and Resources form and file a copy of the notice with the City. This applies to every such notice, regardless of the reason.

4. What happens if I don't file the eviction notice with the City of Boston?

A violation does not halt or void the eviction, but it is separately enforced. Under the Housing Stability Notification Act, a first offense draws a warning and second and subsequent offenses carry a fine of up to $300 per day, investigated by the Office of Fair Housing and Equity and ticketed by ISD. Because the requirement (delivering the tenant rights form and filing the notice with the City) applies to every notice to quit and non-renewal, including routine no-fault ones, it is a common and expensive trap for managers who send non-renewals routinely.

5. What are the rules for converting Boston rentals to condos?

Under Boston's Condominium and Cooperative Conversion Ordinance, a landlord must obtain an Approved Conversion Plan from the Mayor's Office of Housing and a Conversion Permit from ISD, pay $1,000 per unit, and comply with tenant protections including a Tenant Notification Form, a one-year lease extension (five years for tenants who are 62+, disabled, or low- or moderate-income), the tenant's first right of refusal to purchase, and $10,000 in relocation benefits ($15,000 for eligible tenants). Violations carry fines of $300 or more per unit per day. During the extension period, tenants may terminate without penalty on 30 days' notice and are entitled to freedom from unreasonable disruption during renovations.

6. How much can a Boston landlord charge for a security deposit?

That is governed by Massachusetts state law (M.G.L. c. 186 § 15B), not a Boston ordinance. The deposit is capped at one month's rent (a landlord may also collect last month's rent as a separate prepayment), must be held in an interest-bearing account, and must be returned within 30 days with interest, and specified violations can trigger treble damages. Boston does not add a separate local deposit cap; the state §15B rules apply.

Note: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It reflects the City of Boston rental ordinances, principally the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance, the Housing Stability Notification Act (2020), and the Condominium and Cooperative Conversion Ordinance, as amended, and their interaction with Massachusetts state landlord-tenant law (including M.G.L. c. 186 § 15B and the statewide rent-control ban under M.G.L. c. 40P), as of 2026. The original Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act (2017) did not become law, and Boston has periodically considered further amendments to the conversion ordinance. Municipal ordinances and state statutes change; confirm the current requirements with the City of Boston and a qualified Massachusetts attorney before registering, serving a notice to quit, converting units, or acting on a dispute.