Real Estate Bookkeeping In Massachusetts
The severity of the Massachusetts regime has changed landlord behaviour: many now decline to take a deposit at all and collect last month's rent instead, which is prepaid rent rather than trust-held money and is accounted for completely differently. Boston portfolios typically carry both across units let in different years. Worcester is small multifamily owners facing rules written without regard to portfolio size, and Cambridge's rent levels make the annual interest obligation material money.
Locate the city nearest to you and select your software below to learn more. Don’t see your city? Schedule a meeting with us to learn more about how REA can help your property management accounting needs.
Massachusetts at a glance
- Security deposit return
- 30 calendar days
- Governing statute
- M.G.L. c.186 s.15B
- Cities we publish
- Boston · Worcester · Cambridge
What Massachusetts Law Changes About Your Books
Deposit Handling and Trust Requirements
Trust and deposit rules are set state by state, and they change the accounting itself, not just the paperwork around it. A deadline is a ledger requirement: you cannot return a deposit inside a statutory window if the ledger cannot say what is owed.
Security deposits
Massachusetts operates the strictest deposit regime in the country. The deposit must be returned, or a compliant itemised statement provided, within 30 days of the tenancy ending, with 5 percent annual interest or the actual interest earned, whichever is less. THREE failures each trigger TREBLE damages plus interest, costs and attorney fees: not holding the deposit in a qualified separate interest-bearing account, not returning or itemising within 30 days, and not transferring the deposit to a new owner when the property is sold.
Trust and segregation
The deposit must sit in a SEPARATE interest-bearing account at a Massachusetts bank, held in the tenant's name, with a receipt to the tenant identifying the bank and account, plus a signed statement of condition early in the tenancy. This is not a single pooled trust account with a spreadsheet behind it, and an operating account holding deposits is a treble damages exposure before any dispute exists.
What we do about it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant, so a 30 calendar days deadline is answerable from the ledger
- Trust accounts reconciled three ways, including every beneficiary balance
- Deduction documentation recorded against the correct ledger, not filed separately
- Aging deposits flagged before the statutory window closes
Summary of statutory requirements provided for orientation. It is not legal advice, and local ordinances can impose stricter rules than the state minimum.
Cities We Cover in Massachusetts
Market by Market
We work with property managers and investors across all of Massachusetts, all 511 cities and towns of it. The markets below are the ones we publish Massachusetts-specific detail for. If yours is not listed, the same team and the same M.G.L. c.186 s.15B rules still apply.
Boston
Massachusetts has the strictest security deposit regime in the country, and it has changed behaviour: many Boston landlords now decline to take a deposit at all and collect last month's rent instead. Those are different instruments and they are not accounted for the same way.
Bookkeeping by platform
Worcester
Worcester is dominated by small multifamily held by owners with a handful of buildings each, and Massachusetts imposes obligations on those owners that were designed with no regard for portfolio size. The rules that catch large operators catch three-decker landlords identically.
Bookkeeping by platform
Cambridge
Cambridge rents are among the highest in the country, and that turns a compliance detail into real money. A deposit equal to one month of Cambridge rent is a large sum, and the interest obligation on it is not a rounding error.
Bookkeeping by platform
Select Your Software
We Work Inside Your Platform, From Anywhere in Massachusetts
Services Available in This State
Every back-office function below is available on its own or as part of a full monthly close, anywhere in the state.
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community AssociationsSee the page
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
Came from a bookkeeper who did not know real estate
Following a series of erroneous financials from my previous bookkeeper, who lacked expertise in real estate, it's been truly remarkable to receive not only accurate financials on a consistent basis but also proactive advice without prompting. The REA team is a game-changer in real estate accounting!
Real-estate-only specialists
As REA exclusively specializes in Real Estate, I rest easy knowing my financials are precise every month while saving money at the same time, an invaluable benefit.
Handed over the whole accounting function
I highly recommend Real Estate Accounting (REA) services from this group. They truly are great and have helped us tremendously at a time we needed it the most. I felt very comfortable giving up all my accounting responsibilities to this team and I'm still glad I made the decision to work with this group. Nothing less than an amazing experience!
230+
Property Accountants
30M+
Commercial Sq. Ft.
Up to 50%
Saved vs In-House
Every month
On-Time Close
Property Accounting for Massachusetts Portfolios
Schedule a call and we will walk your Massachusetts deposit and trust setup, tell you whether it reconciles today, and scope the monthly work.