A security deposit is different from the month's rent, last month's rent and other charges associated with a move. Keep each amount separately identified and documented. Understanding the distinction helps a tenant follow what was paid, why it was collected and which records should be retained throughout the tenancy.
Which documents should you keep?
Massachusetts publishes detailed guidance on collecting, holding and returning security deposits and on last month's rent. Review the current rules for your arrangement and retain receipts, account information supplied, the condition statement and relevant correspondence. Identify each payment's purpose rather than accepting one unexplained move-in total. The rules are specific, so a summary or another tenant's experience should not replace the official guidance when a deadline, interest calculation or disputed deduction matters.
How can a condition record prevent confusion?
Document the apartment's condition at move-in with dated notes and photographs, and follow the applicable process for reporting discrepancies in the condition statement. Keep copies of maintenance requests and responses during the tenancy. At move-out, document the condition again and retain the relevant communications and return-of-keys information. These records do not automatically resolve a legal dispute, but they make the facts easier to assess than memory alone. Avoid mixing routine repair requests with assumptions about how the deposit will ultimately be handled.
How should the deposit enter a moving budget?
Treat cash tied up in a deposit separately from recurring rent and money available for ordinary expenses. The federal rent standards below are regional administrative references and do not determine the deposit for a specific lease. Compare actual move-in terms and keep each category distinct. If an earlier deposit has not yet been returned, do not count it as immediately available cash for the next move. For a disagreement, use the appropriate official assistance or legal advice for the facts and current requirements.
What does the local record show?
These towns provide local context for the decision in this article. The figures describe the published records and survey periods identified below. Compare the same measures across places, then confirm the details of any actual home before using them in a budget or offer.
Local Figures for This Decision
Download CSV, same columns, same definitions
Selected municipalities, shown alphabetically. Definitions below distinguish assessments, administrative benchmarks and survey estimates from current market quotes.
| Town | Two-bedroom Rent Standard | Rent-burdened Households | Single-family Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | $2,004 | 65.9% | $537,100 |
| Pittsfield | $1,626 | 53.4% | $256,500 |
| Springfield | $1,734 | 58.1% | $267,900 |
What These Columns Mean
- Town
- Municipality; follow its record below for the full data and address check.
- Two-bedroom Rent Standard
- HUD's monthly two-bedroom fair market rent for the relevant area, including its treatment of tenant-paid utilities. It is an administrative benchmark, not a town asking-rent median, available apartment or individual voucher payment standard.
- Rent-burdened Households
- Published survey estimate of renter households spending more than 30 percent of income on housing. This describes the survey's households and period, not what a new applicant can borrow or pay.
- Single-family Assessment
- Median assessed value of single-family parcels. This is a tax-roll statistic, not an asking price, appraisal or median sale price. Assessment years are identified in the sources.
Cite: RE413. “Local Figures for This Decision.” Updated September 19, 2026. https://www.re413.com/news/security-deposit-massachusetts/, underlying sources at https://www.re413.com/sources/.
Amherst's town record. Two-bedroom rent standard: $2,004. Rent-burdened households: 65.9%. Single-family assessment: $537,100.
Pittsfield's town record. Two-bedroom rent standard: $1,626. Rent-burdened households: 53.4%. Single-family assessment: $256,500.
Springfield's town record. Two-bedroom rent standard: $1,734. Rent-burdened households: 58.1%. Single-family assessment: $267,900.
Shared rent figures can reflect a shared federal rent area. They do not establish that apartments in those towns ask the same rent. Compare actual leases with the same bedroom count and utility responsibilities; the administrative standard is only a reference point.
What should you check next?
- Itemize rent, last month's rent, security deposit and any other charge and retain the supporting receipts.
- Keep dated condition records and written maintenance communications throughout occupancy.
- Review current official requirements for any return, deduction or dispute and keep deposit money separate from the recurring rental budget.
Keep the address, document date and source alongside each answer. If records disagree, identify which period and property each describes before treating the difference as a change. A missing result leaves a question open; it does not establish that a property has no problem or no cost.
Where can you continue the comparison?
Browse all housing guides by subject.
Open the linked town records for the wider context, including sources and dates. Use the property-specific records to narrow a decision, and keep current quotes separate from the historical figures used to explain it here.
Which official guidance supports this article?
- Massachusetts: security deposits and last month's rent. Guidance checked 2026-09-05; confirm current requirements for your transaction.
- Massachusetts Attorney General: landlord and tenant rights. Guidance checked 2026-09-05; confirm current requirements for your transaction.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. two-bedroom rent standard. Figures through FY2026. Checked 2026-08-05.
- U.S. Census Bureau, housing-cost survey. rent-burdened households. Figures through 2023. Checked 2026-08-05.
- MassGIS and municipal assessors. single-family assessment. Figures through Amherst: FY2026; Pittsfield: FY2025; Springfield: FY2026. Checked 2026-08-21.
"Figures through" is the period the publisher's data describes; "checked" is only when we last asked. The full sourcing: sources and method.