A tenant moves out. The carpet needs a shampoo, the walls need touching up, and the lease says they were supposed to hire a professional cleaner. So you hold back $100 of the deposit for cleaning.
In Massachusetts, that's the deduction most likely to come back on you. Most of the time it isn't a damage charge. It's a wear-and-tear charge, and the state's highest court said in 2025 that it can't come out of the deposit.
That doesn't mean you can never charge for anything. It means the line is in a different place than a lot of old lease forms put it, and the paperwork matters more than the amount.
Education for owners in Fall River, New Bedford, Somerset, Swansea and Westport. Not legal advice.
What did the SJC decide in Peebles v. JRK?
The case is Peebles v. JRK Property Holdings, decided August 1, 2025. A big apartment company had a lease addendum called "Move Out Cleaning & Replacement Charges." It said the tenant had to have the apartment "professionally cleaned and carpet cleaned upon move out," followed by a price list that "will be assessed regardless of how long [a] resident occupies the apartment."
One tenant didn't hire a cleaner. The company took $115 from her deposit for "touch up paint" and "carpet clean per lease." The federal judge on the case asked the SJC two questions, and the SJC answered both.
First, normal living wears a place down. The court said that wear and tear "ultimately may require painting, carpet repair, or similar refurbishment" at the end of a lease, and deposit deductions for it violate the statute.
Second, the clause itself. A lease provision requiring a professional clean, "on penalty of bearing the costs of repairs regardless of whether the damage is reasonable wear and tear," conflicts with the deposit law. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(8), that makes it "void and unenforceable."
So can I never charge for cleaning or paint?
You can, when it's really damage. The tenants in Peebles asked for a rule that every cleaning or paint deduction is wear and tear. The court said no.
Instead it said the answer depends on the facts: "the nature and cause of the damage, the deterioration to be expected" from normal use, "the condition of the property at the start of the lease, and the length of the occupancy." Its own example of damage past that line is overloading an old, cracked floor until it collapses.
It also leaned on an older case, Goes v. Feldman, where stained carpet and wall holes that needed spackling were treated as wear and tear on those facts. So don't assume a dirty carpet or a few nail holes are the tenant's bill. After a long tenancy, dull paint is part of owning the building.
We clean every unit for real on every turn anyway. That's part of our apartment turnover standards. I'd plan for that cleaning as part of the cost of turning a unit, and save deposit deductions for damage you can document.
What does a legal deduction for damage take?
It starts on move-in day, not move-out day.
When you take a deposit, § 15B(2)(c) requires a signed statement of the unit's condition, listing any damage already there. It's due when you take the deposit or within 10 days after the tenancy starts, whichever is later. The tenant gets 15 days to send back their own list. You can't later deduct for anything on that statement, unless you fixed it and the tenant damaged it again.
At the end, § 15B(4)(iii) lets you keep "a reasonable amount necessary to repair any damage," with "reasonable wear and tear excluded." Within 30 days you owe the tenant an itemized list "sworn to by the lessor or his agent under pains and penalties of perjury," with "written evidence, such as estimates, bills, invoices or receipts." The rest of the deposit goes back in the same 30 days. I covered the timing side in move-out, keys and deposits.
What happens if I get it wrong?
The $100 isn't the risk. The deposit is.
Under § 15B(6), you lose the right to keep any of the deposit if you miss the 30-day itemized list, or if you use a lease clause that conflicts with the statute and try to enforce it. Under § 15B(7), if you don't return what the tenant is owed within 30 days, the tenant can be awarded three times that amount, plus 5 percent interest, court costs and their lawyer's fees.
That is not a cleaning fee. That is a lawsuit with your lease form as the exhibit.
Should I take the cleaning clause out of my lease?
If your lease charges a list of cleaning or paint prices no matter how long the tenant stayed or what shape the unit's in, that's the clause Peebles struck down. Have your lawyer look at it before your next move-out.
The court left one thing open. It said it "express[es] no view" on a plain requirement to have the unit cleaned with no deposit penalty attached. Don't read that as a green light. It just wasn't decided.
And don't try to get the money up front instead. Under § 15B(1)(b), at or before the start of a tenancy you can collect first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit no bigger than one month's rent and the cost of a new lock and key. A cleaning fee isn't on the list.
If you'd rather have someone else handle leases, move-outs and deposits, see our lease management services and property management pricing, or call or text (508) 671-7228.
Fall River landlord FAQs
Can a Massachusetts landlord charge a cleaning fee after move-out?
Not for normal wear and tear. In Peebles v. JRK, the SJC said deposit deductions for reasonable wear and tear, which can include painting or carpet work, break the deposit law. Damage beyond that can still be deducted, but only with a sworn itemized list and bills or estimates sent within 30 days.
Is a lease clause requiring professional cleaning at move-out legal in Massachusetts?
A clause that requires a professional clean or else the tenant pays listed charges, regardless of wear and tear, is void under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(8). That's what the SJC held in Peebles. The court didn't decide a plain cleaning requirement with no charges attached, so have a lawyer review yours.
What counts as reasonable wear and tear in Massachusetts?
There's no fixed list. The SJC said it depends on the facts, including what caused the damage, what normal use of the unit would do, the condition at move-in and how long the tenant lived there. Damage from unreasonable use goes beyond wear and tear and can be deducted with proper paperwork.
Can I charge a cleaning fee at move-in instead?
No. Under M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b), at or before the start of a tenancy you can only collect first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit no bigger than one month's rent and the cost of a new lock and key. A cleaning fee isn't on that list.
Sources
- Peebles v. JRK Property Holdings, Inc., SJC-13702 (Mass. Aug. 1, 2025): law.justia.com
- Docket, SJC-13702: ma-appellatecourts.org
- M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B, Security deposits and advance rent: malegislature.gov
- Goes v. Feldman, 8 Mass. App. Ct. 84 (1979), as discussed in Peebles