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Massachusetts Notice to Vacate Letter

Fill in your details, review the massachusetts notice to vacate letter, and edit the wording before you send. Copy the finished text or download a Word file for free.

[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under General Laws Chapter 186, § 12 — Notice to determine estate at will (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 12), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on one rental period (min. 30 days) written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in Massachusetts

Tenant notice required: One rental period (min. 30 days)
Governing statute: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 12
How the clock runs: Where rent is payable at intervals of less than three months, either party ends a tenancy at will by written notice equal to the interval between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer; case law requires the notice to expire on a rent day, so a monthly tenant should deliver it on or before a rent due date to terminate as of the next one.
Delivering the notice: Notice must be in writing; certified mail or hand delivery with a witness or receipt is the standard practice so the tenant can prove when the landlord got it.
Fixed-term leases: A fixed-term lease ends automatically at the term's end with no statutory notice, but Massachusetts leases very commonly contain self-extending renewal clauses that demand advance written notice — the lease text controls. A holdover tenant whose rent the landlord accepts becomes a tenant at will.

Worth knowing: The rent-day expiration requirement is the classic Massachusetts trap: a '30-day' notice given mid-month is defective for ending on the wrong day, pushing the tenant into another full month of rent. If rent is payable at intervals of three months or longer, the statutory default balloons to three months' written notice. Victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or stalking may quit early under G.L. c. 186, § 24 by notifying the landlord within three months of the incident.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for Massachusetts: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

Notice must be in writing; certified mail or hand delivery with a witness or receipt is the standard practice so the tenant can prove when the landlord got it.
Where rent is payable at intervals of less than three months, either party ends a tenancy at will by written notice equal to the interval between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer; case law requires the notice to expire on a rent day, so a monthly tenant should deliver it on or before a rent due date to terminate as of the next one.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in Massachusetts?

Where rent is payable at intervals of less than three months, either party ends a tenancy at will by written notice equal to the interval between rent days or 30 days, whichever is longer; case law requires the notice to expire on a rent day, so a monthly tenant should deliver it on or before a rent due date to terminate as of the next one. The governing statute is General Laws Chapter 186, § 12 — Notice to determine estate at will.

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in Massachusetts?

A fixed-term lease ends automatically at the term's end with no statutory notice, but Massachusetts leases very commonly contain self-extending renewal clauses that demand advance written notice — the lease text controls. A holdover tenant whose rent the landlord accepts becomes a tenant at will. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else Massachusetts renters should know before moving out?

The rent-day expiration requirement is the classic Massachusetts trap: a '30-day' notice given mid-month is defective for ending on the wrong day, pushing the tenant into another full month of rent. If rent is payable at intervals of three months or longer, the statutory default balloons to three months' written notice. Victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or stalking may quit early under G.L. c. 186, § 24 by notifying the landlord within three months of the incident.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in Massachusetts, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, Massachusetts law generally requires one rental period (min. 30 days) written notice from the tenant, under General Laws Chapter 186, § 12 — Notice to determine estate at will. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 186, § 12 by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.