Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Do I as the landlord have to put the tenantsn security deposit into an escrow? Or can this be placed into the general account for the property and not touched? Sherry A.

Here's an excerpt from the article on this site: "The landlord must hold the deposit in an interest-bearing Massachusetts bank separate from his or her personal funds; provide a receipt to the tenant within 30 days of receiving the deposit, identify the bank, address, account number, the amount of the deposit held; and pay 5% interest or any lesser amount of interest actually received from the bank (if the tenant resides on the premises for at least 1 year). The landlord is also required to pay interest on the last month’s rent when collected upon moving in."

Posted by Ralph F, CA on Thursday, March 10, 2011

You should research this more maybe. I was told the law changed awhile back, that it just needed to be in a separate interesting bearing acct. Not necessarily its own acct. You still need to provide the tenant with bank name, acct etc....but i believe it can be a shared acct. Such as one that you collect the rent in as well, not your own personal acct. I may be completely wrong just suggesting you research more (maybe ask a lawyer) vs. going off of the first response you get.

Posted by jennifer v, MA on Monday, March 28, 2011