Q&A on the Lodging House Statute| Click for more info

What is a Lodging House?
A Lodging House, under Massachusetts law, is a house let to four or more unrelated persons by the person conducting it. Lodging Houses include dormitories and fraternity houses, but not dormitories of charitable institutions or nursing homes. M.G.L. c. 140 § 22.

Lodging Houses must comply with applicable building codes and, in cities and towns that have not opted out of the provisions of M.G.L. c. 140 § 22A, where there are more than five or more people residing in the Lodging House, kitchen facilities must be provided in a single room of not less than 100 square feet containing a gas or electric hot plate, a refrigerator, storage for food and hot and cold running water.

How long has there been a Lodging House Statute?
The first Lodging House Statute was passed in 1918, when rental of rooms in boarding houses was common as the rental of an apartment. The current Lodging House Statute was passed in 1953 and has been amended several times over the years, including a 1973 amendment which reduced the number of unrelated persons living in a dwelling from five to four, in order to trigger the Lodging House Statute and require it to be licensed.

What are the licensing requirements?
An owner will need to apply for a permit to change the use of the property from a residential dwelling to a rooming house, ensure that the property meets the code requirements, pay the requisite fee and receive a Certificate of Occupancy for a Lodging House and a Lodging House license from the municipality’s licensing board.

What is the sanction for running an unlicensed Lodging House?
A person operating an unlicensed Lodging House may face criminal sanction; a fine between $100 and $500 and/or by imprisonment for not more than three months.

Can a landlord rent to more than four unrelated persons on a single lease, and not with the individual tenants, as a way of renting to more than four unrelated persons without the risk of being found in violation of the Lodging House Statute?
Either a landlord or a tenant may be held to be a “person conducting” a Lodging House for the purposes of the Lodging House Statute. Although a landlord may have a single lease with four or more unrelated persons and collect rent from one tenant for the full amount of the lease, rather than a share from each individual tenant, if individual tenants are frequently being replaced without effecting the other tenants, a city or town may find the living arrangements to meet the standard of a Lodging House. Whether the city or town concludes the landlord or one of tenants is essentially “letting” individual rooms in the property, and therefore conducting a Lodging House, the landlord will face sanction by the city or town.

Is there a limit on how many persons can live in a Lodging House?
The limitation on how many persons may live in any dwelling is found in the State Sanitary Code. (Codified at 105 CMR 410: Minimum Standards for Human Habitation) There must be at least 150 square feet per occupant, with an additional 100 square feet per additional occupant. Bedrooms must contain 70 square feet per occupant, with an additional 50 square feet for each additional occupant. In rooms with pitched ceilings, floor area where the ceiling height is less than 5 feet is not counted in calculating livable square footage. For example, an apartment of 350-449 square feet could accommodate no more than three persons, a bedroom more than 75 square feet, but less than 120 square feet can accommodate no more than one person.

Can a REALTOR® get in trouble for renting a property for a landlord if it is rented to too many tenants?
Although Massachusetts REALTORS® are not expected to be the building code and sanitary code enforcers, they are expected to act in due regard to the health and safety of tenants. Standard of Practice 1-10 obligates REALTORS® to act “with due regard for the rights, safety and health of tenants and others lawfully on the premises.” Where the Sanitary Code set a base for habitability, which by no account is palatial; 150 sq. ft per for the first occupant, 100 sq. ft. for each additional occupant, overcrowding beyond the Spartan provisions of the Sanitary Code may be fairly obvious and REALTORS® could face civil liability under the Consumer Protection Statute for placing tenants in conditions that violate the warranty of habitability.