The pandemic eviction moratoria are gone. The federal CDC order ended in 2021 and the Massachusetts moratorium expired before that. But most of the protections tenants rely on in Housing Court were never pandemic rules. They are permanent statutes, and they are all still in force in 2026. Your landlord still needs a valid notice to quit, still has to go to court, still cannot lock you out, and in a nonpayment case the court still has to pause the case while your RAFT application is pending. This post walks through what is still on the books.
A few protections are newer: a rights form that must come with a nonpayment notice, eviction record sealing, and a protection for federal workers during a government shutdown. This post states the law as of October 2026.
What ended
Two moratoria protected tenants during the pandemic. Massachusetts passed its own statewide moratorium in 2020, which expired. The federal Centers for Disease Control order followed. The United States Supreme Court ended it in August 2021, concluding the agency had exceeded its authority (Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, 594 U.S. 758 (2021)).
Many pages online are outdated on this point. What follows is the law that applies now.
There is also no statewide rent control in 2026. The Supreme Judicial Court barred the rent control question from the November 2026 ballot. See why rent control is off the 2026 Massachusetts ballot.
The RAFT stay in nonpayment cases
This is the most important pandemic-era protection that became permanent. Under G.L. c. 239, § 15, in a summary process case for nonpayment of rent, the court must grant a continuance if three things are true at the time your answer is timely filed or on the trial date: the tenancy is being ended solely for nonpayment of rent on a residential unit, the nonpayment was due to financial hardship, and you show the court a pending application for emergency rental assistance. The statute defines emergency rental assistance to include RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) and other publicly funded programs that pay rent arrears or moving costs.
If those conditions are met, the court must also stay any execution for possession, and it may not enter judgment or issue an execution until the application is approved or denied. There is no sunset date in the statute.
Two practical points. First, the stay applies only where the case is based solely on nonpayment. If the landlord also claims a lease violation or ended a tenancy at will for no reason, § 15 does not require the continuance. Second, you have to prove the application is pending. Bring the confirmation and application number to court.
The notice to quit rules
Before filing, a landlord must end your tenancy with a written notice to quit. The rules depend on your situation.
If you are a tenant at will and the landlord claims nonpayment, the notice must give you 14 days. If you have not received a nonpayment notice to quit in the prior 12 months, you can cure by paying the full rent owed within 10 days after receiving the notice. If the notice does not tell you about that right, you can cure up to the day your answer is due in court (G.L. c. 186, § 12).
If you have a written lease and the landlord claims nonpayment, the landlord must give at least 14 days’ written notice (check your lease, which may require more), and you can keep the lease alive by paying all rent due, with interest and costs of suit, on or before the day your answer is due in the eviction case (G.L. c. 186, § 11).
If you are a tenant at will and the landlord is ending the tenancy for no stated reason, and you pay rent monthly or more often, the notice must give you at least 30 days or one full rental period, whichever is longer. If you pay rent less often than every three months, the notice must be three months (G.L. c. 186, § 12).
A notice to quit is not an order to leave. It is the landlord’s first step. You do not have to move when it expires.
The rights form that must come with a nonpayment notice
A written notice to quit for nonpayment of rent must be accompanied by a state form (G.L. c. 186, § 31). The form lists rental assistance programs including RAFT and any repayment agreement, and it states in capital letters that the notice to quit is not an eviction, that you do not need to leave immediately, and that only a court order can force you to leave. In a residential nonpayment case, the court may not accept the landlord’s complaint without proof the form was delivered.
If your notice came without the form, raise it before you sign anything. In one unpublished decision, the Appeals Court held that a tenant could not undo an agreement for judgment signed in mediation even though the notice to quit left out the required information (Baystone Revere v. Omidiji).
Only a court can remove you
Massachusetts has always required landlords to go to court. No one may try to recover possession of a rented home except through a summary process action under chapter 239 or another proceeding authorized by law (G.L. c. 184, § 18). A landlord who changes the locks, removes your belongings, or shuts off your heat, water or electricity to force you out violates G.L. c. 186, § 14. The tenant can recover actual and consequential damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees.
If this happens to you, call the police, document everything, and call a lawyer the same day. Housing Court can order the landlord to restore you to the unit.
Your defenses and counterclaims
In a nonpayment or no-fault case, you may raise any claim against the landlord arising out of the tenancy, for breach of warranty, breach of a material term of the rental agreement, or violation of any other law (G.L. c. 239, § 8A). For condition claims, the landlord must have known about the problem before you fell behind, and a board of health inspection notice creates a presumption that the landlord knew.
The math matters. If the court finds the landlord owes you as much as or more than you owe, the landlord does not get possession. If you owe more, you can still keep your home by paying the balance, with interest and costs, to the clerk within one week after you receive written notice from the court of the amount (G.L. c. 239, § 8A).
Retaliation is a separate defense. If the landlord started the case, sent the notice to quit, or tried to materially change your tenancy within six months after you reported code violations or joined a tenants’ union, the law presumes reprisal, and the landlord must rebut it by clear and convincing evidence (G.L. c. 239, § 2A).
More time to move in a no-fault case
If your tenancy ended through no fault of yours, for example a no-fault notice to quit or the end of a lease, the judge may stay the judgment and execution so you have time to find a new home. Stays may total up to six months, or up to twelve months if someone in the home has a disability or is 60 or older (G.L. c. 239, § 9). This stay does not apply when the tenancy was ended by a notice to quit for nonpayment of rent under G.L. c. 186, § 12.
Appeals: the 10-day deadline
If you lose, a notice of appeal must be filed within 10 days after judgment enters (G.L. c. 239, § 5). To appeal a judgment for possession, a tenant normally must post a bond. If you are indigent and have a defense that is not frivolous, the court must waive the bond, and you will be ordered to pay the rent that comes due while the appeal is pending (G.L. c. 239, § 5). File the waiver motion with your notice of appeal, inside the 10 days.
The 48-hour notice before a physical eviction
Even after a landlord wins in court, there is one more step. The sheriff or constable must give you written notice at least 48 hours before serving or levying on the execution for possession. The notice must state the date and time, identify the officer and the court case, and name the licensed public warehouse where any property left behind will be stored (G.L. c. 239, § 3). An execution for possession of a residence cannot be levied before 9:00 a.m., after 5:00 p.m., or on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.
In a nonpayment case, if the money judgment plus all use and occupancy accrued since judgment is fully paid, the landlord is barred from levying on the execution and must return it to the court (G.L. c. 239, § 3). The catch is that the landlord does not have to accept the payment. If the landlord refuses, you must go back to court quickly and ask the judge to recall the execution or bar the levy. The statute lets you do that, but only if you act.
Sealing an eviction record
Massachusetts now lets tenants ask the court to seal many eviction records (G.L. c. 239, § 16).
- No-fault evictions. If the case did not claim nonpayment or a lease violation, you can petition to seal once the case and any appeals are over. The court must grant it.
- Satisfied nonpayment cases. A landlord must file a notice of satisfaction within 14 days after a nonpayment judgment or agreement is paid. You can then petition to seal, and if no one objects within 7 days, the court must seal it.
- Older nonpayment cases. You can also petition if the case ended at least 4 years ago, no nonpayment eviction has been brought against you in Massachusetts in the 4 years before you ask, and you certify that economic hardship caused the nonpayment and kept you from paying the judgment.
A tenant screening company generally may not report a sealed record, and a rental application that asks about evictions must tell you that you may answer “no record” about a sealed case.
Federal workers during a government shutdown
A law effective November 25, 2025 protects Massachusetts residents who are furloughed or working without pay during a federal government shutdown (G.L. c. 221, § 17). It applies only during a shutdown and for 30 days after it ends, unless the Governor postpones that end date to as late as 75 days after the shutdown. While it applies, a landlord may not end your tenancy or send a nonpayment notice to quit if you give notice and documentation of a significant financial impact from the shutdown. If you document your status in a nonpayment case filed during the shutdown, the judge may not enter judgment for possession and must grant a continuance of up to 30 days on request. The rent is still owed.
What this means for you
The protections above are only useful if you act on them. File a written answer. Apply for RAFT the day you get a notice to quit for nonpayment. Go to every court date. If you have conditions problems, a security deposit violation, or evidence of retaliation or discrimination, raise them in your answer as counterclaims (G.L. c. 239, § 8A). Those claims can offset what you owe and can defeat the eviction entirely.
Recent Massachusetts appeals decisions
These recent Massachusetts appellate decisions apply the rules above. Unpublished Rule 23.0 decisions are persuasive only, not binding precedent.
- Hayastan Industries, Inc. v. Guz (Appeals Court, January 16, 2025; unpublished): A park could recover a repossessed mobile home but was liable for a moratorium-era letter and improper lot fees.
- Resnick v. Silva (Appeals Court, August 13, 2025; unpublished): Tenants who did not pay ordered use and occupancy lost their possession appeal but won a RAFT credit.
- DeSimone v. Tarasuik (Appeals Court, January 17, 2025; unpublished): A judge cannot bar a tenant’s retaliation defense and counterclaims by recasting a nonpayment case as for cause.
- James-Duncan v. Brooks (Appeals Court, February 18, 2026; unpublished): A tenant lost his lockout appeal because the judge disbelieved his testimony and his new claims came too late.
- Baystone Revere v. Omidiji (Appeals Court, June 9, 2026; unpublished): A tenant could not undo an agreement for judgment even though the notice to quit omitted the information required by G.L. c. 186, § 31.
- Deutsche Bank v. Fewtrell (Appeals Court, October 14, 2026; unpublished): A motion for reconsideration filed 48 days after judgment could not revive the expired 10-day appeal period.
For more, see our summaries of 2026 Massachusetts appeals decisions and 2025 Massachusetts appeals decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any eviction moratorium in Massachusetts in 2026?
No. The state and federal moratoria have expired. The protections that remain are permanent statutes, chiefly the RAFT stay in G.L. c. 239, § 15, the notice to quit rules, the court-only removal rule, and the 48-hour execution notice.
Does the RAFT stay apply if my landlord also claims I broke the lease?
The statute requires that the tenancy be terminated solely for nonpayment. If the landlord raises another ground, the mandatory continuance does not apply, although you may still have other defenses. Ask a lawyer about your specific notice.
Can my landlord lock me out if I am behind on rent?
No. Self-help eviction is illegal under G.L. c. 186, § 14 and c. 184, § 18 regardless of how much rent is owed. Only a court can order you out, and only a sheriff or constable can carry it out.
I paid everything I owed after the landlord won. Can they still evict me?
In a nonpayment case, once the money judgment and all use and occupancy since judgment are fully paid, the landlord is barred from levying on the execution (G.L. c. 239, § 3). The landlord can refuse your payment, though, so if that happens, file a motion in Housing Court right away to recall the execution. Keep proof of every tender.
Can I get my eviction record sealed?
Often, yes. No-fault eviction records can be sealed once the case is over. Nonpayment records can be sealed after the judgment is satisfied, or after 4 years if you meet the hardship conditions (G.L. c. 239, § 16).
Is there rent control in Massachusetts in 2026?
No. The Supreme Judicial Court barred the 2026 rent control ballot question, so state law still does not cap rent increases. A rent increase or other change within six months after you report code violations may still be presumed retaliatory (G.L. c. 186, § 18).
If you have received a notice to quit or court papers, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or contact us online before your answer is due.
