If your landlord changed the locks, removed your door, cleared out your belongings, or shut off your heat, water, or electricity to get you out, that is illegal in Massachusetts. It is a crime, and it is a civil violation worth at least three months’ rent to you (G.L. c. 186, § 14). A landlord may recover possession only through a court case (G.L. c. 184, § 18), and once a court issues an execution, only a sheriff or constable can carry it out, after 48 hours’ written notice to you (G.L. c. 239, § 3). The fastest way back in is usually a temporary restraining order from the Housing Court, and in many cases you can get one the same day you ask. Here is what to do, in order.
Step 1: Call the police
A lockout is a crime. A landlord who “attempts to regain possession of such premises by force without benefit of judicial process,” or who willfully shuts off required utilities, can be fined or jailed for up to six months (G.L. c. 186, § 14). Tell the dispatcher you are a tenant, you live at the address, and your landlord has locked you out or cut a utility without a court order.
Officers do not always know this law. Some will call it a “civil matter.” Stay calm, ask for a report number, and ask the officer to note that you identified yourself as the tenant. The report is evidence either way. Some officers will call the landlord and tell them to let you in, which ends the problem on the spot.
Step 2: Document everything
Before you do anything else, use your phone.
- Photograph or video the changed lock, the removed door, the padlock, the disconnected meter, the empty breaker panel, or the thermostat reading.
- Photograph your belongings if they were moved, bagged, or put outside.
- Screenshot every text, email, or voicemail from the landlord, especially anything that says “get out” or “I changed the locks.”
- Write down the date and time you discovered the problem, who was there, and what was said.
- Gather proof you live there: lease, rent receipts, bank transfers, mail with your name at the address, an ID with the address.
If a utility was shut off, call the utility company, ask whether the account was closed and by whom, and get written confirmation. A landlord who is obligated to provide gas or electricity and lets the service lapse by not paying the bill is committing an unfair practice too (940 CMR 3.17(6)(g)).
Step 3: Go to Housing Court for a temporary restraining order
The Housing Court has the power to issue temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in cases within its jurisdiction, and lockouts and utility shutoffs under c. 186, § 14 are squarely within it (G.L. c. 185C, § 3). In practice, this means you can go to the clerk’s office, file a short complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order, and ask to see a judge that day.
What you are asking the judge to order:
- That the landlord immediately restore your access, by giving you a working key or allowing a locksmith.
- That the landlord immediately restore the utility.
- That the landlord not interfere with your possession again except through a court case.
Bring your documentation and proof of tenancy. Judges hear these motions quickly because the harm is ongoing. A tenant with photos, texts, and a lease is in a strong position.
If the landlord has already filed an eviction case against you, tell the clerk. The motion can usually be brought in that case. If not, you file a new one. Either way, the landlord does not get to skip the court process by acting first.
What to bring to the courthouse
Pack this before you leave. A judge can act faster when the papers are in front of them.
- A photo ID, ideally one that shows the address.
- Your lease, or if you have no written lease, rent receipts, bank or app transfers to the landlord, and mail addressed to you at the unit.
- Photos and videos of the lock, door, meter, thermostat or belongings, with the date.
- Screenshots of messages from the landlord.
- The police report number and the officer’s name.
- Anything from the utility company showing who closed the account or when service was cut.
- A short written timeline: when you last had access or service, when you discovered the problem, and every contact with the landlord since.
- Receipts for a hotel, food, transportation or anything else the lockout cost you.
What the hearing looks like
The clerk’s office will help you get the case in front of a judge. The judge will likely focus on three things: do you live there, what did the landlord do, and is there a court order allowing it. If there is no court order, the answer to the last question usually decides the motion.
A temporary restraining order is short term. The court will usually schedule a further hearing where both sides can be heard and the judge decides whether to keep the order in place as a preliminary injunction while the case goes on. Go to every hearing. If the landlord ignores the order, tell the court right away.
The Housing Court clerk charges $120 to enter a new case and $90 to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction (G.L. c. 185C, § 19). If you cannot afford those fees, file an affidavit of indigency. If it is complete and shows you qualify, the clerk must waive the normal fees right away, without a hearing (G.L. c. 261, § 27C). Do not let the filing fee stop you from going.
Step 4: Damages
The same statute that makes a lockout a crime also makes the landlord pay. Any person who violates c. 186, § 14 is liable for “actual and consequential damages or three month’s rent, whichever is greater,” plus the costs of the action and a reasonable attorney’s fee. Those amounts can be set off against any rent the landlord says you owe. If your rent is $2,400, the floor is $7,200 before fees. If you paid for a hotel, lost food, missed work, or had belongings damaged, your actual damages may exceed three months’ rent, and you recover the larger figure.
A second statute applies to lockouts specifically. If a landlord or the landlord’s agent removes you or excludes you from your home without a valid court order, you may either recover possession or end the rental agreement, and in either case recover three months’ rent or three times your damages, plus costs and a reasonable attorney’s fee (G.L. c. 186, § 15F). Any agreement that tries to excuse the landlord from that liability is void.
There is a further route. The Attorney General’s landlord-tenant regulation makes it an unfair and deceptive practice for an owner to “deprive a tenant of access to or full use of the dwelling unit or otherwise exclude him” without first obtaining a valid execution for possession, and separately makes any willful violation of c. 186, § 14 an unfair practice (940 CMR 3.17(5)(a), 3.17(6)(f)). That brings the Consumer Protection Act into play. Under G.L. c. 93A, § 9, a court can award double or triple damages for a willful or knowing violation, and must award attorney’s fees. A c. 93A claim normally requires a written demand letter 30 days before suit, but that requirement does not apply when the claim is raised as a counterclaim in a case the landlord filed (G.L. c. 93A, § 9).
Often these claims are brought together.
When the utility company is about to shut off service
Sometimes the threat comes from the gas or electric company, because the landlord holds the account and stopped paying. The law protects you here too. A gas or electric company may not shut off service to tenants who are not the customer of record without first giving each affected tenant written notice. The notice must state the amount due, the shutoff date, which must be 15 to 30 days after the notice, and your right to pay to keep the service on (G.L. c. 164, § 124D).
If you and your neighbors pay the amount due, or a portion agreed with the company, you can get that money back. You may deduct it from rent then due or due later to your landlord, or get reimbursed by the person you last paid rent to (G.L. c. 164, § 124D). Keep the shutoff notice and every receipt.
Using this right is protected. A landlord who retaliates against you for exercising your § 124D rights is liable for damages under the reprisal statute (G.L. c. 186, § 18). And a landlord who moves responsibility for the utility bill onto you without your knowledge or consent violates § 14 (G.L. c. 186, § 14).
No heat? The Sanitary Code sets the minimum
From September 15 through May 31, the owner must provide heat in every habitable room and every room with a toilet, shower or tub. The temperature must be at least 68 degrees between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and at least 64 degrees between 11:01 p.m. and 6:59 a.m. (105 CMR 410.180). A local board of health may shorten the season slightly in a given year by posting notice, but no earlier than May 15 and no later than September 30.
A landlord who is required to provide heat and willfully fails to do so violates § 14. Even when the failure is not deliberate, a code violation is a repair problem you can report. Call your local board of health and ask for an inspection. In Boston, call the city’s housing inspection office. The inspection report is strong evidence in Housing Court.
What not to do
Do not break in. Forcing your own way in can create problems with the police and gives the landlord a story to tell the judge. Use the court.
Do not sign anything the landlord hands you at the door. A landlord who has just locked you out may offer to let you back in if you agree to leave by a certain date or waive your claims. Do not give up § 14 rights under pressure in a hallway.
Do not stop paying rent without advice. Your damages can be set off against rent, but how that plays out depends on the case.
Do not wait to see whether the landlord changes their mind. Every day out of your home adds to the harm and makes it harder to show where your belongings went. Go to court the same day if you can.
Recent Massachusetts appeals decisions
These recent Massachusetts appellate decisions apply the rules above. Unpublished Rule 23.0 decisions are persuasive only, not binding precedent.
- 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.
- Min Du Restaurant v. Yue Hwa (Appeals Court, September 30, 2026; unpublished): A commercial landlord that locked out a restaurant without court process owed $355,645 including double Chapter 93A damages. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
- 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.
- Gewecke v. Smith (Appeals Court, February 14, 2025; unpublished): A minor mouse problem and a one-day accidental water shutoff did not breach habitability or quiet enjoyment.
- Hayastan Industries v. Guz (Appeals Court, October 7, 2026; unpublished): Accepting monthly payments without reserving rights created a tenancy at will; demanding much more violated Chapter 93A.
- PR Realty v. Schajnovitz (Appeals Court, January 23, 2026; unpublished): The court affirmed a jury verdict for a landlord and explained how unlawful entry claims fit under the quiet enjoyment statute.
For more, see our summaries of 2026 Massachusetts appeals decisions and 2025 Massachusetts appeals decisions.
Frequently asked questions
My lease ended. Can the landlord lock me out now?
No. The end of a lease or a notice period does not give the landlord the right to use force. Possession can be recovered only through a summary process case under chapter 239 or another proceeding authorized by law (G.L. c. 184, § 18).
I am behind on rent. Does that change anything?
Not for the lockout. A landlord’s remedy for nonpayment is a notice to quit and a court case. Self-help is illegal regardless of whether rent is owed, and your § 14 damages can be set off against the arrears.
The landlord says the shutoff was an accident.
The utility clause of the statute requires a willful or intentional failure to furnish the service, but the quiet enjoyment clause of the same section requires only negligence, and the Attorney General’s regulation on gas and electric service has no intent requirement at all (940 CMR 3.17(6)(g)). A landlord who was warned and did nothing, or who closed the account, is not describing an accident. The utility’s records will show who did what.
I rent a room in a rooming house or in the landlord’s house. Does this apply?
Section 14 covers any building or part of a building occupied for dwelling purposes, other than a hotel room. Assume it applies and ask a lawyer about your situation.
What does it cost to go to Housing Court?
The clerk charges $120 to start a case and $90 for a temporary restraining order (G.L. c. 185C, § 19). If you cannot afford it, ask for the affidavit of indigency form. A complete affidavit that shows you qualify must be granted by the clerk without a hearing (G.L. c. 261, § 27C).
Can I make the landlord pay for my hotel?
Your hotel bill, lost food and other out-of-pocket costs are part of your actual damages. Under § 14 you recover those damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees. Keep every receipt.
The landlord’s son changed the locks, not the landlord. Who is responsible?
Section 15F covers removal or exclusion “by the landlord or his agent,” and § 14 makes “any person” who violates it liable. Name everyone involved when you go to court and let the judge sort out responsibility.
The electric company sent a shutoff notice in the landlord’s name. What do I do?
Read the notice for the shutoff date and the amount due. You and other tenants can pay the amount due, or an agreed portion, to keep service on, and then deduct what you paid from rent (G.L. c. 164, § 124D). Call a lawyer before the shutoff date if you can.
If you have been locked out or had a utility cut off, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 now or contact us online. Same-day court relief is often available.
