How to Ask Your Landlord for a Reasonable Accommodation in Massachusetts

If you have a disability and a rule, policy, or feature of your building gets in the way of using your home, you can ask your landlord to change it. Massachusetts law treats a refusal to make a reasonable accommodation, or to permit a reasonable modification, as housing discrimination (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)). The request does not need a form or the word “accommodation.” It should be in writing, connect the disability to the change you need, and you should keep a copy. If the landlord ignores you or says no, you have 300 days to file with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

What the law requires

Chapter 151B covers two different things.

An accommodation is a change to a rule, policy, practice, or service. The statute makes it unlawful to refuse a reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services when it may be necessary to give a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)(2)).

A modification is a physical change to the unit or the building, such as a grab bar, a widened doorway, or a ramp. The landlord cannot refuse to permit a reasonable modification that is necessary for your full enjoyment of the premises (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)(1)).

It is also unlawful to refuse to rent to you, or to treat you differently, because you need an accommodation or modification (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)(3)).

A note on wording. Until June 2026, Chapter 151B used the words “handicap” and “handicapped person.” A 2026 law replaced them with “disability” and “person with a disability” throughout Chapter 151B (St. 2026, c. 102, §§ 263 to 276). The law was approved on June 12, 2026, as an emergency law, so it took effect that day. This guide uses the current wording. Older court decisions and many landlord forms still use the old words.

Federal law gives you a parallel right. The federal Fair Housing Act uses nearly the same language, and Massachusetts courts look to federal decisions under that Act when they read Chapter 151B (42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)).

Who is protected

You are protected if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, if you have a record of such an impairment, or if you are regarded as having one (G.L. c. 151B, § 1(17); 42 U.S.C. § 3602(h)). Mental health conditions are covered.

Who pays for a modification

The default rule is that the tenant pays for a physical modification. But in publicly assisted housing, or in a building or complex of ten or more units, the owner pays (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)(1)). The statute gives examples of modifications: raised numbers, a flashing doorbell, a lowered cabinet, a ramp at an entrance of five or fewer steps, a widened doorway, and a grab bar. An owner is not required to pay for a ramp at an entrance of more than five steps or for a wheelchair lift. An owner also does not have to pay to make more than ten percent of its units fully accessible to wheelchair users (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)).

If you are paying for a modification yourself and it would materially affect the marketability of the unit, the landlord can require you to agree to restore the interior, or pay to restore it, when you leave, reasonable wear and tear excepted.

An owner-paid accommodation or modification is not required if it would be an undue hardship. The factors include cost, effect on marketability, the size of the owner’s housing business, and whether the owner can recover the cost through a tax deduction (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)). You have to show that what you are asking for is reasonable and connected to your disability. In Massachusetts the tenant carries the burden of proving that the requested accommodation is reasonable (Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300). Once you do, it is the landlord’s job to come forward with evidence of undue hardship. You do not have to disprove hardship in advance.

What the request should say

Keep it short. Put it in a letter, email, or text, and keep proof that you sent it. Include:

1. That you (or a household member) have a disability. You do not have to name the diagnosis.
2. What you are asking for, specifically.
3. How the change connects to the disability. One sentence is usually enough: “Because of my disability I cannot climb the stairs, so I am requesting a transfer to a first-floor unit.”
4. A request for a written response by a reasonable date.

Say that you are requesting a reasonable accommodation under G.L. c. 151B. That signals you know your rights.

Documents to gather

Before you send the request, pull these together. They become your evidence if you later need the MCAD or a court.

• Your lease, and a copy of the rule or policy you want changed (the pet rule, the parking policy, the rent due date).
• A short letter from a doctor, therapist, social worker, or other professional who knows you, saying you have a disability and why the change helps. It does not need your diagnosis.
• For a rent date request, proof of when your disability benefits arrive each month.
• Proof of delivery: a certified mail receipt, a sent email, or a screenshot of the text.
• A log of every call: date, who you spoke with, and what they said.

What documentation a landlord can ask for

If the disability and the need are obvious, the landlord should not need anything more. If they are not, the landlord can ask for reliable verification that you have a disability and that the accommodation relates to it. A letter from a doctor, therapist, social worker, or other professional who knows you is the usual answer. In most cases the landlord does not need your medical records or your diagnosis, and a landlord who demands them is asking for more than the law usually allows. If a landlord demands more, talk to a lawyer before handing anything over. In one unpublished decision, the Appeals Court vacated an eviction judgment in part because the judge may have rejected a disabled tenant’s accommodation defense only because she brought no medical records; the court said her own testimony could be enough to connect her disability to the request (PRI Glen Grove, LLC v. Laffan, No. 24-P-918 (Mass. App. Ct. Sept. 1, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision)).

Common accommodations in Housing Court cases

Assistance animals. A “no pets” rule is a policy, and Massachusetts law requires a landlord to make reasonable changes to policies when necessary for a person with a disability to use and enjoy the home (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)(2)). The statute separately protects a trained guide dog for a person who is blind or hearing impaired (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(6)). Federal guidance on assistance animals has changed, and the federal standard may differ from what a landlord tells you. Ask a lawyer about the federal rules rather than relying on a landlord’s summary of them.

Parking. A reserved or closer parking space when mobility is the issue.

Unit transfer. A move to a ground-floor or accessible unit when one is available, or priority for the next one.

Late rent tied to benefit timing. If your disability income arrives after the first of the month, a request to move the rent due date, or to waive late fees for payments made within a set window, is a change to a payment policy. It is a common request and often a reasonable one.

Asking during an eviction case

It is not too late to ask after an eviction case starts. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that no particular words are required. A request exists when the landlord could reasonably understand that you are asking for a disability-related change. In that federally assisted public housing case, the housing authority already knew of the tenant’s disability, and his request at trial to keep his apartment was enough. The court vacated the eviction because the housing authority never made the individualized assessment that federal rules required before evicting him as a threat to others (Boston Housing Authority v. Bridgewaters, 452 Mass. 833 (2009)).

But the accommodation has to address the problem. In Shkolnik, the court held that asking a housing authority to drop or delay an eviction over repeated noise was not reasonable, because the tenants showed no way they could stop disturbing their neighbors (443 Mass. 300). If you are asking the landlord to stop an eviction, be ready to explain what will change: a new treatment plan, a support worker, a payment schedule, or another concrete step.

When the landlord ignores the request

Courts applying the federal fair housing law have treated an unreasonable delay with no answer as a denial, but that is decided case by case. Do not wait indefinitely: if you get no answer within a reasonable time, send a short follow-up and set a date, and treat that date as the start of your filing clock. Then consider these steps.

File with the MCAD. A complaint must be filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act (G.L. c. 151B, § 5).

Go to court. After 90 days at the MCAD, or sooner with a commissioner’s written assent, you can file a civil action within three years of the unlawful practice. For residential housing, that case can be brought in the Housing Court for your district (G.L. c. 151B, § 9). For example, in an unpublished decision the Appeals Court reversed a Housing Court judge who dismissed a tenant’s discrimination and fair housing suit because the MCAD had already dismissed her complaint for lack of probable cause (Morecroft v. CPF Taylor Pond, LLC, No. 24-P-1210 (Mass. App. Ct. Nov. 20, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision)). A tenant who skips the MCAD can go straight to court, but that path has a one-year deadline. If you win, the court can award actual and punitive damages, and it must award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs unless special circumstances make that unjust (G.L. c. 151B, § 9).

Use federal law. Under the Fair Housing Act you can sue in federal or state court within two years after the discriminatory practice, whether or not you first filed an administrative complaint (42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)).

Ask for emergency help. If you face a lockout or another harm that cannot wait, you can ask the Housing Court for temporary injunctive relief before or while an MCAD complaint is pending (G.L. c. 151B, § 9).

Raise it in an eviction case. If the landlord moves to evict you over the very thing you asked to have accommodated (the animal, the late payment, the grab bar), the failure to accommodate can be a defense and a counterclaim. Raise it in your written Answer.

What to expect at the MCAD

After you file, a commissioner investigates and decides whether there is probable cause to believe discrimination happened. If the finding is no probable cause, you have ten days after notice to ask for a preliminary hearing on that question. If there is probable cause in a housing case, either side can choose to have the case decided in court instead. Otherwise the MCAD tries to resolve the case through conciliation and, if that fails, holds a hearing (G.L. c. 151B, § 5).

If you win at an MCAD hearing in a housing case, the commission can order the landlord to stop the practice, award damages including moving, storage, and alternative housing costs, assess a civil penalty, and award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs (G.L. c. 151B, § 5).

Common mistakes

• Asking only by phone. A verbal request can count, but you will have trouble proving it. Follow up in writing the same day.
• Sending your whole medical file. A short provider letter is usually enough. Do not hand over records you do not have to.
• Letting the deadline pass. The 300-day MCAD clock and the one-year direct court clock run from the discriminatory act, not from when you decide to act.
• Signing without reading. A mediated agreement in an eviction case can settle or give up your accommodation claim. Read it before you sign.

Recent Massachusetts appeals decisions

These recent Massachusetts appellate decisions show how courts are handling these issues.

• PRI Glen Grove v. Laffan (Appeals Court, September 1, 2026; unpublished): An eviction was vacated in part because the judge may have rejected an accommodation defense only for lack of medical records.
• Concord Madison Woburn LLC v. Linardon (Appeals Court, December 5, 2025; unpublished): A default was not vacated where nothing in the record showed the occupant gave medical documentation for a continuance.
• Morecroft v. CPF Taylor Pond, LLC (Appeals Court, November 20, 2025; unpublished): An MCAD lack of probable cause dismissal did not bar a tenant’s later fair housing suit in Housing Court.
• PRI Old Mill Glen LLC v. Sawyer (Appeals Court, May 14, 2025; unpublished): Repaired, minor code violations did not breach habitability in a subsidized nonpayment eviction.
• BAK Realty, LLC v. City of Fitchburg (Supreme Judicial Court, March 28, 2025): The SJC held a city need not treat a thirteen-person sober house as a family under the Zoning Act.
• Must a Condo Association Pay for Accessibility Changes? (Appeals Court, November 13, 2024): A condominium association is not the “owner” required to pay for a disabled unit owner’s accessibility modifications under G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A).

See more decisions: Massachusetts appeals decisions in 2026 and Massachusetts appeals decisions in 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to use my landlord’s form?

No. A landlord can offer a form, but a request in any written form counts. If the form asks for more medical detail than the law allows, you can decline to fill in those parts.

Can my landlord charge me a pet fee or extra deposit for an assistance animal?

State law requires a change to the “no pets” policy when the animal is needed because of a disability. Fees that penalize the accommodation undercut that duty. Ask a lawyer before paying.

Can the landlord evict me for asking?

Treating you worse because you need an accommodation is unlawful (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(7A)(3)), and it is separately unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with you for exercising your rights under the statute (G.L. c. 151B, § 4(4A)). Keep every message. Timing matters.

Can I ask for an accommodation after my eviction case has started?

Yes. In a public housing case where the landlord already knew of the disability, the SJC treated a request made at trial as a valid request (Bridgewaters, 452 Mass. 833). Asking earlier is still better. Put it in your Answer and in a letter to the landlord.

If your landlord has denied or ignored a reasonable accommodation request, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or contact us online.