Massachusetts Rooming House License

Rooming/Lodging House LicenseHSUAN Y E H CHA N G , P HD , J D

HSU A N Y E H L AW G ROU P P C

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HSU A N Y E H@HSU A N Y E H . COM

(C) 2016 HSUANYEH LAW GROUP PC 1

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Rooming/Lodging HouseMGL, c.140, s.22:◦ “Lodging house” . . . shall mean a house where lodgings are let to four (4) or more persons not within second degree of kindred to the person conducting it . . . .

105 CMR 410.020:◦ “Rooming House” means every dwelling or part thereof which contains one or more rooming units in which space is let or sublet for compensation by the owner or operator to four (4) or more persons not within the second degree of kindred to the person compensated.

◦ Boarding houses, hotels, inns, lodging houses, dormitories and other similar dwelling places are included, except . . .

“Lodging house” and “rooming house” are often used synonymously.


Rooming/Lodging House105 CMR 410.020:◦ “Dwelling” means every building or shelter including but not limited to rooming houses and temporary housing used or intended for human habitation and . . .

◦ “Dwelling Unit” means the room or group of rooms within a dwelling used or intended for use by one family or household for living, sleeping, cooking and eating. Dwelling unit shall also mean a condominium unit.

◦ “Rooming Unit” means the room or group of rooms let to an individual or household for use as living and sleeping quarters but not for cooking, whether or not common facilities for cooking are made available . . .

Hall v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Edgartown, 28 Mass. App. Ct. 249, 256, n. 9 (1990) (holding that should more than four tenants sign a lease, “whether a zoning violation exists will depend upon whether the tenants live together as a single housekeeping unit in a family-‐like situation. We acknowledge that the test is not easy to apply").


May be OK


May Need License


Unlicensed Lodging HouseMGL c. 140, s. 24:◦ Whoever conducts a lodging house without a license shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three months, or both. Upon the complaint of an aggrieved party, the licensing authority or an officer of a city or town wherein such unlicensed lodging house is conducted, a justice of the housing court division or the superior court division of the trial court, may enjoin the conducting of any unlicensed lodging house and may make such other orders as the court may deem equitable to enforce the provisions of sections twenty-‐two to thirty-‐one, inclusive.


Lodger v. TenantLodger – 1. Someone who rents and occupies a room in another’s house. 2. Someone who occupies a designated area in another’s house but acquires no property interest in that area, which remains in the owner’s legal possession. (Black’s Law Dictionary)

Tenant – “Someone who holds or possesses lands or tenements by any kind of right or title” (Black’s Law Dictionary)

City of Worcester v. College Hill Properties, 465 Mass. 134 (2013): ◦ “Each apartment at issue here was leased to four local college students for a twelve-‐month period.”

◦ “The students sharing an apartment each had access to the entire apartment and the use of all common areas, such as the kitchen and living room.”

◦ “During the term of a tenancy, a tenant has the exclusive legal right to occupy and use the entirety of the property; the rooms within the apartment are not rooms in the house of another.”

◦ Holding: NOT a lodging house.


Boston Licensing Board RulesShared living situations, i.e. unrelated roommates or housemates with equal rights to to the entire dwelling, shall not constitute a lodging house.

A family shall be considered as one “person,” “lodger” or “boarder” for all purposes of lodging house requirements and enforcement.

“Family” shall mean two or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption or analogous family union and living as a single, nonprofit housekeeping unit.

When a landlord allows a tenant to bring in another person or persons to reside in the dwelling unit occupied by the tenant, in exchange for financial contribution toward the rent, utilities and/or household expenses, the tenant and the tenant’s family shall be considered the operator or “person conducting it.”


Termination of Tenancy –MGL, c. 186, s. 17Length of Stay Eviction Reason Days of Notice

Less than 30 days Any reason None

30 days to 3 months Any reason, including non-‐payment of rent

7 days

3 months or more(= tenancy at will)

Nuisance, damage, or interfering with safety (if rent is payable daily or weekly)

7 days

Non-‐Payment of rent 14 days

Other than non-‐payment 30 days


Other RequirementsMinimum Square Footage – 105 CMR 410.400◦ (A) Every dwelling unit shall contain at least 150 square feet of floor space for its first occupant, and at least 100 square feet of floor space for each additional occupant, the floor space to be calculated on the basis of total habitable room area.

◦ (B) In a dwelling unit, every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant shall contain at least 70 square feet of floor space; every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one occupant shall contain at least 50 square feet of floor space for each occupant.

◦ (C) In a rooming unit, every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant shall contain at least 80 square feet of floor space; every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one occupant shall contain at least 60 square feet for each occupant.


Other RequirementsAutomatic Sprinkler System – MGL, c. 148, s. 26H◦ Every lodging house or boarding house shall be protected throughout with an adequate system of automatic sprinklers in accordance with the provisions of the state building code.

◦ No such sprinkler system shall be required unless sufficient water and water pressure exists.

◦ In such buildings or in certain areas of such buildings, where the discharge of water would be an actual danger in the event of a fire, the head of the fire department shall permit the installation of such other fire suppressant systems as are prescribed by the state building code in lieu of automatic sprinklers.

◦ For the purposes of this section “lodging house” . . . shall mean a house where lodgings are let to six (6) or more persons not within the second degree of kindred to the person conducting it, but shall not include fraternity houses or dormitories, rest homes or group residences licensed or regulated by agencies of the commonwealth.


Other RequirementsShared Facilities – 105 CMR 410.151◦ The owner of any dwelling in which any toilet, wash basin, shower or bathtub is to be shared by the occupants of more than one dwelling unit or one rooming unit shall maintain that toilet, wash basin, shower, bathtub, walls and floors in a clean and sanitary condition, which shall include the cleaning and sanitizing of said fixtures at least once every 24 hours.


Getting Rooming House LicenseDifferent Cities/Towns have different rules and procedures

In General:◦ Step 1 – Check zoning or obtain zoning change approval◦ Step 2 – Meet/Discuss with Licensing Board, City Councilor, Neighborhood Association, and/or other government authorities

◦ Step 3 – Prepare and file application◦ Step 4 – Hearing before Licensing Board◦ Step 5 – License granted or denied


Zoning RegulationCity/Town Source/Authority

Boston Zoning Code, Article 8

Brookline Zoning By-‐Laws, s. 4.07

Cambridge Zoning Ordinance, Article 4

Malden City Ordinance, c. 12, s. 300.3.2.10

Newton http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/planning/faq/lodgers.asp

Quincy Zoning Code, Appendix A


City of BostonAuthority – Licensing Board

Zoning – Check with Zoning Board or obtain approval for zoning change.

Meeting – Local Neighborhood Association & City Councilor before hearing

Application:◦ Personal Information Form(s) and Criminal Record Information Form(s) for all owner(s), shareholder(s), officer(s), manager(s), and person(s) with a financial interest in the business.

◦ Copy of lease agreement (in the applicant’s name)◦ Floor plan of each floor

Hearing – before Licensing Board.

License Fee – 0-‐9 rooms, $75.00/year; 10-‐19 rooms, $150.00/year; etc.; annual renewal in April.


City of CambridgeAuthority – License CommissionLodging House License Application – submit to ISD for zoning approval. The completed application must include all sketches or plansLicensed Premises Inspection Approval Form – submit to ISD for approval from the building and health inspectors. If the applicant has a current Certificate of Occupancy, this sign-‐off is not required.Fire Department will automatically inspect the site based on the License Commission hearing agenda.Issuance of License – License Commission will issue a license upon receipt of license fees and ISD's building and health approval.Fee – $175 hearing and newspaper advertising fee. License fee is $24 for the first four rooms total and $24 for each additional room.Time – about 4-‐6 weeks


Rooming House OperationInspection◦ MGL, c. 140, s. 25. Premises occupied, used or controlled by a licensee shall be subject to inspection by the licensing authorities and their authorized agents.

Register◦ MGL, c. 140, s. 27. All lodging houses must keep in permanent form a register which shall record the true name and residence of every person engaging or occupying a private room. Such register shall be kept for period of one year after the last entry therein, and shall be made available for inspection to the Licensing Board and/or its agents.

Posting of Statutes◦ MGL, c. 140, s. 31. All . . . lodging house keepers who have been ordered to keep a register, shall post in a conspicuous place near the register a notice, to be furnished by the licensing authorities, containing the provisions of sections twenty-‐seven and twenty-‐nine relating to the entry of names and residences in the register, together with the penalty provided for their violation.


Other ConsiderationsCooking Facilities◦ MGL, c. 140, s. 22A. “a lodging house where lodgings are let to more than five but less then twenty persons may furnish individual cooking facilities for the preparation, serving, eating and storage of food; provided that no such facility shall be furnished in a room having an area of less than one hundred fifty square feet. Such facilities shall, in a single room, consist of a gas or electric plate, a refrigerator and hot and cold running water . . .

◦ MGL, c. 140, s. 22B. A lodging house may furnish individual microwave ovens.
