You might have heard about this state issue from local press, so please take a look at the information offered by our legal team at the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS regarding rental fees and other budget items.  Each year in January, Massachusetts’ Governor files their proposed annual budget with the Legislature, kicking off a months-long process of crafting the next annual state spending plan for the Commonwealth. Governor Healey’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget totals $62 billion, the largest in state history, and relies heavily on revenues from the millionaire’s tax. 

In addition to laying out a state spending and revenue generation plan, Beacon Hill leaders rely on the annual budget to move forward policy ideas. This year, Healey grabbed headlines by proposing language that would require that any broker fee for a residential rental property be paid by the individual contracting with the broker. The proposed new language is below, in green:

M.G.L c112, Sec. 87DDD1/2 – No person shall engage in the business of finding dwelling accommodations for prospective tenants for a fee unless such person is a licensed broker or salesman as defined in section eighty-seven PP of chapter one hundred and twelve. Such licensed broker or salesperson may solely contract with a prospective tenant to find for rent residential real property for a tenant and present an offer to lease to the landlord or landlord’s agent and negotiate on behalf of the tenant or may solely contract with a landlord or landlord’s agent to find a tenant for a property. Any fee shall only be paid by the party, lessor or tenant who originally engaged and entered into a contract with the licensed broker or salesperson.  

Similar legislation calling for a shift in rental broker fee payments has been repeatedly filed each session and MAR has worked to highlight the issues with such proposals. They are a dangerous and unprecedented intrusion into basic concepts of our market driven economy, especially, for professions that are licensed to do business in our Commonwealth. MAR will again be a leading voice as this proposal makes its way through the lengthy legislative process.

Other notable aspects of the Governor’s budget proposal include: 

• The bill would newly apply the 6.25% percent sales tax to candy, instead of having candy treated like a purchase of essential groceries, like bread and eggs and milk. 
• It proposes allowing the installation of traffic cameras that issue fines for speeding. Healey’s recommendation is to allow municipalities to opt in to the camera enforcement program which would be administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 
• A further $687 million in direct support would go to the MBTA. 
• The budget calls for using $170 million in surtax revenue to cover free school meals and $475 million, coming from a combination of surtax and other sources, in C3 grants to early education providers. 

The proposal now moves to the House of Representative, which will take it up for debate in April.