Massachusetts Landlord Neglects To Inform New Tenant That Her Daughter Will Be Moving Into the Living Room

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jun 8, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Some shady landlords have a tendency to conveniently withhold information, but this deliberate lie was more than egregious.

Regardless of how quickly you may need to find a new place, there will always be a few absolute musts when signing a lease. Trusting that your landlord has the best of intentions at heart would be a fool's errand. With that in mind, there are always several areas worth considering.

The first would be to look for any hidden fees. Living in New York, I've seen instances where landlords and management companies have snuck in inflated broker's fees, move-in fees, and excessive security deposits just because they think they can get away with it. Sometimes, they don't even tell you. They just expect that tenants won't read the fine print.

Next, make sure you're fully aware of all aspects of the living situation. That is perhaps where this Redditor's sister went wrong. She shared her story on the r/legaladvice subreddit community, hoping to find out about whether or not her sibling had any legal standing against her new Massachusetts-based landlord.

In her case, what the landlord neglected to mention was that the sister would be renting a room in an apartment where the landlord's own daughter would be staying in the living room (presumably free of charge). Not only is that not the agreement they made when the sister first signed the lease, but it also means she and her other roommates are essentially paying for more than they should be. We haven't even addressed the ridiculous price for a single room yet, but rest assured, we'll get there! Keep scrolling below for the full account of the landlord-tenant dispute.

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  • A woman sits on the couch of her apartment, holding her pillow with a distressed look on her face. Subject is a model.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A woman sits on the couch of her apartment, holding her pillow with a distressed look on her face. Subject is a model.

  • My sister signed a lease and put a deposit down to rent a room from a woman in MA. After, she informed my sister her daughter would be moving into the living room.

    My sister doesn't want to live there now. She hasn't moved in yet. Is there anyway she can get her $400 deposit back? Location: Massachusetts
    via mazzzycomet
  • This is the agreement she signed: Tenant Lease Tenant: [redacted] Term of Lease: June 1st, 2026 - June 1st, 2027 A) Rent will be $1,300.00 per month with the amount due at occupancy of first, last...inc. $400 deposit. The total would be all included in amount of $2,600.00
    via mazzzycomet
  • Move in total: $2,200.00* ** B) Premises are [redacted] and leased to [redacted] only with no subleasing. C) Tenant will abide by restrictions of: No sm ing No pets No illegal dr s or activities No ving No unregistered vehicles
    via mazzzycomet
  • Quiet time after 9:30 pm D) Late payments require a $50 late payment fee (5 days after the first of month) Eviction process will start after 15 days of no full payment of rent. E) Automobile registration number and type: TBD
    via mazzzycomet
  • F) Payments should be made by: check, cash, etc., or money order or Venmo, Cash App G) Lease starts on 6/1/26 and ends 5/31/27 Lease can be renewed upon the acceptance of both parties.
    via mazzzycomet
  • Lessor: [redacted] Signature dated: April 24th, 2026 Tenant/Lessee: [redacted] Signature
    via mazzzycomet
  • A representation of a hopeless, young woman curled up on her couch.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A representation of a hopeless, young woman curled up on her couch.

  • Internet_Ghost ⚫ Is your sister renting the entire house or just a room within the house?
    via mazzzycomet
  • mazzzycomet OP. Sorry, it's a room within the lady's two bedroom apartment. The daughter will be in the living room and the lady will live there as well in her bedroom, so it would be 3 people.
    via mazzzycomet
  • Any-Expression2246 · I rented a room in a house owned by a woman. There were two tenants. Myself and one guy upstairs. Not too long after, this woman's daughter and her new baby were in a makeshift bedroom in the downstairs entertainment area. Shortly after that, the mother herself was now living there,
    via mazzzycomet
  • sleeping in a sleeping bag, in the storage area of the basement. Utter chaos. Nothing good can come of this situation. Taking the loss off $400 is better than the alternative.
    via mazzzycomet
  • A portrait depicting a landlord handing a set of keys to a tenant.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A portrait depicting a landlord handing a set of keys to a tenant.

  • Silbesti ⚫ I'd balk at 1300 a month for a ROOM. You can rent whole houses for that much around here. Oregon BTW
    via mazzzycomet
  • Impressive Age1362. This might not be legal, did the woman that that is renting a room, sign a lease with the owner? Usually only the people listed on lease are allowed to live there ( -
    via mazzzycomet
  • minor children), I don't know what rents run in Massachusetts, but $1300 sounds high for a room, your sister might be paying a good portion of her rent
    via mazzzycomet

  • As several members of this online community suggested, this woman's sister should not be paying that much per month for a single room anyway. Most folks also agree that taking some kind of loss if necessary, rather than living with a landlord's daughter is more preferable than putting up with all this deception. After all, if the landlord is already not being truthful and the lease hasn't even started yet, who knows how bad this can go?

  • A photograph demonstrating a tenant signing a lease as a landlord sits across the table. Not an actual representation.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A photograph demonstrating a tenant signing a lease as a landlord sits across the table. Not an actual representation.

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