Ex-Boston Couple Keeps Condo After Sunnyvale Move

A Boston Globe guide published on May 13 followed a former Jamaica Plain couple who moved to Sunnyvale, California, and kept their Boston condo as a rental, joining a group often described as accidental landlords. The piece used their move to show how a primary home can become an income property after a relocation rather than a deliberate investment purchase. In Massachusetts, that shift brings a different set of legal, insurance and management obligations than owner-occupants face. ### Why would a former homeowner keep a Boston condo after moving away? Jamaica Plain and Sunnyvale sit in very different housing markets, and the Globe’s example centered on owners who chose to hold the Boston unit rather than sell it after relocating. The decision can preserve a foothold in Greater Boston while generating rent, but the Globe said the role comes with “challenges and issues” that many owners did not originally plan to take on. (bostonglobe.com) Boston-area owners who make that choice move from homeowner rules to landlord rules. Massachusetts law on landlord and tenant matters covers leases, repairs, security deposits and other obligations that apply once a unit is rented out. The state’s Trial Court law libraries describe those rules as a broad framework covering residential tenancies across the Commonwealth. ### What changes first when a condo stops being your home and becomes a rental? (bostonglobe.com) Boston requires rental properties to be registered with the city, and owners selected for enforcement are subject to rental inspections on a five-year cycle. The city says owners will receive notice if a property is selected, and it provides an online registration portal for first-time registrations, renewals and closures. (mass.gov) Massachusetts also imposes habitability standards through the state sanitary code. The law library’s guide points landlords to minimum standards for kitchens, bathrooms, electricity, egress and occupancy, which become core compliance issues once an owner rents out a unit. ### Which Massachusetts rules tend to trip up first-time landlords? Security deposits are one of the most technical areas. Massachusetts says a residential security deposit must be held in a separate, interest-bearing Massachusetts bank account, and the tenant must receive a receipt within 30 days with the bank name, account number and deposit amount. (boston.gov) Fair-housing rules are another early checkpoint. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office says state and federal law prohibit discrimination in the rental of housing by landlords, property managers and real estate agents. (mass.gov) For older housing, lead law can be decisive. Mass.gov says homes built before 1978 may contain lead, and owners who rent those homes must notify tenants of lead risks; if children under 6 live there, the law requires removal or control of lead paint hazards. (mass.gov) ### Why does insurance become a separate issue? A condo owner’s original policy may no longer match the property’s use once tenants move in. The Globe’s reported example flagged insurance as one of the practical issues accidental landlords need to revisit when a former residence becomes a rental. (mass.gov) Massachusetts law also ties insurance to certain landlord responsibilities. (mass.gov) The state law library notes a standard fire policy requirement for multi-unit apartment buildings to include limited relocation coverage for displaced tenants after fire damage, underscoring that rental risk extends beyond damage to the owner’s unit. ### How do owners manage a Boston rental from California? Distance often turns maintenance and tenant communication into an operational problem. (bostonglobe.com) The Globe article identified property management as one of the practical decisions for owners who no longer live near the unit they are renting out. Boston and Massachusetts provide some of the next steps directly. Boston’s Inspectional Services Department handles rental registration and inspections, while Mass.gov maintains landlord-tenant, security-deposit and lead-law guides that owners can use before signing a lease or taking a deposit. (mass.gov) As of May 14, 2026, the Boston.com version of the Globe guide points readers to the same Massachusetts-specific issues — legal compliance, insurance and management — and Boston’s rental registration portal remains open for owners converting homes into rentals. (bostonglobe.com) (boston.com) (boston.gov)