Amen. I rented in Boston, Somerville, and Medford after college, and it's amazing the number of landlords who are just random people who happen to have an extra property, or bought a house with an extra unit, and decide to rent it out. They print a template lease, we sign, and they hand over the keys.

Two landlords in particular didn't know about things like escrow account and interest laws for security deposits, contact information posting for vacant landlords, who's responsible for things like snow removal and smoke detector maintenance. I left those units in good condition (thankfully for them!) but nearly sued twice and, in one case, received triple damages on my security deposit.

One landlord said "To keep costs low, tenants generally organize snow shoveling" I said "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize we were breaking the law here."

There are some states with very few tenant rights where landlords can get away with a lot. California and Massachusetts are not those states. It's a very serious part time job that requires a lot more than just owning a property.

I had a previous landlord who was a shady motherfucker who wanted to "play businessman" but had no business skills and ignored the law with his various "businesses" and was a general terrible human being. After I moved out I reported him to the town (for violation of various town rental ordinances), the EPA (for violation of lead paint safety statutes), and the banking department (for violation of security deposit collection laws).

He got his comeuppance.