Apartment rental agency in Boston, MA

Benjamin Realty is a family-run real estate brokerage in Brookline that helps renters find and lease apartments in Boston, MA, from search to signed lease. Right now 3,813 Boston apartments are listed for rent, at a median of $3,520 a month. Tell us what you need and we send you the ones that fit, set up showings, help with the application and go through the lease with you.

To rent an apartment in Boston, call Benjamin Realty at (617) 734-5050, email [email protected], or use the form on this page.

Boston rentals right now

3,813 apartments are listed for rent in Boston, MA, at a median asking rent of $3,520 a month. Rents by size:

SizeListed nowMedian rentMiddle half of rents
Studio430$3,125/mo$2,589–$3,453
1 bedroom1,135$3,560/mo$2,895–$4,168
2 bedrooms1,282$3,600/mo$2,827–$5,095
3 bedrooms612$3,400/mo$3,000–$4,650
4+ bedrooms354$4,500/mo$3,600–$6,195

Counted from today’s listings (November 3, 2026): 1,765 from MLS PIN, 18 from our partner landlord Chestnut Hill Realty, 2,030 from other rental listing services.

Apartments for rent in Boston

Boston homes for sale and rent · No-fee apartments in Boston · Search every rental

Listing information from MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN), deemed reliable but not guaranteed. The apartment advertised may no longer be available for rental.

When you can move in

Of the 1,626 Boston rentals that give a move-in date, 791 are available now, 331 within 30 days, 396 in one to three months and 108 later. The most common future date is September 1, 2027, with 75 listings. MLS listings don’t give a date here; ask us about any of them.

No-fee apartments in Boston

47 of the 3,813 Boston listings (1%) say no broker fee in their own words, including 18 at Chestnut Hill Realty communities, which lease with no broker fee. Under the 2025 law you also owe nothing to a broker the landlord hired.

How renting through Benjamin Realty works

  1. Tell us what you need. The town or neighborhood, how many bedrooms, your budget and when you want to move in, plus anything that matters to you, such as parking, laundry or a pet.
  2. We send you apartments that fit. From every rental we carry: MLS PIN listings, our partner landlords’ apartments and other listing services, including new ones as they come on.
  3. We set up the showings. We arrange times with the landlord or their agent and answer your questions about each apartment and building.
  4. Apply and sign. We help you put your application together, and go through the lease and the move-in costs with you before you sign.
  5. Fees in writing. Before you sign anything, we tell you in writing who hired us and who pays our fee, as the law requires. When a landlord hired us, the landlord pays our fee, not you.

Who pays the broker fee in Boston

Since August 1, 2025, a broker’s fee on a Massachusetts apartment is paid only by the party who hired the broker: the landlord or the renter.

When you answer an ad from a broker the landlord hired, the landlord pays that broker. A landlord can’t make paying their broker a condition of renting, add a surcharge to the rent to cover the fee, or charge it under another name such as an admin, leasing or finder’s fee.

A renter pays a broker only when the renter chose to hire that broker to work for them. A broker must tell you in writing, before a lease is signed, who hired them, who pays their fee and how much it is.

Sources: G.L. c. 112, § 87DDD½, as amended by St. 2025, c. 9, § 43; Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities: Frequently asked questions about residential rental broker’s fees. Checked November 3, 2026.

What you pay at move-in

At or before the start of a tenancy, a Massachusetts landlord or their agent may ask for no more than the first month’s rent, the last month’s rent, a security deposit no larger than one month’s rent, and the cost of a new lock and key.

At the median two-bedroom rent in Boston, $3,600, that is up to $10,800 before you move in: first month, last month and a security deposit, plus the lock.

Source: G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b).

Living in Boston

Trains, subway and ferries

Buses: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority runs 91 routes with 1,408 stops in Boston; Massport Logan Express runs 21 routes with 41 stops in Boston; Brockton Area Transit Authority runs 1 route with 18 stops in Boston; Plymouth & Brockton Street Railway runs 2 routes with 2 stops in Boston.

Walkability: the middle Boston rental scores 100 out of 100 on our estimate of how close groceries, restaurants, parks, schools and other everyday places are (from OpenStreetMap; 119 listings sampled).

Public schools

Boston’s public schools: Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, O'Bryant School of Math & Science, East Boston High School, MATCH Charter Public School, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, TechBoston Academy, Charlestown High School, and 106 more. The district decides which school serves an address.

Lead paint

Of the 766 Boston rentals that list a year built, 504 (66%) were built before 1978; the middle one was built in 1924.

Massachusetts’ Lead Law requires the removal or covering of lead paint hazards in homes built before 1978 where a child under six lives. Older homes commonly contain lead paint unless they have been deleaded. Sellers must give buyers the state Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification; landlords must give tenants the Tenant Lead Law Notification, which both sign with the Tenant Certification Form.

Look up an address in the state’s Lead Safe Homes records. A missing record doesn’t mean a home has lead paint, or that it doesn’t.

Public housing

How to apply, waitlists and income limits: Boston Housing Authority.

Questions renters ask about Boston

Who pays the broker fee when I rent an apartment in Boston?

The party who hired the broker. Since August 1, 2025, Massachusetts law says a rental broker’s fee is paid only by whoever engaged the broker: if you answer an ad from a broker the landlord hired, the landlord pays; you pay a broker only if you hired that broker to work for you (G.L. c. 112, § 87DDD½).

How much is rent in Boston right now?

The median asking rent of the 3,813 apartments listed in Boston is $3,520 a month (by size: studio $3,125, 1 bedroom $3,560, 2 bedrooms $3,600, 3 bedrooms $3,400, 4+ bedrooms $4,500).

What can a landlord in Boston charge me when I move in?

At most the first month’s rent, the last month’s rent, a security deposit of no more than one month’s rent, and the cost of a new lock and key (G.L. c. 186, § 15B). At the median two-bedroom rent here, $3,600, that is up to $10,800 plus the lock.

How many apartments in Boston are listed with no broker fee?

47 listings of 3,813 (1%) say no broker fee in the listing itself. Under the 2025 law you also owe nothing to a broker the landlord hired; you pay a broker only if you hire one yourself.

When can I move in to an apartment in Boston?

Of the 1,626 rentals here that give a move-in date, 791 are available now, 331 within 30 days, 396 in one to three months and 108 later. The most common future date is September 1, 2027 (75 listings).

How do I rent an apartment in Boston through Benjamin Realty?

Tell us the bedrooms, budget and move-in date you want, by phone, email or the form on this page. We send you apartments that fit, set up showings, help with the application and go through the lease and move-in costs with you. Before you sign, we tell you in writing who hired us and who pays our fee.

Boston neighborhoods

Rental agency pages near Boston

Every town and neighborhood we cover · Renter guides

To ask about an apartment or set up a showing, call Benjamin Realty at (617) 734-5050, email [email protected], or use the form on this page.