I put a deposit down on a cottage with a real estate agent .I tried to cancel 6 weeks before my vacation but was told I would only get my deposit back unless myself or the real estate agent found another person to rent those 2 weeks .my lease does not have a cancellation clause in it .my fault for not reading it fully . My question is , under Massachusetts law, does the real estate agent have the right to do this? Is 6 weeks sufficient time to cancel ? Thanks pete

For short term leases like cottages, cabins, etc. Landlord-Tenant Law does not apply.

Did you sign anything when you paid the deposit? If so, does it not address the issue?

I'm sorry to say that I am guessing in advance that you're out of luck on that deposit.

Deposits in circumstances such as these are often specifically designed so you don't do exactly what you are doing or if you do, there is some $$ compensation for the owner since they may have passed up another renter in the time you essentially "took it off the market" - never mind if it was only five minutes. But you are ahead of the game since you already know the lesson: read before signing in the future.

I have learned lessons like that too, Pete. :o

PS - If you want to really get complicated about it, there is always something called vacation insurance, I presume to take care of these sorts of contigencies??