Lease Guaranty Program

Research Fellows in the Mass General Research programs are eligible for this program.

1. To be eligible, the Research Fellow must be appointed by the hospital as a “Research Fellow”
2. The Lease Guaranty document becomes null and void if a Research Fellow is no longer enrolled in the Mass General Research Institute.
3. The term of the Lease Guaranty is for one year with annual renewal rights. The Lease Guaranty document needs to be re-executed every year that a Research Fellow wishes to participate in the program. If the Lease Guaranty document is not renewed with Partners and a Landlord annually, the Guaranty no longer is valid.
   

Specific questions regarding the program can be directed to:
Gwen Aldrich
Professional Staff Benefits Office
E-mail: leaseguaranty@partners.org
Tel.  617-643-3071
Fax 617-726-2252

1. The Research Fellow (an Applicant) ensures s/he is eligible for the program.
2. The Research Fellow obtains information and required forms from their Program Director, the Mass General Research Institute Website, the Professional Staff Benefits Office or the Landlord.

        Required Forms:

1. Your issued Program Offer Letter
2. A completed and signed Indemnity Authorization Form
   • A signed copy of MGH Lease Guaranty Procedure accepting the terms and conditions of the program.
   • A completed Guaranty form with the landlord’s signature, name, address, e-mail and telephone number.

3. The Landlord ensures that the dates on the lease are within a year and the address matches on all the forms. The Landlord signs the Guaranty.
4. The applicant or a landlord submits all the required signed and dated documents (4 total) in one email to leaseguaranty@partners.org.
5.  After all the documents listed above are provided and verified by the Professional Staff Benefits Office, the Guaranty will be signed and forwarded to the landlord and/or the applicant.

The valid Lease Guaranty documents are also available at the following address:

Professional Staff Benefits Office
55 Fruit Street
Bulfinch 126, Boston, MA 02114
leaseguaranty@partners.org
Tel. 617-643-3071

1. The Guaranty is capped at $7,000.  Higher levels may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
2. Professional Staff Benefits cannot enter into negotiations with individual landlords. The Guaranty must be acceptable “as is” to the landlord. Research Fellows are asked to notify the Professional Staff Benefits Office with objections they may encounter from landlords. These objections can then be considered when the program is re-assessed and possibly revised in the future.
3. MGH is making a guaranty to cover certain potential costs that the Tenant would otherwise be obligated to pay. The guaranty does not relieve the Tenant from any lease obligation. The Tenant will reimburse MGH for any payments made by MGH to the Landlord on the Tenant’s behalf. 
4. Tenant/Landlord issues are to be resolved by the Research Fellow and the Landlord. MGH will not become involved in negotiations with the Tenant and the Landlord.  In general, payments to a Landlord will be made on demand (without any evaluation as to the validity of the claim) since the guaranty serves in lieu of funds that would otherwise be held by the Landlord. Payments made by MGH under the guaranty will be deducted from the Research Fellow’s paycheck.
5. The term of the Lease Guaranty is for one year with annual renewal rights. The Lease Guaranty document needs to be re-executed every year that the Research Fellow wishes to participate in the program. If the Lease Guaranty document is not renewed with MGH and the Landlord annually, the Guaranty no longer is valid.
6. The Lease Guarantee document becomes null and void if a Research Fellow is no longer employed and/or no longer holds the MGH “Research Fellow” title.
7. If the dates and/or cost of rent were changed since the Lease Guaranty documents had been signed, a landlord must notify the Professional Staff Benefits Office via email leaseguaranty@partners.org.

Click here for a list of landlords who currently participate in the lease guaranty program. 

I am non-employee Research Fellow at MGH. Am I eligible?

Yes.

I am a non-employee Research Fellow in any of the Mass General affiliates. Am I eligible?

No.

I am a Clinical Research Fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center. Am I eligible?

Yes, please refer to the GME Lease Guaranty website.

https://www.partners.org/Graduate-Medical-Education/Default.aspx 

I am a full-time Research Fellow at BWH, McLean, MEE, Spaulding, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and/or other affiliates. Am I eligible?

No.

I am a full-time/part-time Research Fellow at Mass General. Am I eligible?

Yes.

Premises filed:

The “Premises” field on all documents must include the full address including its zip code and city/town.

Brokers’ Fees

The Lease Guaranty Program does not cover brokers’ fees. In some instances (for example, off-season) the brokers’ fees or a part of them may be covered by your landlord. There is no agreement your landlord will chose to offer to share the cost. Please make sure you negotiate or inquire about the brokers’ fees prior to choosing an apartment. The following list of landlords was developed for the participants to avoid additional fees.  

Sharing the Lease:

If two or more tenants are eligible for the program, the program requires only one name of a responsible Resident/Fellow on the document.  The Lease Guaranty cap is calculated per apartment; therefore, the cap will be $7,000 even if two eligible participants share the apartment.

Dates on the Lease:

Please, note the Lease Guaranty is only valid for 1 year with the limited liability of $7,000.

Each lease must have its start date and the end date within a year.

For example,

• The lease starts on 03/19/2023 and ends on 03/18/2024; or
• the lease starts on 03/19/2023 and will end any time before 03/18/2024.

Kindly input the date in the following sentence “EXECUTED as a sealed instrument by the parties hereto as their duly authorized acts by their duly authorized representatives as of this ______day of ________, 2023.

Corrections:

A landlord must notify all the parties of any changes including the lease start and end dates and the monthly rent.  Date and initial the change.  The modified documents must be emailed to the leaseguaranty@partners.org inbox.

Clarification on Cash

The Lease Guaranty program does not provide cash or money in any form.  The benefit of this program is that a landlord collects no advance payment from a trainee of any kind and accepts the Lease Guaranty document and its conditions instead.

All disputes are resolved through the Mass General Research Institute Lease office which guarantees payment to the landlord. As a rule, the landlord has his own contract/lease with an applicant in addition to the Lease Guaranty program.