Getting rid of semi-professional tenant in Massachusetts
A little over a year ago I bought a triplex in Chelsea with 2 tenants in place. I've poured a lot of money into repairs because previous landlord didn't take care of anything, then I put in a 3rd tenant. I've been lucky enough to form a very good relationship with one of the previous tenants and the new tenant, and unlucky enough to inherit a professional tenant in the making from previous landlord. All tenants are section 8. The problem tenant's lease expired a few years ago and she's now in the month-to-month phase. The problem is... we're in mASSachusetts.
I served the problem tenant with a 30-day notice to quit for:
- failing to pay a portion of her rent
- having a large, loud dog in the unit illegally
- noise and disturbance to other tenants
- excessive wear and tear (explained below)
Prior to this notice multiple issues transpired throughout the year:
- She kept complaining about things breaking in her unit like clockwork every 2 weeks or so (at first I thought it was due to deferred repairs by previous landlord)
- After I increased the rent (and her portion went up slightly), she called about an "emergency" (broken toilet), I immediately asked for a photo to figure out whom to send, the problem was that "someone" in her unit ripped off the lid. I bought a new seat in Home Depot for $10 and replaced it. It was a minor item, but the way it transpired felt very much like revenge for the rent increase.
- Over the next few months things continued breaking in her unit, luckily they were cheap things and the other two tenants felt bad and volunteered to help with the repairs as long as I buy the materials (I'm really lucky to have gotten 2 other tenants who care about the property's well-being).
- The other two tenants also mentioned to me that she routinely starts noisy fights with her wife/kids as late as 3 am, and I've heard her being obnoxiously loud a few times when I visited during the day. She did have the old neighbors call the cops on her, but not the current tenants who feel bad doing so.
- She's been late on a portion of her rent check for almost a year now (there is a $200 balance she keeps forgetting to pay, and recently she failed to pay the rest, currently the amount is $600)
- In December she clogged her toilet and I had to call a sewage company for $300 to fix it (the lease I inherited from previous landlord says nothing of her responsibility with unclogging things so I had no power to shift the expense to her)
- In February, "someone" in her unit dislodged the toilet (on Friday) and it started leaking even after my handyman fixed it (same day). I called my plumber but he took a few days to come because it was the weekend and he was out of town (the toilet was still usable but a puddle would form around it every day). She was furious and made sure to yell at everyone who was remotely involved (me, the handyman, other tenants, and the contractor who eventually replaced it). The contractor took apart the wall, replaced the toilet with a brand new one, the pipe leading up to it and the wax ring. The contractor later told me that the only reason he works on her unit is out of respect for me and he dreads coming to do her repairs every single time.
- Two weeks later she complains that her toilet is leaking again (she really hates toilets apparently), after my handyman (not the contractor) inspected it, he said that she mistook condensation for a leak. This (combined with unpaid rent) was the last straw, and I served her with a 30-day notice to quit.
- 3 weeks later I got a message from 1st floor tenant about water leaking from the ceiling in his bathroom. After we investigated (2nd floor tenant wasn't home), we realized that the problem originated from 3rd floor (the problem tenant). I had the tenant shut off the water to entire building immediately, and after talking to her, she again claimed it was the toilet. I was later told that circuit breakers kept shutting off for the entire day after that. First floor tenant also mentioned that he heard her yelling at other members of her family. At the time I didn't think much of it.
- Next day I had my handyman investigate everything in her bathroom and find no leaks or problems. I also called her and had a chat with her, explaining that me trying to get her out is not a personal issue, but a combination of wanting to take better care of the unit and keep the other two tenants happy. She seemed to be understanding.
- By the end of 30-day notice to quit, she still had no new residence lined up, I had section 8 housing talk to her (who seem to also sympathize with me but tell me their hands are tied for the most part) and talked to her myself. We agreed to a 1-month extension on the condition that she pays outstanding balance (she hasn't) and also that she'd be liable for eviction fees should that occur (the deadline is end of April).
- Shortly after that agreement (which btw, I have NOT signed, but she has - because she failed to be home at the time we agreed to meet and I and I left it in her mailbox - also saying it's due by April 1, a deadline she failed to meet (she signed it on the 5th) and also part of the requirement was her paying the outstanding balance, so my attorney says the agreement is void unless I want to honor it) I got my water bill... it was about $2100 for that month, previous bills have been barely over $300 for all 3 units.
- I called the city and they sent me an itemized usage by day, the correlation between between the above events that transpired and usage is too much of a coincidence to dismiss. Despite the leaking toilet that she broke, the usage did NOT go up much for those few days. The day after she had a fight with my contractor who replaced the toilet, the usage doubled (I didn't even talk to her that time). Two weeks later, after she said it was leaking again and the handyman looked at it, the usage more than doubled again (it became 5 times what the average was, my guess is that she had a fight with the handyman as well). A little more than a week later the usage went back to normal (this happens to coincide with the time when the other two tenants told me she left for the weekend to visit her sister). On Monday right after that the usage again skyrocketed (this is when I served her with 30-day notice), 11 days later she flooded the entire house, which is when she yelled at her family members. Initially I thought one of her kids left the sink on and stopper closed, now I'm thinking that this is the first time they ****ed up their sabotage and had the water flood the neighbors below rather than skyrocket my water bill (so she was mad about the fact that her family spoiled her sabotage rather than at the fact that they damaged the property). 2nd floor tenant also mentioned that she heard the water running daily when the 3rd floor tenants would leave the house but didn't think much of it (I wish she told me this earlier).
- I've analyzed a few options, sub-metering is a no-go because Massachusetts laws are flawed and don't allow it until a new tenant moves in, by which time I'll probably be bankrupt (because eviction can take up to 2 years and is very tenant-friendly, at the same time this tenant can keep wasting $2k+ worth of water every month). Continuing with eviction is also dangerous as the tenant may just leave water running 24/7. This normally wouldn't be too big of a problem if the state didn't suck with their eviction timelines, which can take up to 2 years.
- After talking to my eviction attorney, she also did some research and noticed that this tenant was already evicted out of her last residence (so the previous landlord didn't do his homework, or didn't care), I've also looked at her eviction case myself and it looks like she's not yet organized or experienced enough to be a professional tenant, but she's definitely getting there.
- The other two tenants really appreciate everything I have done and are willing to help out in whichever way they can (whether it is acting as a witness in court or preventing her from doing more harm).
I understand that in Massachusetts I can do very little as a landlord against being abused this way, but if there is anything myself or my other tenants can do I'd love to know. In their own words, they're willing to accidentally block the water flow. Also, is this something I can get the police involved in?
My only options so far seem to be:
- Sue the tenant in small claims court and hope she will be too scared to do further damage (unlikely).
- Suck it up and face tens of thousands in damages at the end.
- Sue the city/state for such one-sided laws and hope something comes out of it (aside from me losing even more money).
- Bribe the tenant in some way and forget about the $2k+ damage they already caused (actually more like 3k, since the newly renovated 2nd floor bathroom is starting to get moldy from the flood she caused).