All Forum Posts by: Rob Beland

Best of luck @Michael Marchione. What are your questions?

Lots of great members here in MA. Welcome @Wilfredo P.

Great advice @Gail I.for somebody in Iowa. The OP is in MA and landlord/tenant law is very state specific. 

Great advice @Gail I.for somebody in Iowa. The OP is in MA and landlord/tenant law is very state specific. 

I tend to find myself in the minority when it comes to using attorneys for evictions. I'm in full agreement with @Ann Bellamythat as a landlord you need to know landlord/tenant law inside and out. If you aren't comfortable with the laws and handling the eviction then definitely bring in an attorney even if to simply consult and advise behind the scenes. The reality is that we have limited information on this situation. Things could go a very different way once you get into court. It's difficult to play this all out as a hypothetical. I honestly find evictions to not be a big deal and even though MA is "tenant friendly" there is still a process and a set of laws to follow. If you know the laws and have your paperwork in order and have evidence and proof, it's very difficult for a judge to rule against you. There is a rare occasion you will run across a "professional tenant" that knows how to game the system but for the most part you will find tenants that will put up a fight in the beginning and probably get bad advice from friends and when you get to court they have nothing to say except to plead to the judge for a few more weeks and they have all kinds of sob stories and then they have no choice but to move on to the next apartment. 

@James Wiseas far as withholding rent, in MA there are no laws that state the tenant must deposit the rent into an account with the court or anywhere for that matter. That's a big problem here and one that landlord groups are fighting to change although MA being as liberal as it is, it's difficult to get the Dems to vote on anything that goes against the lowly tenants who are being bullied by the big mean landlords. 

@David Zinnwhat you are describing is basically the epitome of a retaliatory eviction. Once the tenant calls the board of health or even just complains to you about any unsafe conditions, it is illegal to evict them in Massachusetts. 

It was likely built without permits. Thats a big problem. That needs to be addressed. Did they build a closet? I guess for now you are ok but going forward you could have problems especially if you sell or if the city wants to do an inspection and discovers an illegal bedroom. 

Also keep in mind that there are specific steps that the tenant must follow before they can withhold rent. There is no reason to get into this with the tenant. Let them screw up on their own. When you get to court and they tell the judge that they were withholding rent because of repairs that you did not do the judge will determine whether or not they followed the proper procedure. It's likely they didn't (did they give you written notice BEFORE they started withholding rent?) so they will lose in court. And you can always bring in an attorney if things get hairy but you are talking about a very simple process at this point. 

@Christopher Reynoldsno need to run out and spend hundreds of dollars or even thousands to take care of this situation. I've been through a very similar situation in the past. The board of health came in and gave you a letter which outlines the repairs that must be made. You can give your tenant reasonable notice (24 hours is considered reasonable in MA) and you can go in to make the repairs whether or not they are home. They have to allow you to access the apartment. Just leave them a note on their door and leave them a voicemail and meet your contractor there at the specified time unless  you are taking care of things yourself. 

Let the health inspector know if they tenant is not being cooperative about letting you in. The health inspector is there because the tenant wants the items taken care of. The health inspector can call them and explain all of this to them as well. At this point they have withheld one month's rent (July) and I'm guessing they have not paid rent yet for August. 

The tenant has a right to withhold rent in MA but once the repairs are made and the health inspector signs off they must immediately pay you the back rent. If they don't you can evict them for non-payment of rent. The day after the health inspector signs off if they haven't paid for July and August serve them a 14 day notice for non-payment of rent. A judge may decide that they are entitled to some discount of rent for the time that the violations existed but we are talking about a month or so at the most and it sounds like the violations are minor so they have a weak case. 

If this is the first time you have served them a 14 day notice they can pay the back rent in full within 10 days and reinstate their tenancy. After the ten day period has expired if they do pay the rent you can accept it and give them a receipt noting that the rent is being accepted for use and occupancy only. This way you are not creating a new tenancy and you can continue with the eviction. You can then proceed with summary process and have them evicted. If they do pay within the ten days and reinstate their tenancy but they are even one day late again in the future, you can serve them a 14 day notice and they have no reinstatement rights. That was a one time deal within a 12 month period.

God luck. Save your money. Make the repairs, have a constable serve the 14 day notice and proceed with eviction. Message me if you have any questions anytime. 

Here is a good link that outlines the eviction process in MA. It's not all gloom and doom like a lot of people want you to think. Know the laws, follow the process, and be prepared in court. More times than not the tenant knows he lost and will not even put up a fight. 

http://www.masslegalhelp.org/eviction-time-line

What was your offer? Quick math and an 8 cap in my opinion puts it at around $400K.