Landlord and Tenant Issues
Disputes between landlord and tenant can pose a financial threat to either or both parties. Attorney Goldstein has a great deal of experience providing legal representation in landlord/tenant cases.
Massachusetts has many laws and regulation effecting the relationship between landlord and tenant.
Types of Tenancies
A Tenant Under Lease
A lease generally means a signed agreement to rent an apartment for a finite time, for a specific amount of money usually paid per month. You may not evict the tenant before the end of the term, unless the tenant violates some provision of the lease. You may not increase the rent until the end of the term, unless the lease states otherwise. Most leases provide that if the tenant violates the lease you may evict the tenant. A fourteen (14) day notice to quit is required for nonpayment of rent (M.G.L. c. 186, § 11). Although your tenant has agreed to pay you for every month of the tenancy the lease exists, if the tenant leaves the apartment without your consent, the tenant, except as stated below, owes rent for the entire remaining balance of the lease. However, you must make reasonable efforts to find a new tenant to take over the balance of the former tenant’s lease. This is known as the landlord’s duty to mitigate damages.
Tenancy At Will
You have a Tenancy at Will when, with your permission, a person occupies your apartment, paying rent regularly, usually monthly. A Tenancy at Will may be written or oral. Either you or your tenant may terminate this agreement at any time for a specific reason or for no reason by giving 30 days written notice or notice which covers a full rental period, whichever is longer. Termination of a Tenancy at Will for nonpayment requires only a 14 day notice to quit (M.G.L. c.186, § 12).
While a valid Tenancy at Will may be either oral or written, reducing the agreement to writing provides added protections for both you and the tenant, and this should be done at all times. It is also recommended that the tenancy agreement be written because in the absence of a written document placing the burden of paying utilities on the tenant, the law places the burden of paying those utilities on the landlord, even in the face of an oral agreement stating the tenant will pay them. A handshake is nice, but a written agreement is far better (105 C.M.R. § 410.190, § 410.201, § 410.354).
Learn More
To learn more detailed information about the laws governing landlord/tenant issues in Massachusetts, the Attorney General's web page, Landlord and Tenant Law, at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts official web site.