Houseman - Tenant Handbook

Safety and Repairs

The Consumer Protection Act, M.G.L. c. 93A, prohibits most landlords from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices that violate existing laws that protect your health, safety, or welfare. Note: If you live in public housing or in an owner-occupied 2- or 3-family house, the Consumer Protection Act doesn't apply.

If your landlord has engaged in such acts you should send a 30-day Demand Letter. If the landlord fails to make a good faith response within 30 days, you can sue her for three times your actual damages plus attorney's fees and court costs.

Unfair or deceptive acts

  • Violations of the local building and housing codes, and state sanitary code
  • Retaliation against the tenant for exercising their legal rights
  • Charging illegal fees or penalties
  • Refusing to or failing to make repairs after the landlord has been notified
  • Violating your right to quiet enjoyment
  • Failing to provide services required by the tenancy agreement
  • Misusing your security deposit
  • Sending you documents that look like court papers, but are not
  • Refusing to accept court papers from you
  • Using illegal terms in your lease
  • Evicting the tenant without a court order
  • Taking the name, address, or phone number or the landlord or building manager for your building off your lease
  • Failure to provide you with a copy of your lease within 30 days after you have signed it

Even if your landlord isn't subject to the Consumer Protection Act, you have all of the other rights described below. it still makes sense for you to write to your landlord about what you want done, and keep a copy for yourself. This will make it easier to prove your case later on if you have to go to court.

Habitability rights
Every tenant in Massachusetts is entitled to a safe living environment. Public safety and well-being is protected under the State Sanitary Code, which is enforced by local Boards of Health and, in Boston, by Inspectional Services Department. You have the right to insist that the landlord lives up to this obligation. To help to determine whether your apartment has health code violations, a Housing Code Checklist has been included on this website.

Once you have determined the violations, you should notify the landlord in writing so that they may be repaired. If you have given your landlord a chance to make repairs and she refuses, you should call the Board of Health or Inspectional Services Department and request an inspection. If the violation is serious, the inspector must come out within 24 hours. You will need to arrange for someone to be at the apartment and point out all the violations.

The inspector will then write down all the violations and mail the landlord a written order to repair the conditions. The inspector must also hand you (or whoever you authorized to be there) a copy of the report. Ask for it if they fail to give it to you. Read it over and make sure that all the problems have been documented. They should then mail you a copy of the final report that the landlord receives within seven days. If you do not receive one, call and insist on getting a copy.

If the landlord fails to make the repairs within the allowed amount of time, you then have a few options:

Court enforcement action
Boston tenants have the right to file an action with the Boston Housing Court seeking to force your landlord to make repairs. You can file a criminal complaint or a civil action. In many cases tenants seek emergency restraining orders. Tenants can also file more detailed lawsuits including claims for damages. In all cases, you should show that you have already contacted the Inspectional Services Department.

If you file a criminal complaint, there is no charge. The Housing Court clerk's office will try to schedule a “show cause” hearing which both you and the landlord will attend.

If you file a civil complaint (either a temporary restraining order or a more detailed complaint), you will normally be charged a court entry fee. However, if you have a low income, the court is required to waive the fee once you provide an affidavit of indigency. The Housing Court clerk can advise you if your income is low enough for the fee to be waived.

If the case is an emergency, the clerk may contact the landlord by phone to see if she can come to court immediately. You will quickly be in front of a judge, and will need to be able to explain what's going on. If the clerk or judge thinks the matter can wait a few days, he will schedule a hearing and ask that you arrange to serve court papers and notice of the hearing on the landlord through a constable or deputy sheriff.

Often, cases at the Housing Court are resolved through mediation with the Housing Specialist Department (HSD), who can meet with both parties. HSD could, for example, help the parties enter into an agreement about when and how to get the repairs done. HSD staff can also go out to the apartment if there is a dispute about what needs to be done or whether work has been completed. Mediation, however, depends on the willingness of both sides to mediate. If one party or the other doesn't want mediation, the matter goes before the judge.

If the parties enter into a court-approved agreement or if the judge issues an order, and one of the parties violates the agreement, the other party can move for contempt. The judge can order whatever action he thinks is appropriate to force the party to come into compliance with the order or agreement.

Repair and deduct
When conditions exist that materially endanger your health and safety, you can engage in repair and deduct. An inspection by either the Board of Health or Inspectional Services Department must find that the conditions exist. If repairs are not started within five days or completed within 14 days (or less, if required by the code enforcement agency), you can make the repairs yourself and then deduct the costs from the rent. (See repair and deduct letter ) Each tenant can then deduct up to four months' rent for their share of the repairs in any 12 month period. The cost of repairs must be reasonable. If you decide to repair and deduct, remember to keep all the bills and receipts. Note: It is illegal for a landlord to raise the rent after she has made repairs that are required by law or repairs that you have made under the repair and deduct statue. MGL ch.111 sec.127L

Rent Withholding
If repairs are not made within a timely manner after your landlord has been notified of conditions, you then have the right to withhold your rent. You must be able to prove both that the conditions exist, and that you have given the landlord notification of the problems. Note: These rights do not apply to people living in motels or anyone who has lived in a rooming house for less than three consecutive months.

These rights also do not apply to damages and conditions that were caused by the tenants currently living in the unit. Tenants that chose to withhold rent should notify the landlord in writing that they are doing so and the reason why. (See rent withholding letter )

The right to withhold rent does not mean that you have the right to live in the apartment rent-free. You should keep all of the rent withheld in a separate bank account. This way if the landlord tries to evict you, you can prove to the court that you had the money to pay rent and did not simply stop paying rent because you did not have the money. Also, if you do go to court over this issue, the judge may eventually order you to pay back some or all of the money that you withheld, and you will have this money available. If you don't, the judge may evict you.

Withholding rent does not guarantee that the repairs will be made. Since there is strength in numbers, organizing other tenants within the building that are experiencing the same problems may be a good way to get the landlord to act. If you do organize the other tenants, have the inspector inspect all of the apartments. You then may choose to follow the rent withholding procedure. This may have a much stronger impact on the landlord. Note: You should not withhold rent if you currently owe the landlord any back rent. You should wait until your debt is paid up before you begin withholding.

You should send both the letter stating the violations and rent withholding to your landlord by both first class mail and certified mail, return receipt requested. Make and keep a copy of all the letters for your records.

If your landlord repairs the conditions for which you were withholding rent, start paying your rent. You do not have the right to withhold rent any longer. Contact your landlord and see if you can reach an agreement about what would be a fair adjustment (abatement) to your rent for the period of time that the apartment was in disrepair. If you reach such an agreement, put it in writing and have both parties sign it.

Rent abatement
If the landlord allows serious violations of Sanitary Code to remain after she has been notified, then you are entitled to money damages, for the period until repairs are made, equal to the difference between the value of the apartment as it should be and the rental value of the apartment as it is with the violations. Try to get the landlord to allow you to take some money off your rent, and put the request in writing. This is called rent abatement. If you and your landlord can't agree on an abatement, you can file an action in court.

Retaliation
As a tenant, you have the right to inform the landlord in writing of violations of the State Sanitary Code, report your landlord to the health inspector or officials for violations of law, withhold your rent because of bad conditions, deduct money from your rent for repairs that you have made, organize or join a tenant's organization, and take legal action against your landlord to enforce your rights.

If a landlord tries to evict you or sends you an eviction notice or rent increase within six months of your engaging in any of the above, it is considered retaliation. The landlord would have the burden of proving that he would have proceeded in the same way, at the same time, even if you hadn't exercised your rights. If a court decides that the landlord was retaliating, you cannot be evicted.