Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

Re: If evicted from my apt., what is the legal notice if I'm a single Mom of a 3

If you have a lease, then you are entitled to stay until your lease is up unless you have failed to pay rent. If you are month to month, then your landlord can terminate the lease upon 30 days notice in writing. However, if you do not agree to vacate he can begin eviction proceedings and it is at the Court's discretion as to how much time to give you and it can be as long as 6 months.

It would be easiest and best if you and the Landlord could agree on a time frame, but he can't change locks, turn off utilities etc to get you to leave.

I hope this was helpful.

Re: If evicted from my apt., what is the legal notice if I'm a single Mom of a 3

Unless there is a rental agreement that provides for more than 30 days' notice, 30 days is the legal requirement, but it is a bit tricky. The notice has to be given before the beginning of a rental period to be effective at the beginning of the next rental period (e.g., before November 1, 2005, to be effective by December 1, 2005), so it's usually better to give more like at least 35 days or more notice.

If you do not move out by that date (December 1, for example), the landlord can't throw you out. He has to take you to court for what is called "summary process" in Massachusetts, which will give you another 3 weeks, and if you have paid the rent or offered to pay the rent, the court can give you more time to get out, up to 6 months, although you don't usually get that much.

Your city or town might have a rent-control ordinance that gives you additional rights, but there are not many in Massachusetts.

If the problem is finding money to move and pay first, last and security, you can ask the landlord to pay something to defray those costs. It will be better for him to pay you than a lawyer and court costs, but he will want a definite date for you to be out in return.