Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts
Landlord Retaliation
When we notified our landlord of our baby�s expected birth s/he stated that the apt. had to be de-leaded under MA law. Following the de-leading process s/he refused to return the apartment to its original condition by repainting as required by the MA Lead Law. I notified my landlord verbally and later sent two certified letters notifying the landlord of the requirement (both unclaimed). When no response was received I contacted the Board of Health as directed by the Lead Law. Upon inspection the landlord was cited w/ a violation. S/he has now complied; however, our pet is no longer permitted. This was the landlord�s first communication with us following compliance.
Would this action be considered as an act of retaliation for reporting the sanitary code violation?
Please note our lease states that no pets are permitted w/o the landlord�s permission and that s/he may withdraw permission at any time.
Unfortunately, we didn�t receive written permission but we were verbally informed by the landlord and realtor that our pet was permitted. The pet has lived in apt. since we moved in last June. The landlord verbally threatened to revoke pet occupancy if we didn�t except the unpainted apt.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Landlord Retaliation
First, you should have had your lease reviewed by an attorney. I would never advise that a client agree to a pet clause that allowed the landlord to revoke permission at any time.
You could certainly make the argument that revocation of permission for the tenants to have a pet is tantemount to an eviction of the tenant.
I would contact an attorney to navigate the current situation and negotiate a truce with your landlord.
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