Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

Re: Landlord and tenants

She had the right to use the outside faucet as it came with the apartment and was not prohibited under your lease. If you did not have a good reason for disconnecting it in the first place and cost is not one, then I would pay her the $300.00 and have her agree to it.

If your water bill as a result of her using the outside faucet is because she is doing something you believe is frivolous or wrong you have a right to issue reasonable and proper regulations, such as no washing of cars more than once a week and only her car.

Prohibit the watering of grass and outside landscaping. Limit wartering of flowers. Put a flow control on the outside water connection so the amount of water used per minute is less. No planting of anything without your consent.

In your next lease prohibit the use of the outside faucet and indicate it is being disconnected. If she wants to renew the lease with the faucet, raise her rent to cover the increased water usage.

Good luck.

Re: Landlord and tenants

I have mixed emotions about the prior answer, because it's probably what a judge would order -- but I'm not sure it is really 100% what the law SHOULD be.

I am not sure that an external faucet comes with a unit rental, but I probably wouldn't try to argue it in court. Tenants certainly have a right to make use of "common area" facilities such as lights and grass, and I can't see why outdoor water should be different -- but it's also not an appliance within the unit.

However, you did things poorly. You should have sent a letter telling them you were shutting off the spigot and why -- and advising them that they should not make use of that spigot for recreation, pools, car washes, etc. That's why I end up agreeing with the prior answer that you lose at this juncture. You had the right to set out a reasonable regulation, but you didn't necessarily handle it properly.

In any event, I would add to the prior answer that the tenant may be a tenant at will. If so, you can terminate her tenancy with a thirty-day notice and an offer of a new tenancy at a higher rate to cover the unusually high water use. But do this -after- you reimburse her for the cost of reconnecting the pipe, because I more or less agree that you handled it less than perfectly, and you don't want a judge to eventually rule against you due to the tit-for-tat nature of things.

But, on the OTHER other hand, what foolish plumber did the work without checking that she was the owner? If her use is so rightful, why didn't she write you a letter demanding that your reconnect the pipe at your own expense, instead of playing that game? And get a copy of the bill from the plumber who did the work; if she or her significant other did it at no cost, you owe nothing more than materials, because they interfered with your property without right. Their right was to complain to you and then take proper steps, not to sneak out and get a new spigot pipe or whatever.

This is a lousy tenant, if she will do such things. You may want to consider a thirty-day notice to quit WITHOUT the offer of a new tenancy at a higher rent. Before you do, though, pay her the $300.00. It will save you legal costs later on.