Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

I am currently a tenant in a house that was foreclosed by the city of Lynn on a tax lien. In June the city tried to be sneaky and just throw me out, claiming code violations (all in the cellar) and no occupancy permit declaring it uninhabitable. I filed a motion for a TRO and I went to a mediation hearing with a housing specialist and we agreed they would give me until Aug 30. In June when I got home from court there was a water shut off notice on the door, I notified the city atty and he said it is all set for now, but only until Sept 1 then it will be shut off. Now my problem is that I have not yet found a suitable place and I need more time. The city attorney is not a reasonable person and he only agreed to give me until Aug 30 because he failed to issue me a written notice to quit. If I am not ready to leave Aug 30 can they just kick me out or shut off the water? I still never received any notice, we just had an agreement we signed back in June. The city's reasoning is that the heating system is non operable and the city will not spend any $$ on repairs because they already existed prior to foreclosure. Is the city legally responsible as my landlord to repair this and other violations? If I just stay put will they have to go through the whole evictions process from step 1? I feel as though they have an unfair advantage where if it were a mortgage foreclosure the bank would have to make the repairs or face legal consequences, the city seems to think they can do whatever they please including having their own officials just condemn it. Please advise me on any options I may have. I do plan to purchase a "fixer upper" possibly in the same city so I'd rather not make an enemy, however he is not a reasonable person to just approach and ask for more time.

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Massachusetts

Looking for something else?