Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

unannounced realtor entry + lease termination

I renewed my lease in July (continuance date started Sep 1st 2005). Since then

I have become unemployed and need to terminate my lease. On reviewing

the Mass Gen Law (MGL) I read that unannounced entry to my apartment by

LL or realtor is against the law, The illegal entry occured in July (However this

was PRIOR to the date that my lease continues from - Sept 1st).

Do I have grounds to request termination since the LL broke the base/initial

lease that I have now renewed/continued. When I asked for a separate/new

lease in July they rejected the request, and said I was continuing.

Maybe another way to phrase it is: is a renewed lease a continuance/

extension of a base lease, as opposed to a new lease - I was not required to

fill in a new application or evaluated for credit/employment status. If so, does

a violation of the base lease constitute a breach of the extension retroactively

- I was unaware of the law at the time.

I hope I have worded this question correctly. Thanks


Asked on 9/03/05, 10:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Raymond P. Bilodeau Law Office of Raymond P. Bilodeau

Re: unannounced realtor entry + lease termination

Your question is confusing. Were you or someone else in the unit when the "unannounced realtor entry" took place? If not, how do you know - and how can you prove - there was such an entry? Had you refused reasonable entry to show the unit, as you had apparently not decided to renew the lease?

In any event, the penalty for breach of quiet enjoyment is set by statute (Mass. General Laws Chapter 186, section 14): 3 months' rent and attorney's fees and costs. That is, it is not grounds for terminating the lease, which you renewed after knowing of the breach of quiet enjoyment.

Now we get to what a lawyer is trained to do: strategy and tactics in getting what you want. Send the landlord the notice required under the lease to terminate it. You may want to mention the fact that you have become unemployed, but I would not recommend saying anything about the breach of quiet enjoyment, assuming you could prove it happened. If the landlord refuses to let you out of the lease, I would strongly recommend you retain me or another attorney to pursue the matter further.

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Answered on 9/04/05, 11:29 am


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