Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: tenant eviction

By "has been evicted", I assume you mean that you took a case to Court and won the case, and you have received a "Notice of Judgment" which gives you as plaintiff "possession" and perhaps also an award of some rent due to you. Your next two steps are to obtain (by request) from the court an "execution" (which are orders to a constable or sheriff) and then to hire the sheriff to make the move happen.

If you don't like the price you're getting quoted by the Sheriff or constable, ask a lawyer to get it done for you. Lawyers get it cheap. I can move a person out of a studio apartment and give him a month's notice in the Boston area for $800; lawyers get better rates from constables and sheriffs. Negotiate an out in case the services (moving and storage) are not actually needed; sometimes the tenant will simply move when he sees how serious it's gotten.

Write to me if you like, for clarification, at [email protected] and I'll see if I can help you. There is sometimes yet a better way (for you AND the tenant) to handle this ... if you'll contact me, we can discuss that.

Why did you evict the tenant, anyway?

Did the tenant show up for trial?

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In case I guessed wrong what you meant about eviction: if by saying you evicted him you mean that you sent him a notice to leave, then we've had a misunderstanding. If that's all you did to get get him out, now is the time to hire an attorney. A notice to leave ("notice to quit") is not eviction and you absolutely must not take matters into your own hands but must now instead use the legal system; the penalties for trying any other means are severe.