Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Getting the tenant to pay.

You start with another 14-day notice to quit.

They don't even necessarily have a right to cure,

that is, right to pay up and stop you from evicting

them, but it doesn't matter, you still send a proper

notice with the proper right-to-cure language in it.

What proof do you have that the inspector was called

on March 3rd? Is there any security deposit or last

month's rent that you hold? (If security deposit, is

it in escrow? Did you follow all the legal formalities

for a receipt?) Is there a lease? Have long have they

been there? Are the same people there that you rented to?

What were the problems that you had to have fixed?

How serious were they? How many days were you given

by the inspector to get them repaired (according to

what you got in the mail, not what he told you)?

How much did the repairs cost? Why did they take you a month to

have repaired? Did you know of any of them before

the inspector made the report to you? Were any of those

problems there when you bought the place? Did the tenants

complain of these problems? When? Did they WRITE to you

about the problems?

How much is the rent each month? Do you live in the building

and are there more than 4 apartments in the building? How many

units do you own in all? What county is the property located

in?

You should have a two-way conversation with an attorney

who really specializes in landlord/tenant law.

Your story sounds like you might have the right

to send them a 14-day notice to quit (for non-payment

of rent) and start an eviction, especially where they

called the inspector AFTER they'd fallen behind

(3 days) in rent. But be forewarned that you can be

held to a 3-months-rent penalty because of the violations

that existed, and if they were serious and there for a

long time, you can get hit with an even greater penalty.

However, you can't just sit on your thumbs and wait

because the tenants will just continue to pay no rent0

(or you'll get mad and do something that will result in

even worse outcomes for you! I've seen it. Don't do it.)

Furthermore, the legal process takes nearly 3 months at

a minimum, so you need to get it started sooner rather than

later. You need a SKILLED lawyer to get you through this with

a minimum of cost. One other word: as for the emotional

part of all this, your probable outrage and frustration,

plan to manage it or just shrug it off when you have an

attorney handling this and take that attorney's advice,

even if you find it hurts your pride or annoys you further.

Feel free to write back with ALL my questions answered in

full, or else just call an attorney in this field who works

near you.