{"id":367,"date":"2010-07-09T16:30:10","date_gmt":"2010-07-09T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=367"},"modified":"2010-07-09T16:30:10","modified_gmt":"2010-07-09T16:30:10","slug":"being-a-landlord-in-massachusetts-the-perils-are-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=367","title":{"rendered":"Being a Landlord in Massachusetts–The Perils are Real!!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are far removed from the time when the Landlord held all the cards in Massachusetts residential<\/strong> leases.\u00a0 it would be more accurate to say, “Landlord Beware!!!” <\/strong>Even before the recent economic downturn which Massachusetts has been experiencing began, Landlords hav\u00a0been on the run. Evictions for non-payment are certainly not automatic or swift. if a family with children is involved, or a person with special needs is your tenant, you may be looking at a year or more to get people out, even if they are not paying rent.<\/p>\n

A new scam by tenants has also arisen where the Landlord owns a Condominium Unit<\/strong>, and cannot keep up his mortgage or monthly common area payments. The tenant just stops paying the rent and makes a deal with the Condominium Trustees to pay the monthly fees directly to the Condominium Association. With the length of time that foreclosures are taking, this can put the tenant in a “cheap rent situation” for an extended period of time.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0word of caution to all prospective Landlords. Familiarize yourself with the rules of security deposits<\/strong> and collecting last month’s rent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1. Security Deposits.\u00a0 a. <\/strong>Never, ever collect a Security Deposit without having a tenant sign a Condition Statement. If you leave the condition of the rental unit open to “discussion” when the tenant vacates, you are asking for a lawsuit. Once the tenant acknowledges that the rental unit is in perfect condition, or notes exceptions as they exist, the road to retaining all, or a portion, of the security deposit gets much easier.<\/p>\n

\u00a0b. Make sure that the security deposit is placed in a segregated savings account with the tenant’s social security number being credited with the interest. A failure to so segregate these funds has been adjudicated as a consumer protection violation in Massachusetts, with consequent treble damage liability lurking.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2. Last Month’s Rent<\/strong>.As long as it is so labeled, this payment can be used by the Landlord. The Landlord needs to understand that he or she MUST make annual payments of interest to the tenant on this prepayment. Failure to make these payments may also leave the Landlord subject to consumer protection penalties.<\/p>\n

At Topkins & Bevans<\/strong>, we advise Landlords on how to proceed on a statewide basis<\/strong>. Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have on lease drafting or operations. We are glad to provide timely and accurate responses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are far removed from the time when the Landlord held all the cards in Massachusetts residential leases.\u00a0 it would be more accurate to say, “Landlord Beware!!!” Even before the recent economic downturn which Massachusetts has been experiencing began, Landlords hav\u00a0been on the run. Evictions for non-payment are certainly not automatic or swift. if a … Continue reading Being a Landlord in Massachusetts–The Perils are Real!!!!<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[236],"class_list":["post-367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-landlords-for-residential-dwellings-in-massachusetts-evictions-tenant-scams"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":114,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=114","url_meta":{"origin":367,"position":0},"title":"Evictions – An error in filing the complaint can result in dismissal of the case.","date":"March 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In handling evictions for landlords and tenants I often see some confusion regarding the process for filing the eviciton complaint. If the landlord properly follows the procedure then the the complaint is not subject to dismissal. But if there is an error in the process then the tenant will naturally\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"14 day notice to quit\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":117,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=117","url_meta":{"origin":367,"position":1},"title":"Evictions – If a tenant installs a fixture does it become the property of the landlord?","date":"April 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"When a tenant installs an item in an apartment, such as track lighting, a chandelier, cabinetry, etc., which item is removable, but is attached to the wall, ceiling or floor of the premises, the installed item is known as a \u201cfixture.\u201d The standard rule in real estate law is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"14 day notice to quit\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":404,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=404","url_meta":{"origin":367,"position":2},"title":"The Case of the Victimized School Teachers–Sometimes You just have to say “what the Heck!!!”","date":"July 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A few\u00a0months ago, I received a call from a client whose daughter lived with three other women in an apartment.\u00a0 The landlord, who had a chain of apartments in the Greater Boston area, was being neglectful.\u00a0 There was a rodent problem, a leak in the ceiling persisted, and in this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Customer Service"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":175,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=175","url_meta":{"origin":367,"position":3},"title":"Delinquent Common Area Fees–The Only Policy is ZERO TOLERANCE","date":"June 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It was the late 1980's. Condominiums in Massachusetts were literally going \"broke\" because unit owners were not paying their common area fees. That meant that water bills and common electricity bills were not being paid. The towns and utilities tried to work with the Trustees to the extent they could.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"actions by trustee\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":264,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=264","url_meta":{"origin":367,"position":4},"title":"Massachusetts Condominiums Should have Websites–It outta be the Law","date":"June 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Condominiums in Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding towns come in all shapes and sizes. There are a plethora of 2 and 3 Unit condominiums, former personal\u00a0properties where the owner usually lived in one of the apartments, and rented out the other apartments to family or third parties. These \"Mom and Pop\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":138,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=138","url_meta":{"origin":367,"position":5},"title":"Massachusetts Real Estate Transactions-A world of their own","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I am frequently asked by out of state realtors and mortgage professionals about deals \"going into escrow\" or the work of the \"title company.\" Very few out of Massachusetts people are aware of the idiosyncrasies of Massachusetts real estate practice, which include the following: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1. An Offer and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":819,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}