Eviction Case: Timeline In Massachusetts

The Massachusetts tenant has a right to an eviction case per case law and M.G.L. c.186 and c.239, except for rare circumstances like a police raid – covered instead by M.G.L. c.139 s.19. Merely changing the locks or using other “self-help” means for eviction will likely result in the tenant winning money from the landlord and…

Read more

MA Quiet Enjoyment & Bad Conditions: Rights Under Massachusetts Law

Attorney Shivick discusses Apartment Warranties and tenant rights under Massachusetts law, including Implied Warranty of Habitability and Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment. In order to obtain legal advice, you must consult a licensed attorney. Nothing in this video is a valid substitute for consulting with a licensed attorney.

Read more

Shivick’s Appellate Work Has Lasting Consequences: Massachusetts Debt Collection, Unauthorized Practice of Law, and Landlord Collection Abuse: A 2026 Update

Some businesses do not merely bend the rules. They build a business model around hoping consumers and tenants do not know the rules exist. That is especially true in the overlap between landlord-tenant law, debt collection, and Housing Court. A landlord obtains or claims a debt. A property manager tries to prosecute a case. A…

Read more

Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Law Is Not Unfair: Ianello v. CMC and Tenant Rights Against Retaliation

he simple facts of that case show a landlord who decided it was a one way street, trampling over the Legislature and Courts in the childish tantrum, and unilaterally effectuated a partial actual eviction of the tenant from that exercise/conference room by locking the door indefinitely – when the legal remedy was eviction for non-payment of rent after determination of the tenancy – which may in itself be insufficient to rebut the Anti-Retaliation law, M.G.L. c.186 s.18 and M.G.L. c.239 s.2A.

Read more