Attorney Shivick discusses issues to consider when facing Retaliation by a Landlord against a Tenant in Massachusetts – as a defense to eviction and/or as a claim against the landlord. 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…
Read moreFY18 MA Budget Brings New Housing Court Map, Jurisdiction
With passing of the FY18 Massachusetts budget, the Massachusetts Trial Court has undertaken an expansion of its Housing Court system. What was formerly known as Western, Boston, Worcester, Northeast, and Southeast Housing Courts have been redistricted and rebranded to Western, Central, Eastern, Metro-South, Northeastern, and Southeastern Divisions of the Housing Court. New Housing Court Chief…
Read moreMassachusetts 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 moreCommercial Tenants: Fewer Protections, But Not Without Rights In Massachusetts
Commercial landlords in Massachusetts have far fewer legal obligations than residential landlords. That is the first reality every Massachusetts business tenant needs to understand before signing a commercial lease. Residential tenants receive a thick layer of statutory and common-law protections. Commercial tenants do not. A business tenant is generally expected to read the lease, understand…
Read moreCan a Massachusetts Landlord Force You Out? Constructive Eviction and Tenant Rights Massachusetts
Not every eviction begins with a notice to quit. Sometimes the landlord does not file a summary process case. Sometimes there is no constable, no court date, and no execution. Sometimes the landlord does something more cowardly and more chaotic: the landlord makes the apartment so difficult, unsafe, unlivable, or intolerable that the tenant leaves….
Read more