Repairs, Maintenance Ice Damming 2015, Rent issues

winter2015

New Member
Lawyers-
The state of MA accumulated a lot of snow this winter.
As a result, the living space that I pay for greater than $1500.00 with no utilities has acquired damages since the end of JAN 2015. To the day, there has been no repairs, increase to utilities, invasion of space, damages to personal property, and inhabitable periods that have required staying and paying for other living quarters.
Can I withhold rent or demand a reduction for rent?
The estimated time for resolution in mid May potentially in which during this time the above will continue.
Thank you for your time.
 
Lawyers-
The state of MA accumulated a lot of snow this winter.
As a result, the living space that I pay for greater than $1500.00 with no utilities has acquired damages since the end of JAN 2015. To the day, there has been no repairs, increase to utilities, invasion of space, damages to personal property, and inhabitable periods that have required staying and paying for other living quarters.
Can I withhold rent or demand a reduction for rent?
The estimated time for resolution in mid May potentially in which during this time the above will continue.
Thank you for your time.



Be very, very careful IF you decide to withhold rent.


If you persist in withholding rent, make sure you do it according to the law in MA.



A sample demand/notification letter that MUST be sent BEFORE you take action:


http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/legaltactics1/rent-withholding-letter.pdf

If your landlord does not make repairs after you have either notified her in writing or she has been ordered by the Board of Health to make repairs, you may need to consider other options, such as withholding your rent, making repairs and deducting the cost from your rent, working with other tenants to put pressure on the landlord, taking your landlord to court, or breaking your lease. What you can and want to do will depend on your situation.


Once you inform yourself of the options, you may want to consult with a tenant advocacy organization or lawyer (see the Directory that follows).


http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/legal-tactics1/directory.pdf


You must follow the law exactly as described below:


http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/tenantsrights.pdf

http://www.masslegalhelp.org/options-if-your-landlord-refuses-to-make-repairs

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/massachusetts-tenant-rights-withhold-rent-repair-deduct.html
 
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