What is a Breach of Quiet Enjoyment Claim in Massachusetts?
Tenants in Massachusetts have a right to use and enjoy the premises which they rent or lease. When a landlord does something either willfully or by omission that interferes with the tenant’s ability to use and enjoy their apartment, the tenant is in violation of the tenant’s right to use and enjoy the premises.
What are the Results of a Landlord’s Breach of Quiet Enjoyment?
Common Causes for a Breach of Quiet Enjoyment Claim
- Flooding due to inadequate repairs
- Inadequate heating of the apartment
- Conversion of private space into common space
- Miscalculating rent or eviction for nonpayment causing emotional distress
- Fire alarms that run for over 24 hours
- Excessive noise from tenants
- Failing or refusing to repair a heating system
- Self-Help – or the landlord locks the tenant out for failure to pay rent without a court order to do so
Damages for Breach of Quiet Enjoyment in Massachusetts
Massachusetts landlords should expect damage awards of either 3 month’s rent or the actual monetary loss to a tenant (whichever is larger) minus any rent owed. Such damages awarded to the tenant may include, warranty damages, property damage (belonging within the apartment), or eating out during times where access to the apartment was limited.
Then there is the matter of lawyer’s fees, court costs and other costs which the landlord can be ordered to pay if the tenant wins the case.
If I am a Landlord, Can’t I Use Lease or Rental Agreements Designed to Avoid Liability Related to Damages?
No. It is against the law to include clauses in a lease agreement that waive liability for damages where the landlord states that he or she will provide heat or hot water but fails to live up to that promise.
What is Retaliation in the Landlord-Tenant Setting?
As a Massachusetts landlord, you need to be aware of the law surrounding retaliation in Massachusetts. First, if your tenant does any of the following:
- Notifies you in writing of a Sanitary Code violation
- Reports you to health inspection services, boards of health, or others for law violations
- Fails to pay you due to conditions affecting their ability to use the apartment (breach of warranty of habitability)
- Files a civil claim against you or files a petition to request the State of Massachusetts enforce the Sanitary Code; or
- Organizes or joins a tenant organization; then
you, as the landlord, must be sure to not (within 6 months of the tenant performing one of the aforementioned actions) send a notice to quit, to increase rent, or notice of lease terms or tenancy changes that are substantial to the tenant. In Massachusetts, a landlord that does send of these three notices will be presumed by the judge to have engaged in retaliation against the tenant.
Although retaliation does stand a chance of being disproven, the burden of proof then becomes that of the landlord to, by clear and convincing evidence, prove that the notice sent would have occurred regardless of the tenant’s choice to do one of the five actions previously mentioned. In other words, that you didn’t increase the rent, try to get the tenant to leave, or change the lease because of the complaints lodged by the tenant against you.
Damages for Retaliation by a Landlord in Massachusetts
The resulting damages if a judge finds that retaliatory activity occurred can be 1-3 months of rent or damages for actual loss (the greater of the two), plus court costs and attorney’s fees.
How Does a Massachusetts Landlord Protect Their Investment?
While no sure-fire method can act as a complete liability shield against tenant lawsuits, there are many common sense approaches that a landlord can employ to limit liability in the complex world of renting and leasing to residential tenants.
Common Sense Solutions
- Employ reasonable solutions to repairs, and keeping all building systems in good working order
- Run a maintenance schedule that is filled out on a regular basis along with signatures of the person doing the work or checking system performance
- Complete all required system maintenance or tune-ups of equipment per manufacturer guidelines
- Use a fair lease or rental agreement (have an attorney review such an agreement to ensure that it is in compliance with Massachusetts laws and regulatory authority
- Communicate with your tenants, taking care not to ignore or avoid them
- Always treat your tenants and building inspectors and other regulatory agency representatives with the utmost respect – a little kindness can be invaluable
- Respond timely to any and all notices
- Employ an attorney with experience in landlord-tenant issues
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