Notify Your Landlord
Most tenants, and many landlords, do not know what minimum conditions the state Sanitary Code requires. Booklet 2 The Housing Code Checklist summarizes the state Sanitary Code. Use it to evaluate the condition of your home.
If something needs to be repaired after you move in, tell your landlord about the problem right away. If there is an emergency—for example, a burst water pipe—contact your landlord immediately. Once a landlord has knowledge of conditions that violate the law, the law requires her to make repairs. In most cases, landlords make repairs after tenants notify them about problems.
When you contact your landlord about making repairs, ask the landlord to let you know when a repair person will be coming to fix the problem. This is a good idea because one of the most common excuses landlords use when they don't make repairs is that a repair person could not get into a tenant's apartment. Make sure you know when the repair person is coming so that your landlord cannot use this excuse.
Put It in Writing
If you have notified your landlord about a problem and she refuses to make repairs within a reasonable time, you should send your landlord a written letter asking her again to make the repairs. Before you give her this letter, make a copy for yourself. It may not seem important now, but later, if you ever have to prove that your landlord had knowledge about the conditions in your apartment, you will be glad that you kept a copy. (For a sample see Form 9 Repair Letter)
If your landlord does not respond to this letter, you should send an identical copy of the letter by certified mail. Request a return receipt so that you can prove that you sent your landlord notice and it was delivered.
If you have repeatedly notified the landlord about bad conditions, you can also send her a second, more formal demand letter which puts her on notice that if she does not respond, you may take further legal action. (For a sample Repair Demand Letter, see Form 10.)
Landlord's Right to Enter Your Home
Many landlords think that they can let themselves into your apartment any time they want. This is not true.
Your landlord must have your permission to enter. While housing courts have generally required landlords to give tenants at least 24 hours' notice before entering the tenant's apartment (unless there is an emergency, such as a water leak into another apartment), there are times when 24 hours is not enough notice. If you work or have other scheduling problems, ask the landlord to give you at least two days' notice so that you can make arrangements to be in the apartment.
Under the law, you are required to provide a landlord with reasonable access to your apartment so that the landlord can:
- Inspect the apartment,
- Make repairs as required by law, or
- Show the apartment to prospective purchasers or tenants. 16
If you have a lease and it states other reasons that your landlord can enter your apartment, that part of your lease is illegal.17 The law also does not require you to give a landlord a key to your apartment.18
Endnotes
16 . G.L. c. 186, §15B(1). A landlord may also enter your apartment if your apartment appears to have been abandoned or to inspect it during the last 30 days of your tenancy to determine if there are damages that would lead to a reduction in the return of your security deposit. 940 C.M.R. §3.17(6)(e).
17 . G.L. c. 186, §15B(1)(a); 940 C.M.R. §3.17(6)(e).
18 . No statute or regulation gives the landlord a right to a key. Under case law, the tenant has exclusive right to possession. Strycharski v. Spillane, 320 Mass. 382 (1946); Young v. Garwacki, 380 Mass. 162, 170 (1980).
Produced by Jennifer Dieringer Created July 2008
