What are my rights if my landlord has asked me to move in two months?
Full Question:
My landlord has asked me to move out by July 31 which is approximately 2 months. We pay our rent month to month and there is no legal contract between us and the landlord. He said he has a family member that has had his house repossessed and he said he could move in to our apartment. I have a 9 mo old baby and I have not planned to move so my finances are tight. Can I withhold my rent for the remaining two months I am here so that I can move? If My landlord signs an agreement to this can it be done? Is he going about this the correct way? What are my rights?
05/17/2007 |
Category: Landlord Tenant |
State: Massachusetts |
#5022
Answer:
The applicable Massachusetts statutes are as follows:
G.L.c. 186, § 12. Notice to determine estate
at will.
Section 12. Estates at will may be determined by either party by
three months' notice in writing for that purpose given to the other
party; and, if the rent reserved is payable at periods of less than
three months, the time of such notice shall be sufficient if it is equal
to the interval between the days of payment or thirty days, whichever
is longer. Such written notice may include an offer to establish a new
tenancy for the same premises on terms different from that of the
tenancy being terminated and the validity of such written notice shall
not be affected by the inclusion of such offer. In case of neglect or
refusal to pay the rent due from a tenant at will, fourteen days' notice
to quit, given in writing by the landlord to the tenant, shall be
sufficient to determine the tenancy; provided, that the tenancy of a
tenant who has not received a similar notice from the landlord within
the twelve months next preceding the receipt of such notice shall not
be determined if the tenant, within ten days after the receipt thereof,
pays or tenders to the landlord, the landlord's attorney, or the person
to whom the tenant customarily pays rent, the full amount of any
rent due. Every notice to determine an estate at will for nonpayment
of rent shall contain the following notification to the tenant: "If you
have not received a notice to quit for nonpayment of rent within the
last twelve months, you have a right to prevent termination of your
tenancy by paying or tendering to your landlord, your landlord's
attorney or the person to whom you customarily pay your rent the
full amount of rent due within ten days after your receipt of this
notice." If any notice to determine an estate at will for nonpayment
of rent shall fail to contain such notification, the time within which
the tenant receiving the notice would be entitled to pay or tender rent
pursuant to this section shall be extended to the day the answer is
due in any action by the landlord to recover possession of the
premises. Failure to include such notice shall not otherwise affect
the validity of the said notice. If the neglect or refusal to pay the
rent due was caused by a failure or delay of the federal government,
the commonwealth or any municipality, or any departments, agencies
or authorities thereof, in the mailing or delivery of any subsistence or
rental payment, check or voucher other than a salary payment to
either the tenant or the landlord, the court in any action for possession
shall continue the hearing not less than seven days in order to
furnish notice of such action to the appropriate agency and shall, if all
rent due with interest and costs of suit has been tendered to the
landlord within such time, treat the tenancy as not having been
terminated.
G.L.c. 186, § 13. Recovery of possession
after termination of tenancy at will.
Section 13. Whenever a tenancy at will of premises occupied for
dwelling purposes, other than a room or rooms in a hotel, is terminated,
without fault of the tenant, either by operation of law or by act of
the landlord, except as provided in section twelve, no action to recover
possession of the premises shall be brought, nor shall the tenant be
dispossessed, until after the expiration of a period, equal to the
interval between the days on which the rent reserved is payable or
thirty days, whichever is longer, from the time when the tenant
receives notice in writing of such termination; but such tenant shall
be liable to pay rent for such time during the said period as he
occupies or retains the premises, at the same rate as theretofore
payable by him while a tenant at will; provided, that in the case of a
rooming house, an action to recover possession of premises occupied
for dwelling purposes may be brought seven days after written notice
if the rent is payable on either a weekly or daily basis. A tenancy at
will of property occupied for dwelling purposes shall not be terminated
by operation of law by the conveyance, transfer or leasing of the
premises by the owner or landlord thereof.
G.L.c. 186, § 15F. Certain provisions of
lease or rental agreement relating to residential real property as to
litigation and liability of landlord deemed void; remedies of tenant.
Section 15F. Any provision of a lease or other rental agreement
relating to residential real property whereby the tenant agrees to
waive his right to trial by jury in any subsequent litigation with the
landlord, or agrees that no action or failure to act by the landlord
shall be construed as a constructive eviction, shall be deemed to be
against public policy and void.
If a tenant is removed from the premises or excluded therefrom by
the landlord or his agent except pursuant to a valid court order, the
tenant may recover possession or terminate the rental agreement and,
in either case, recover three months' rent or three times the damages
sustained by him, and the cost of suit, including reasonable attorney's
fees.
Any agreement or understanding between a landlord and a tenant
which purports to exempt the landlord from any liability imposed by
this section shall be deemed to be against public policy and void.
G.L.c. 186, § 17. Occupancy constituting
tenancy at will; termination.
Section 17. For the purposes of this chapter, chapter one hundred
and eleven and chapter two hundred and thirty-nine, occupancy of a
dwelling unit within premises licensed as a rooming house or lodging
house, except for fraternities, sororities and dormitories of educational
institutions, for three consecutive months shall constitute a tenancy
at will; provided, however, that if the rent for occupancy in such
premises is payable either daily or weekly, seven days written notice
to the occupant shall be sufficient to terminate the tenancy where the
tenant is committing or permitting to exist a nuisance in or is causing
substantial damage to the rental unit, or is creating substantial
damage to the rental unit, or is creating a substantial interference
with the comfort, safety, or enjoyment of the landlord or other
occupants of the accommodation; and provided, further, that the
notice shall specify the nuisance or interference. Occupancy of a
dwelling unit within a rooming house or lodging house, except for
fraternities, sororities and dormitories of educational institutions, for
more than thirty consecutive days and less than three consecutive
months, or within a fraternity, sorority or dormitory of an educational
institution for any length of time, may only be terminated by seven
days' notice in writing to the occupant by the operator of such
dwelling unit.