Is it against any law to have 3 girls in a small bedroom?

[CaseyB]

Thanks for keeping us updated.

[VlyRoadKid]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

How would she go about fixing code violations if the apartment is just too small for this size family?

I wonder if the previous owner allowed her access to the unit before the sale? I wonder if at this point the best course of action might be to let the lease run and just not renew it for these particular tenants, giving proper notice to them?

Nice to see the problem has been resolved, but re: the above question: there are LOTS of other code violations besides apt. size. A woman my mother knew rented out a place and lost TWO YEARS of rent to some very wily tenants who would report code violations one at a time, forcing her to fix them while paying no rent!

So...landlords...caveat lessor, or something like that!

P.S. I was a tenant myself for many years, so I have no bias against tenants per se. Like landlords, there are good ones and bad ones.

[CaseyB]

Ok, I might be guilty of skimming some of these threads too quickly, but I didn't see where she mentioned any other code violations?

[VlyRoadKid]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Ok, I might be guilty of skimming some of these threads too quickly, but I didn't see where she mentioned any other code violations?

I don't think she did...but I was just trying to point out that if these tenants do (did) want to cause trouble, they can find any number of violations to allow them to remain there (getting them out was the problem, right?) almost indefinitely, unless the place is condemned. I've just seen it happen several times and a landlord can really get stuck.

Often, landlords are quite unaware, not only of the laws about codes, but whether or not they're in violation. It can often be something as simple as a blown fuse or even a missing light bulb on a porch!

[ogre]

Vly is right. When I researched legal issues during my past landlord dispute, I discovered that there are a gazillion laws in this state, which get into some real nitty-gritty about how landlords and tenants have to conduct business with each other. I would suggest that the OP look over the links in my earlier post. It would probably be a good idea to view those only as a starting point, and to do further reasearch. You can find some good info with an internet search of Mass. landlord-tenant laws. If these tenants are as bad as you say, you might still get lucky and find that they simply move out when you serve them notice, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to be prepared with legal knowledge in case it became more complicated. Best of luck.

[VlyRoadKid]

Thanks for the props, ogre! Too bad for this poor landlord, tho'! You're so right about the...was it a gazillion?...laws in MA (actually, the ones in Ohio are worse...I researched them for my mother-in-law...hard to believe, right?).

Still, the best thing (as in most situations) is to be prepared and always be ready for the worst. It's not pessimism, just realism! This is why, despite my now being a homeowner (after yrs. as a tenant) with a possible 1-bedroom apt., I'd never rent, not even to offset costs!

[Xenos]

Other issues are out here bothering me. Such as the deposit for the apartment... who has it? Has it been kept in a separate, interest-bearing account as the law requires? If there are code violations, that is not a problem for the tenant, but for you, the landlord. You bought these problems when you bought the property, and the cost for dealing with them should have amounted to a discount in the price for the property.

I recommend going back to the attorney who represented you at the closing and getting a quote for how much it would cost to get these people evicted. Then offer them cash to get out. I do not recommend DIY evictions by inexperienced landlords.

[Kar26]

we went to court, the deposit was not handled properly - mainly since my husband bought the house he was between a rock and hard place relying on the rental income to pay half the mortgage. Since the house was bought, they started to be consistently late with rent. My husband was panicking and the tenant told him to just use the deposit until they caught up. Now being new at this and naive, we did not get that in writing. So now going to court, we pay triple damages plus interest for not the 3 years we owned the house, but the 7 years total that they lived there since the previous owner denied them the interest as well. Court grants 5% annual interest. It added up. But they still owed a little at the end, not much and still have to move out in 6 weeks. Never trust a mediator either, we thought our deal was good, later to find out from our Constable that we shouldnt have listened and should have brought it to the judge. And since I did not do the math for myself at court and let the mediator do it, it ended up being all wrong!! We were shorted alot more than what she said. Well, as long as we get our possession back! But then comes the damages to the inside of the unit. Police say to take pictures as soon as they leave, we may have a case if there is damage beyond normal wear and tear. We will see. Obviously if the place is trashed, the judge can see that no one would move into a place like that so they must have done it.

[ogre]

Well, Kar, you and I are seeing the system from opposite perspectives, your being the landlord in your case, and my having been the tenant who got screwed over. I guess this shows that there can be jerks on both sides of the rental arrangement. Unfortunately, you've found out what I did--that, despite the abundance and very specific nature of laws in this state regarding the landlord-tenant relationship, the system works only as well as the people administering those laws, and apparently they sometimes (maybe frequently) do a poor job. I hope things go well with getting recompense for the damage done to the place, so that you can then move on from this.

Okay, on a lighter note, maybe it will help your mood at least a little to get a humorous bit of info about this thread: When you first posted, and I saw the thread title, I thought that by "girls" you meant young women, and that the thread was going to pose a question about whether there was any truth to the urban legend about this or that state or city having anti-prostitution laws prohibiting any more than a certain number of single females from living in the same residence, so as to make it difficult to assemble the girls needed to run a brothel. No truth to that urban legend, from what I've heard, but anyway, it's a good thing that I read the thread and found out what it was really about.

So . . . best of luck getting this last issue taken care of and moving on.