Additional Information: I remember when I was a student and renting an apartment in Boston my roommates and I once withheld rent from our landlord to get him to make repairs to our stove and water heater. Now, a bit older, my wife and I own a condominium unit in Westwood, MA that suffered water damage to the ceiling in our living room as a result of a leak in the roof that the condominium association has, to this date, refused
Additional Information: If one were to begin maintaining and occupying land to claim through adverse possession, is it possible to build a dwelling/building IE: house and/or garage on said land? Legally? What about taxes/permits/etc? If this land was to be reclaimed by the owner before the 20year period, what would happen to the dwelling/building? ATTORNEY ANSWER: Home ownership through adverse possession is not a good strategy. Typically, claims of adverse possession arise when two neighboring homeowners do not know exactly where
Additional Information: About ten years ago I bought my home in Needham MA from my dad who is still alive. He had built a garage many (25) years ago and part of it was built on a neighboring parcel of land owned by a corporation. Two questions: Can I now assert adverse possession to claim the land the garage is built on? How would the tacking work? In other words, if my dad was ‘trespassing’ for 15 years and then he
Additional Information: I am a landlord with rental properties in Dedham MA. As a landlord, do I have the ability to evict a tenant at the end of the lease term for no reason? There is nothing on the lease suggesting the tenant has a right to renew. And no clause for renewing. So is it even called eviction if the landlord simply chooses not to renew the lease on college students? ATTORNEY ANSWER: No it’s not called an eviction. The
Additional Information: I am looking for an apartment for me and my mother to live together. She is legal resident of the US. We found an apartment in Framingham, MA and the landlord refused to rent to us when I told him that my mother will live with me. Is this legal? Can I report it to housing for senior discrimination? What will happen to this landlord? ATTORNEY ANSWER: M.G.L. c. 151B Sec. 4 prohibits descrimination in housing on the basis
Additional Information: I moved to MA from NY and was unaware that I was supposed to have a Home Improvement License to do any work in the state. I contracted into a painting job at a residence in Natick, MA not knowing this and the local building inspector was made aware that I was not properly licensed to do this work. I am obviously taking the steps to obtain this license now which is just a one hundred dollar fee but
Additional Information: I am a landlord in the Greater Boston area and I am evicting a tenant. We have a jury trial coming up. Can either of us appeal that decision? If we can, how long would it take and who would make that appeal decision? Further, can you appeal the outcome of that decision as well? ATTORNEY ANSWER: The losing party has 10 days to appeal the decision. If your summary process trial was in a housing court or a
Additional Information: I own property and wondered if I MUST incorporate to ensure that I cannot be sued for my personal assets. Or is there insurance for this? ATTORNEY ANSWER: The simple answer is “no” your personal assets will not be safe. Sole proprietors and general partners in a partnership are personally and jointly responsible for all the liabilities of the business such as loans, accounts payable and legal judgments. In a corporation, however, stockholders, directors and officers typically are not
Additional Information: My landlord took a Security Deposit ($2000+) and Last Month’s Rent ($2000+). After tenancy ended he returned a portion of the Security Deposit (less “damages”) and also gave me “interest” on Last Months Rent of roughly 7 dollars. Mass Law states that Landlord needs to pay 5% or such lesser amount as he gets from the Bank. So, my question is, with respect to Last Month’s Rent, if Landlord put last months rent in a personal checking account that
Additional Information: I have a small business and had a contract with a Massachusetts company to perform landscaping work outside our building. I paid them nearly a couple thousand dollars to perform some specific landscaping jobs and they have not done them all. The area looks like a dump and they won’t give me my money back so I can hire someone else. ATTORNEY ANSWER: You definitely have a claim against the landscaping company for breach of contract. You can also
Additional Information: I remember when I was a student and renting an apartment in Boston my roommates and I once withheld rent from our landlord to get him to make repairs to our stove and water heater. Now, a bit older, my wife and I own a condominium unit in Westwood, MA that suffered water damage to the ceiling in our living room as a result of a leak in the roof that the condominium association has, to this date, refused
Additional Information: If one were to begin maintaining and occupying land to claim through adverse possession, is it possible to build a dwelling/building IE: house and/or garage on said land? Legally? What about taxes/permits/etc? If this land was to be reclaimed by the owner before the 20year period, what would happen to the dwelling/building? ATTORNEY ANSWER: Home ownership through adverse possession is not a good strategy. Typically, claims of adverse possession arise when two neighboring homeowners do not know exactly where
Additional Information: About ten years ago I bought my home in Needham MA from my dad who is still alive. He had built a garage many (25) years ago and part of it was built on a neighboring parcel of land owned by a corporation. Two questions: Can I now assert adverse possession to claim the land the garage is built on? How would the tacking work? In other words, if my dad was ‘trespassing’ for 15 years and then he
Additional Information: I am a landlord with rental properties in Dedham MA. As a landlord, do I have the ability to evict a tenant at the end of the lease term for no reason? There is nothing on the lease suggesting the tenant has a right to renew. And no clause for renewing. So is it even called eviction if the landlord simply chooses not to renew the lease on college students? ATTORNEY ANSWER: No it’s not called an eviction. The
Additional Information: I am looking for an apartment for me and my mother to live together. She is legal resident of the US. We found an apartment in Framingham, MA and the landlord refused to rent to us when I told him that my mother will live with me. Is this legal? Can I report it to housing for senior discrimination? What will happen to this landlord? ATTORNEY ANSWER: M.G.L. c. 151B Sec. 4 prohibits descrimination in housing on the basis
Additional Information: I moved to MA from NY and was unaware that I was supposed to have a Home Improvement License to do any work in the state. I contracted into a painting job at a residence in Natick, MA not knowing this and the local building inspector was made aware that I was not properly licensed to do this work. I am obviously taking the steps to obtain this license now which is just a one hundred dollar fee but
Additional Information: I am a landlord in the Greater Boston area and I am evicting a tenant. We have a jury trial coming up. Can either of us appeal that decision? If we can, how long would it take and who would make that appeal decision? Further, can you appeal the outcome of that decision as well? ATTORNEY ANSWER: The losing party has 10 days to appeal the decision. If your summary process trial was in a housing court or a
Additional Information: I own property and wondered if I MUST incorporate to ensure that I cannot be sued for my personal assets. Or is there insurance for this? ATTORNEY ANSWER: The simple answer is “no” your personal assets will not be safe. Sole proprietors and general partners in a partnership are personally and jointly responsible for all the liabilities of the business such as loans, accounts payable and legal judgments. In a corporation, however, stockholders, directors and officers typically are not
Additional Information: My landlord took a Security Deposit ($2000+) and Last Month’s Rent ($2000+). After tenancy ended he returned a portion of the Security Deposit (less “damages”) and also gave me “interest” on Last Months Rent of roughly 7 dollars. Mass Law states that Landlord needs to pay 5% or such lesser amount as he gets from the Bank. So, my question is, with respect to Last Month’s Rent, if Landlord put last months rent in a personal checking account that
Additional Information: I have a small business and had a contract with a Massachusetts company to perform landscaping work outside our building. I paid them nearly a couple thousand dollars to perform some specific landscaping jobs and they have not done them all. The area looks like a dump and they won’t give me my money back so I can hire someone else. ATTORNEY ANSWER: You definitely have a claim against the landscaping company for breach of contract. You can also
