Full question:
Can you legally change the locks on a tenants apartment for non payment of rent after you have given them the 14 day notice of lease termination or do I have to go through the Summary Process Summons form and court? She owes past due amount of $900.00 and owes current rent of $700. She will not answer any of my calls or my attempts to contact her. I sent her the 14 day form but if she doesn't go, I'm not sure what to do.
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Date:
- State: Massachusetts
Answer:
A landlord must typically serve a written notice on the tenant, specifying the amount of rent owed and demanding payment in a period of time or face termination of the lease. If the tenant pays before the deadline, then the lease is not terminated. Some state statutes remove the protection of the notice period if tenant is late with payment more than a certain number of times per year. In a large majority of states, self-help recovery of possession of premises (locking out tenant or forcibly removing tenant) has been abolished. Landlords must follow the legal processes under state law to accomplish eviction of tenants. A landlord cannot forcibly evict a tenant without proper notice. The landlord must provide written notice to the tenant of the default. If the tenant does not fix the default within a reasonable amount of time, the landlord must file for a formal court eviction proceeding.
In Massachusetts, if a landlord wants a tenant out of his or her apartment permanently, the only way to evict the tenant lawfully is by getting an execution (court order to move out). A landlord cannot lock out a tenant under any but a few narrowly interpreted and exceptional circumstances. The penalties for unlawfully shutting off the tenant’s utilities or for unlawfully barring a tenant access to the apartment without an execution can be severe, running the gamut from three month’s rent, attorney’s fees, and injunctions forcing you to put the wronged tenant back in the apartment, and criminal penalties and fines in some instances.
If a landlord is evicting a tenant for nonpayment, he or she must send a 14 day notice to quit . But, if the tenant pays all monies due, plus costs, interest and the court filing fees by the date his or her answer is due in court, the tenant has an absolute right to stop the eviction. For tenants at will, if the eviction is for nonpayment, the landlord must give a 14 day notice to quit. But, if the tenant pays the amount claimed due, plus costs, interest and the court filing fees in 10 days, and if this is only the second notice to quit for nonpayment within 12 months, the tenant has an absolute right to stop the eviction. If the landlord does not place notice of this fact in the notice to quit, the tenant has a right to stop the eviction by paying the above sums not later than the date his or her answer is due in court. When the notice period ends, the landlord must serve a summary process summons and complaint on the tenant. This officially brings the tenant under the court’s power and informs him or her of the trial date, the place of the hearing, the reasons for eviction and how much money, if any, the landlord claims the tenant owes him or her.
The following are Massachusetts statutes:
G.L.c. 186, § 5. Action to recover rent; evidence.
Section 5. Such rent may be recovered in contract, and the deed of
demise or other written instrument, if any, showing the provisions of the
lease, may be used in evidence by either party to prove the amount of
rent due from the defendant.
G.L.c. 186, § 11. Determination of lease for nonpayment of rent.
Section 11. Upon the neglect or refusal to pay the rent due under
a written lease, fourteen days' notice to quit, given in writing by the
landlord to the tenant, shall be sufficient to determine the lease,
unless the tenant, on or before the day the answer is due, in an action
by the landlord to recover possession of the premises, pays or tenders
to the landlord or to his attorney all rent then due, with interest and
costs of suit. 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 such action 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, § 11A. Termination of lease for nonpayment of rent.
Section 11A. Upon the neglect or refusal by the tenant to pay the rent
due under a written lease of premises for other than dwelling purposes,
the landlord shall be entitled to terminate the lease either (i) in
accordance with the provisions of the lease or (ii) in the absence of
such lease provisions, by at least fourteen days notice to quit, given in
writing to the tenant. If a landlord terminates the lease by at least
fourteen days notice pursuant to clause (ii) of the preceding sentence,
the tenant shall be entitled to cure on or before the day the answer is
due in any action by the landlord to recover possession of the premises,
by paying or tendering to the landlord or to his attorney all rent then
due, with interest and costs of such action. The rights to cure provided
herein, shall apply only to termination pursuant to clause (ii) and shall
not apply to termination in accordance with the provisions of the lease.
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 or by
foreclosure.
G.L.c. 186, § 14. Wrongful acts of lessor or landlord of buildings or
premises occupied for dwelling or residential purposes; criminal
penalties; civil remedies; jurisdiction; sections applicable to acts of
reprisal, waiver in leases or rental agreements prohibited.
Section 14. Any lessor or landlord of any building or part thereof
occupied for dwelling purposes, other than a room or rooms in a hotel,
but including a manufactured home or land therefor, who is required by
law or by the express or implied terms of any contract or lease or
tenancy at will to furnish water, hot water, heat, light, power, gas,
elevator service, telephone service, janitor service or refrigeration
service to any occupant of such building or part thereof, who willfully
or intentionally fails to furnish such water, hot water, heat, light,
power, gas, elevator service, telephone service, janitor service or
refrigeration service at any time when the same is necessary to the
proper or customary use of such building or part thereof, or any lessor or
landlord who directly or indirectly interferes with the furnishing by
another of such utilities or services, or who transfers the
responsibility for payment for any utility services to the occupant
without his knowledge or consent, or any lessor or landlord who directly
or indirectly interferes with the quiet enjoyment of any residential
premises by the occupant, or who attempts to regain possession of such
premises by force without benefit of judicial process, shall be punished
by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than three
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than six months. Any
person who commits any act in violation of this section shall also be
liable for actual and consequential damages or three month's rent,
whichever is greater, and the costs of the action, including a reasonable
attorney's fee, all of which may be applied in setoff to or in recoupment
against any claim for rent owed or owing. The superior and district
courts shall have jurisdiction in equity to restrain violations of this
section. The provisions of section eighteen of chapter one hundred and
eighty-six and section two A of chapter two hundred and thirty-nine shall
apply to any act taken as a reprisal against any person for reporting or
proceeding against violations of this section. Any waiver of this
provision in any lease or other rental agreement, except with respect to
any restriction on the provision of a service specified in this section
imposed by the United States or any agency thereof or the commonwealth or
any agency or political subdivision thereof and not resulting from the
acts or omissions of the landlord or lessor, and except for interruptions
of any specified service during the time required to perform necessary
repairs to apparatus necessary for the delivery of said service or
interruptions resulting from natural causes beyond the control of the
lessor or landlord, shall be void and unenforceable.
G.L.c. 239, § 1. Persons entitled to summary process.
Section 1. If a forcible entry into land or tenements has been made, if
a peaceable entry has been made and the possession is unlawfully held by
force, if the lessee of land or tenements or a person holding under him
holds possession without right after the determination of a lease by its
own limitation or by notice to quit or otherwise, or if a mortgage of
land has been foreclosed by a sale under a power therein contained or
otherwise, or if a person has acquired title to land or tenements by
purchase, and the seller or any person holding under him refuses to
surrender possession thereof to the buyer, or if a tax title has been
foreclosed by decree of the land court, or if a purchaser, under a
written agreement to purchase, is in possession of land or tenements
beyond the date of the agreement without taking title to said land as
called for by said agreement, the person entitled to the land or
tenements may recover possession thereof under this chapter. A person in
whose favor the land court has entered a decree for confirmation and
registration of his title to land may in like manner recover possession
thereof, except where the person in possession or any person under whom
he claims has erected buildings or improvements on the land, and the land
has been actually held and possessed by him or those under whom he claims
for six years next before the date of said decree or was held at the date
of said decree under a title which he had reason to believe good.
G.L.c. 239, § 1A. Land or tenements used for residential purposes; action
by lessor under this chapter to recover possession; conditions and
restrictions.
Section 1A. A lessor of land or tenements used for residential purposes
may bring an action under this chapter to recover possession thereof
before the determination of the lease by its own limitation, subject to
the following conditions and restrictions. The tenancy of the premises at
issue shall have been created for at least six months duration by a
written lease in which a specific termination date is designated, a copy
of which, signed by all parties, shall be annexed to the summons. No such
action may be initiated before the latest date permitted by the lease for
either party to notify the other of his intention to renew or extend the
rental agreement or in any case before thirty days before the designated
termination date of the tenancy. The person bringing the action shall
notify all defendants by registered mail that he has done so, which
notification shall be mailed not later than twenty-four hours after the
action is initiated. The person bringing the action shall demonstrate
substantial grounds upon which the court could reasonably conclude that
the defendant is likely to continue in possession of the premises at
issue without right after the designated termination date, which grounds
shall be set forth in the writ. No execution for possession may issue in
any such action before the day next following the designated termination
date of the tenancy. Any action brought pursuant to this section shall
conform to and be governed by the provisions of this chapter in all other
respects and no remedy or procedure otherwise available to any party,
including any stay of execution which the court has discretion to allow,
shall be denied solely because the action was brought pursuant to this
section.
G.L.c. 239, § 2. Jurisdiction; venue; form of writ.
[EDITORS' NOTE: TEXT OF SECTION IS APPLICABLE AS PROVIDED BY 2004, 252,
SECTION 23.]
Section 2. Such person may bring an action in the superior court in the
county in which the land lies if the plaintiff seeks money damages and
there is no reasonable likelihood that recovery by the plaintiff will be
less than or equal to $25,000, or such other amount as is ordered from
time to time by the supreme judicial court. Where multiple damages are
allowed by law, the amount of single damages claimed shall control. Such
person may bring an action in the district court in the judicial district
in which the land lies.
Such person may bring the action by a writ in the form of an original
summons to the defendant to answer to the claim of the plaintiff that the
defendant is in possession of the land or tenements in question,
describing them, which he holds unlawfully against the right of the
plaintiff, and, if rent and use and occupation is claimed, that the
defendant owed rent and use and occupation in the amount stated; but,
subject to the approval of the supreme judicial court, the judge of the
housing court of the city of Boston shall determine the form of the writ
in the actions brought in his court. Failure to claim rent and use and
occupation in the action shall not bar a subsequent action therefor.
G.L.c. 239, § 3. Judgment and execution; costs; appeal.
Section 3. Except as hereinafter provided, if the court finds that the
plaintiff is entitled to possession, he shall have judgment and execution
for possession and costs, and, if rent is claimed as provided in section
two and found due, the judgment and execution shall include the amount of
the award. If the plaintiff becomes nonsuit or fails to prove his right
to possession, the defendant shall have judgment and execution for
costs.
At least forty-eight hours prior to serving or levying upon an
execution issued on a judgment for the plaintiff for possession of land
or tenements rented or leased for dwelling purposes, the officer serving
or levying upon the execution shall give the defendant written notice
that at a specified date and time he will serve or levy upon the
execution and that at that time he will physically remove the defendant
and his personal possessions from the premises if the defendant has not
prior to that time vacated the premises voluntarily.
The notice shall contain (1) the signature, full name, full business
address and business telephone number of the officer; (2) the name of the
court and the docket number of the action; (3) a statement that the
officer will place any personal property remaining on the premises at the
time the execution is levied in storage at a licensed public warehouse,
and the full name, full business address, and business telephone number
of the warehouse to be used; (4) a statement that the warehouser's
storage rates may be ascertained by contacting the commissioner of public
safety and the address and telephone number of such agency; (5) a
statement that the warehouser may sell at auction any property that is
unclaimed after 6 months and may retain that portion of the proceeds
necessary to compensate him for any unpaid storage fees accrued as of the
date of the auction, except as provided in section 4; and (6) a statement
that the defendant should notify the warehouser in writing at the
business address listed in the notice of any change in the defendant's
mailing address. The notice referred to in this section shall be served
in the same manner as the summary process summons and complaint and shall
be filed in the court that issued the execution.
The officer shall select the public warehouser identified in the notice
described in the preceding paragraph in a manner calculated to ensure
that the defendant's personal property will be stored within a reasonable
distance of the premises at issue in the summary process action. The
officer shall not select pursuant to this section a warehouser whom the
officer knows or reasonably believes to be in violation of any provision
of section 4.
No execution for possession of premises rented or leased for dwelling
purposes shall be served or levied upon after five o'clock p.m. or before
nine o'clock a.m., nor on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
If the underlying money judgment in any summary process action for
non-payment of rent in premises rented or leased for dwelling purposes
has been fully satisfied, together with any use and occupancy accruing
since the date of judgment, the plaintiff shall be barred from levying on
any execution for possession that has issued and shall return the
execution to the court fully satisfied. If no execution has issued, the
plaintiff shall notify the court of the satisfaction of judgment and no
execution shall issue thereafter. If the underlying money judgment has
been fully satisfied and use and occupancy fully paid, the defendant
shall be considered a lawful tenant and may enforce this right through
judicial process, including injunctions barring the issuance of or
levying upon the execution and motions to supersede or recall the
execution. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the plaintiff shall not be
required to accept full satisfaction of the money judgment. Any refusal
by the plaintiff to accept full satisfaction of the money judgment under
this paragraph shall not be a bar to the enforcement of said judgment in
any lawful manner.
G.L.c. 239, § 4. Storage of property removed; liens and enforcement;
penalties.
Section 4.
(a) If an officer, serving an execution issued on a judgment
for the plaintiff for possession of land or tenements, removes personal
property, belonging to a person other than the plaintiff, from the land or
tenements, he shall forthwith cause it to be stored for the benefit of
the owners thereof. Such property shall be stored with the licensed
public warehouser identified in the notice provided to the defendant
pursuant to section 3, except that the officer shall store the property
with a warehouser or other storage facility of the defendant's choosing
if the defendant notifies the officer of his choice in writing at or
before the time of removal of the property. The officer shall file with
the court that issued the summary process judgment and provide to the
defendant in hand, or if the defendant is not present at the time of
execution by receipted mail to the defendant's last and best known
address, a receipt containing a description of the goods removed or of
the packages containing them, as well as name and signature of the
officer.
(b) Any public warehouser who accepts property for storage pursuant to
this section:
(1) shall be licensed and bonded pursuant to section 1 of
chapter 105;
(2) shall file its current storage rates with the
commissioner of public safety and shall not change such rates more than
once annually, unless the commissioner of public safety or his designee
gives prior written approval upon a showing of extraordinary
circumstances;
(3) shall not impose charges for storage under this
section in excess of the rates filed with and not rejected by the
commissioner of public safety at the time of service of the notice
provided for in section 3;
(4) shall not impose charges for storage under
this section in excess of the fair market rates for storage facilities of
similar quality in the warehouse's general locale;
(5) shall not impose
charges other than those for the actual storage of goods pursuant to this
section, including, but not limited to, docking fees, warehouse labor
fees, administrative fees, or other similar fees imposed in addition to
the storage rates listed with the commissioner of public safety;
(6)
shall not impose minimum fees or otherwise charge storage fees for any
period other than the period of actual storage;
(7) shall credit toward
the defendant's costs of storage any amount paid by the plaintiff or
other third party in connection with the storage of the property in
question;
(8) shall send by first class mail to the defendant's last and
best known address monthly statements of the amount of advances made and
of liabilities incurred for which the warehouseman claims a lien or
security interest pursuant to this section; and
(9) shall insure the
defendant's property against fire and theft in the amount of no less than
$10,000. A warehouser who accepts goods under this section is liable for
any loss or injury to the goods caused by his or her failure to exercise
such care in regard to them as a reasonably careful person would exercise
under like circumstances but unless otherwise agreed or provided in this
section, the warehouser is not liable for damages which could not have
been avoided by the exercise of such care. No person shall be required to
release a warehouser from liability as a condition of release of any
stored property.
(c) The plaintiff in the summary process action shall pay the costs of
removing the property to the place of storage. The plaintiff shall be
entitled to reimbursement by the defendant for any costs and fees so
advanced.
(d) Upon receipt of personal property under this section, a public
warehouser shall forthwith, but no later than 7 days after the removal of
the property from the land or tenements at issue in the summary process
action, issue a warehouse receipt that complies with the requirements of
section 7-202 of chapter 106. Such receipt shall contain as additional
terms:
(1) a statement that the warehouser may sell any property
unclaimed after six months and retain that portion of the proceeds
necessary to compensate the warehouser for lawful storage fees actually
accrued as of the date of the auction, except as provided in this
section;
(2) a list of the warehouser's storage rates and a statement
that such rates may be verified by contacting the commissioner of public
safety, as well as the address and telephone number of such agency;
(3) a
conspicuous statement that the defendant should notify the warehouser in
writing at the business address listed in the notice of any change in the
defendant's mailing address;
(4) a description of the applicable
procedures for reclaiming the stored property, including, but not limited
to, a statement that the defendant is entitled to reclaim items of
personal or sentimental value but limited auction value once during the
period of storage without payment of any fee and that the defendant shall
be entitled to purchase individual items at any auction held to enforce
the warehouser's lien created under this section and an identification of
the publication in which any such auction will be advertised pursuant to
subsection (f) of section 7-210 of said chapter 106. A duplicate copy of
the warehouse receipt shall be kept on file at the place of storage and
the original shall be served by receipted mail or hand delivery to the
defendant at his last and best known address. The warehouser shall keep
separate the goods covered by each receipt so as to permit at all times
identification and delivery of those goods. A warehouser who fails to
comply with the requirements of this subsection shall be liable for
damages caused by the omission to a person injured thereby.
(e) Any warehouser who accepts personal property pursuant to this
section shall have a lien thereon for charges for storage, insofar as
such charges are imposed in accordance with this section. The lien shall
not be enforced by sale or disposal of the property until it has been
kept in storage for at least 6 months. Thereafter, the warehouser may
enforce the lien in the manner provided for in subsection (2) of section
7-210 of chapter 106, except as otherwise provided in this section. The
defendant shall be entitled to postpone the sale or disposal of his
property for 3 months upon payment of one half of all storage fees
incurred plus costs reasonably incurred in preparation for their sale
pursuant to law. The warehouser may satisfy his lien from the proceeds of
any sale or disposition under this section but must hold the balance for
delivery on the demand of any person to whom he would have been bound to
deliver the goods. A warehouser's failure to comply with any of the
requirements of this section shall result in the forfeiture of his lien.
(f) The defendant may access his stored property once, without charge
or payment of storage fees, either to inspect the property or to remove
items having primarily personal or sentimental value, or both. Items
having primarily personal or sentimental value, shall include but not be
limited to photographs, passports, documents, funeral urns, and the
like. All personal property stored under this section may be reclaimed at
any time upon payment of all storage fees lawfully owed by the
defendant. If the property is sold at auction, the defendant shall be
entitled to purchase the property in bloc or in parcels, regardless of
the terms of the public sale. The failure of any third party to pay
monies owed by him to the warehouser shall not affect the rights of the
property owner to reclaim property under this subsection.
(g) A warehouser who violates this section shall pay a civil penalty of
not more than $5,000, in an amount to be determined by the commissioner
of public safety after notice and an opportunity for an adjudicatory
hearing under chapter 30A. The commissioner or his or her designee may at
any time conduct an inspection of a public warehouse storing goods under
this section for the purpose of assessing compliance with applicable
health and safety codes and the requirements of this section. The
commissioner may reject the rates filed by a warehouser for storage
pursuant to this section if the commissioner determines that such rates
are not commercially reasonable or otherwise violate this section. The
failure of the commissioner to reject a warehouser's rates shall not
create a presumption that such rates are commercially reasonable for
purposes of liability under chapter 93A or this section.
(h) Notwithstanding any civil penalty imposed pursuant to subsection
(g), the defendant may petition the court in which the summary process
action was heard for damages or injunctive relief in connection with any
violation of this section. A violation of this section shall also be a
violation of section 2 of chapter 93A.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
