Very tricky lease-breaking questions!

[Kaotik]

This is in Massachusetts. Here's a tricky lease question that I need help on. In September 99 my girlfriend and I were in a sticky situation and had 2 weeks to find a new apartment. We found this place that is an apartment in a set of buildings. It's the type of place where there are 8 or 9 identical buildings controlled by a rental office. Immediatly after moving in, we were unable to sleep at night due to the people upstairs walking around loudly all night long. This was not just a pitter patter but full-on stomping! We began to call in noise complaints to the management office. We also called the police a few times. This did nothing to remedy the situation. We began writing written complaints to the management office that were very detailed and stated in each when the previous noise complaints were and to have the property manager please call or get in touch with us. The property manager never has. It got to the point of us calling/writing in over 10 complaints with nothing being done and no one calling us. We even got a letter from the upstairs telling us that they had no intention of stopping as it was their right to walk in their own apartment. The property manager should have taken this as a sign to fix the floorboards. Anyways, we finally decided to look for a new place for June 1st. Our lease is not up until September 1st. When looking for a new apartment, the realty agent told us that we had grounds to break the lease because we were denied the quiet enjoyment of the apartment. On April 18th, we wrote a certified letter to the management office that recapped the entire situation (which they still have yet to get back to us on) and said due to the fact that we were denied the quiet enjoyment of the apartment, we hereby terminate the lease effective June 1st 2000. We had pre-paid the last months rent (no security deposit) which i wrote shall be applied the May rent. I got the certification back the next day signed by the property manager. We heard nothing more from them until yesterday when a note from him was slipped under the door that said our May rent was in arrears and that we had 14 days to pay or bring on legal action or they would evict us. The letter is not even signed by the property manager, it just has his name written in the microsoft script font. It is endorsed at the bottom by the town constables office. I have many questions, but the first being that if a tenant informs the landlord of termination, what is the time period that the landlord must acknolwedge the request by? Also, what do we do to combat this? I would have no idea what to do in housing court. Keep in mind that we STILL have not, since September 1st, slept through an entire night that we have spent here. It is awful. Just last night we were awake from 12:30am until well past 3am. If someone with any knowledge could please help, please reply asap! Thanks!

 

[Tracey]

Go talk to the local tenant's rights association. Ask them how to file an action for/raise the defense of breach of the right of quiet enjoyment. If you win, you get credited with 3 month's rent, which will be credited against your lease & you will owe nothing. You should also raise the defense that you already paid the rent, as pre-paid last month's rent.


Good luck,
Tracey


Chapter 186: Section 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 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 ..., and except for ... 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.



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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

 

[Kaotik]

Thank you for your insight! It is much appreciated.