Problem: You are moving into your new apartment with your favorite pet. Johnson, a black Labrador you`ve had for five years, is an invaluable member of your family. You can`t imagine living anywhere without him. When you move in, your landlord will inform you that you will need to leave a “pet deposit” if you want Johnson to live in the apartment. Is a pet deposit legal? Default penalty: A landlord cannot charge interest or a penalty for late rent up to 30 days after the due date. However, the landlord can start the eviction process immediately, even if the rent is only one day late. The landlord also can`t use a reverse penalty clause to encourage you to pay earlier. For example, it is illegal for a landlord to reduce the rent by 10% if the rent is paid within the first five days of the month. The new Animal Addendum aims to comprehensively address all species and animal-related issues. It contains notes that were already made a few years ago and have never been converted into legal language.
Any additional upfront fees in addition to these fees are illegal. The courts have a FAQ on deposits, Measure. Owner, March 2020. Useful information for owners on how to process deposits. 34. Under Paragraph 15B(1)(b) of G.L. 186, the law specifies that a landlord may charge only the first month`s rent, the rent for the last month, a deposit and the cost of a new lock. Perry v. Equity Residential Management, LLC, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Civil Action No. 12-10779-RWZ (August 26, 2014) (G.L.
186, § 15B(1)(b) does not allow landlords to charge potential tenants an application fee, amenity fee, community fee, or initial pet fee.) Broad Street Associates v. Levine, Northeast Housing Court, 12-SP-2041 (Kerman, J., July 30, 2012) (the landlord`s actions to charge a recurring application fee and “pet fee” of $50 per month were both violations of G.L. 186, § 15B(1)(b)); Vazquez v Fletcher, Worcester Housing Court, 09-CV-1032 (Fields, J., July 2009) (Deposit fees are illegal). A new trend is that some landlords are also trying to charge what they call a “pet rental fee,” which takes the form of a monthly rent increase if you have a pet (for example, $20 more each month if you have a cat). The question arises as to whether pet rental fees are legal.37 When landlords rent apartments to new tenants, they sometimes try to get more money than rent. You can try charging additional fees such as “Hold Deposits”, “Rental Fee”, “Pet Fee” or “Registration Fee”. These additional fees are illegal.34 The problem is that if you refuse to pay these fees, a landlord may refuse you to move in. Disclaimer: The Website cannot and will not contain legal advice. Legal information is provided for general information and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Therefore, before taking any action based on this information, we recommend that you contact the appropriate professionals.
We do not offer any legal advice. YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. If you have any legal questions, contact a lawyer or email me at Sage@CambridgeSage.com and I will refer you to a trusted lawyer. You can read more about the requirements for deposits here. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that if a landlord does not maintain an apartment in a habitable condition, a tenant can properly withhold a portion of the rent from the date they became aware of this violation of the habitability order. Rent withholding can be a useful tool for forcing repairs, but it is a serious step and must be treated with care. You may want to get legal advice before withholding your rent, as the landlord may try to evict you for not paying the rent. There is no law in Massachusetts or at the federal level that requires pet owners to rent to pet owners. In fact, an experienced landlord-tenant attorney can provide information about certain circumstances in which landlords may refuse to rent to tenants with service animals despite strict federal fair housing laws. Massachusetts landlord-tenant law, Lexis, George Warshaw, 2nd edition, 2001, with supplement. Chapter 17 regulates deposits.
The supplement to section 17.8 explains how the landlord must correctly complete the condition statement and when the tenant must return it to the landlord or agent to avoid potential legal problems. 39. 105 C.M.R. §§410.190, 410.201, 410.354. In the absence of such a written agreement, the landlord is legally responsible for the cost of heating the tenant`s apartment, even if the tenant has adopted the practice of paying for the heating himself. Jung gegen Patukonis, 24 Mass. App. Ct.
907, 908-09 (1987) (Reskript). See also Lezberg v. Rogers, 27 Mass. App. Ct. 1158, 159 (1989). Landlord and Tenant Law (Mass. Praxis v.33A), West, 2000 with supplement Chapter 14 contains the landlord`s obligations with respect to deposits and last-month rent as well as sample forms As a tenant, you have a legal responsibility to pay your landlord for the use of a place that is in decent condition.
Massachusetts law also grants you rights that protect payments you make to the owner. Once owners decide to allow pets, they need to understand that the potential for additional harm does not allow them to mitigate the risks by charging additional fees for pets. Under The general laws of Massachusetts, landlords can charge deposits equal to one month`s rent, but they cannot charge pet deposits that increase the total deposit amount beyond that limit. MassLandlords is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeowners rent out their property. We do our best, but we cannot guarantee that these forms will always work. We provide legal information, but never advice specifically tailored to your situation. Nothing on this site is intended to create an attorney-client relationship. We recommend that you consult a lawyer.
Yes, pet fees are legal in Massachusetts in certain circumstances. A landlord can only collect the rent for the first and last month, a deposit and the cost of changing the lock between tenants. However, the recent case of Flemming v. Greystar Management has changed the details of how owners can charge fees for pets. While landlords may not accept an additional pet deposit, they may charge inflated monthly rent to account for the increased responsibility of allowing a pet on the premises. It seems to me that this is a matter of opinion for the judge. The judge in the 2014 case said he disagreed with the judge`s decision in the 2012 case. It seems that monthly pet fees (when included in the monthly rent) are not illegal.
Can anyone give an overview of this situation? 940 CMR 3.17(4) Security deposit and rent in advance 24 CFR § 886.315 Section 8 Housing Security and Utilities I have someone who is interested in my apartment, but when I told her there was a $50/month pet fee, she sent me an email saying that pet fees are illegal in MA. She attached the following link: www.kelly.properties/2018/02/17/can-a-land.