Massachusetts Landlord Tenant Lawyers

Massachusetts Landlord Right

Finding a Good Tenant
Finder's Fee: When renting an apartment, you are not permitted to charge a finder's fee to a prospective tenant if you are also the landlord of the unit. (M.G.L. c. 112 §87DDD-1/2 and 254 C.M.R. § 2.01 et seq). Only a licensed broker or salesperson can lawfully collect a fee for bringing together a landlord and a tenant.

Duty Not to Discriminate Unlawfully: A matrix of Federal, State and local laws combine to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex (gender), sexual orientation, age, marital status, religion, military/veteran status, blindness, hearing impairment, receipt of public assistance or housing subsidy, and children, with minor exceptions. Discrimination is prohibited against children because the apartment contains lead paint and you do not want to incur the expense of de-leading the apartment. Be certain your rental agents understand that you will not tolerate rental discrimination.

Screening Prospective Tenants : Because paying your mortgage is directly dependent upon your tenants paying you, you should always run a credit check and a check of the tenant's prior rental history through companies making this information available for a nominal fee. You should always confirm current employment, salary level, prospects for remaining with the employer, and landlord references from not just the current landlord, but also the tenant's landlord just prior to the prospective tenant's current landlord. Also, you may want to meet your tenants prior to giving final approval, especially in an owner-occupied multi-unit rental. The rule of thumb that tenants should pay no more than 1/4 of their income for rent has been stretched beyond that recommendation by increases in market rents. However, if the tenants offer a co-signature of a parent or friend on their lease to guarantee their rental obligation to you, consider carefully that a guarantee by an out-of-state signer is very difficult to enforce.

Pre-Rental Preparation of The Apartment : Before renting an apartment, you should inspect it completely after the current tenant vacates or near the end of the current tenant's occupancy to assess any damage, to assure that it is in good repair when attempting to re-rent the apartment, and for the incoming tenant once it has been rented. You are obligated under certain circumstances to have the local Board of Health inspect and verify that the apartment meets State Sanitary Code and safety standards prior to re-renting.

It makes good business sense to do this in all occasions whether required to or not, because anticipating and resolving problems before they become major issues is essential to the smooth, cost-effective and profitable operation of residential property.

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