Landlord offer revocation in Massachusetts

By Alyx Tinker

I have been living in my Massachusetts apartment and paying $800 per month for rent under the initial lease signed in June 2009. After the several years of living here, when my lease renewal came due, despite my requests for a new lease each month included in the rent check, my landlord failed to address or acknowledge my request for a new lease. On Saturday Feb. 2, 8 months after requesting every month for a new lease, my landlord put an offer in my mailbox requesting the new rent be $850 per month, and if I wanted parking that I could pay an additional $25 per month (for a parking space that was given to me by a verbal contract with the landlord). The initial letter continued to say that if we wanted to remain tenants at will we could still pay $900 per month, which has not been the case because we were under the assumption that we were not tenants at will and we were not required to pay $900 per month. He also stated that we could receive our $400 security deposit back whether we signed a new lease that he offered for 24 months. Because the wording of this offer was unclear and at points inaccurate, I refused to sign this letter and circle the amount of time we wanted a new lease for. Instead, I submitted a letter in response requesting clarification of the points that were unclear, asking if it were possible for the parking cost to be negotiable while stating that if I begin paying for this space it is only for my use, and asking him to please make this new increase effective on April 1st due to it being less than 30 days notice of the increase after 8 months of attempting to receive a new lease. After this, my landlord gave a letter back stating that we used the yard on our side of the apartment (which was included in the apartment we were renting), that I needed to notify him prior to purchasing a vehicle (even though the space was included in the initial agreement on a verbal basis), and that we brought another dog into the house without asking (when he also verbally consented to this in August of 2011). He then stated that he was revoking his original offer, and he would like us to stay for $850 per month with no parking. This letter was given two days after the initial offer and it was one day after our request for clarification. Aside from this, most repairs for the home have taken repeated calls to him with no resolution for atleast 3 weeks to a month in most cases (unless it is something we could legally leave for such as heat), for the entire 3.5 years we have remained in this apartment. I was wondering what my rights are in Massachusetts in this situation. 

Thanks. 

Edited on: Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 2:50 pm

One Response to “Landlord offer revocation in Massachusetts”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Maria

February 6th, 2013 6:41 pm

Generally, your landlord can increase your rent after the first lease agreement has expired. But the increase shall only be made effective 30 days from the time your next payment is due. All the verbal agreements hold little value because any of the parties involved can just say they don’t know about it that’s why it’s always best to have everything in writing. If the landlord hasn’t prepared any documentation, you can be proactive and create a written agreement yourself and simply have the landlord sign it.

As for the gray areas in the new lease agreement, I would suggest that you consult with a lawyer regarding that. If there are clauses that are illegal in your state, that is something that you should bring up to your landlord as early as now. Anyway, the state laws always supersede your lease agreement but your goal here is to make sure that your landlord understands that there are clauses in the agreement that need to be revised. This will also prevent disagreements later on.

With regard to the repairs, check your lease agreement to see if there is any clause indicating the reasonable time of repair. Cross reference the information to what your state’s tenant laws say. For disputes, you can always talk to your landlord. If that does not work, you can file a formal complaint against him. Hope that helps! Good luck!


Close


Yes, the RPA® Can Help You!

Filing an official complaint is the nation's fastest way to solve tenant problems.

Not Ready? Learn more...

Virginia Complaint Filling Deadline  Tips/Suggestion

Need Help Filing Your Complaint?

Agents Available Mon- Fri 10am to 10pm

Recently Resolved Complaints:

See how the Nation's Rental Authority has helped thousands of tenants already!

Ask Question:

Post a new question to the RPA Tenants rights forum.

You Have Tenant Rights.
Recently Posted Questions:

Over 4,000 questions have been asked by tenants including these new posts:

Tenant Rights Categories

Popular categories about renters rights.