Tim's summary of just cause eviction law

Tim's summary of just cause eviction law

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summary

There will be city run mediation on any rent increase over 5% and on every lease expiration or renewal where there are any changes to the rental agreement. Any time that happens the landlord has to file paperwork with the City of Boston. Mediation can then be required. There are many grounds for dismissal. The results are not mandatory unless the landlord makes a mistake. Mistakes could include: not being able to prove compliance with everything in the 41 provisions of section 6 of the law, or failure to follow the procedures in any of 20 other some odd laws or municipal ordinances, a problem with the wording on the paperwork, or a challenge to the landlord's dominant motive or good faith. If mediation happens and the tenant wins and the landlord decides not to honor it, if he doesn't file the mediation certificate just so he can be liable for damages, lawyers fees and 3 months rent. The process would start 30 days before the end of the lease, mediation would likely start after the lease had already expired and the whole process would likely take months and cost lots in time and/or legal fees.

how the building runs now

Apartments are maintained but no significant renovation takes place on an apartments while it is home to its current residents. On average 6-10 years passes between tenancies and renovation takes place then. When an apartment is listed, it is generally listed at slightly below market rates. Rents generally do not go up for current tenants for 10 years. There are exceptions; Manuel and Maria's rent went up $10/month when I did a quick renovation of the kitchen to add a requested dishwasher. After 10 year there have been rent increases of %20 which turns out to less than 2%/year. This formula works fine for the building and rewards tenants for longevity, creates a stable community and it allows households to effectively sock away at 5% a year compared to paying rising rents.

what the law means for 255 Chestnut

When a long term tenancy has ended it will be arduous and a bureaucratic and legal quagmire to make a case for a rent increase to approximate market rates. Most likely we would get rejected like we used to get rejected for rent increases under rent control. Keeping the rates steady for 10 years and then raising them 20% would also get rejected. Essentially the law punishes you for keeping your rents low. So we would have to change things. Every year, at the end of any lease, we would have to raise everybody's rent <=5%. We could then maintain control and responsibility for the building.

what the law means to me

The new law will make the house different. There will be more turnover since household don't have the stable rent incentive to stay for a while. More turnover will mean it costs more to run the building. For 255 Chestnut at least, the law will make it less 'affordable for the long-term residents'.

references

You could pay for a copy of the law or strain to see this one or you could look at my imperfect transcription