This is the back story to my question...

I purchased a building in New Bedford in Dec 08. The building needed some work, as did the apts. When I met my tenant, I asked him if he had any problems in his apt, to give me a list and together, we would prioritize them with the work we were doind on the 2nd floor and get them done. We told him we were remodeling the 2nd floor apt and that we wanted to clean the building up and make it a nice place to live. I also had to ask him to clean his apt because it was FILTHY. During the home inspection, there was food caked to the stove, crusty dishes piled high in the sink, the bathroom was gross, I could go on but won't. The list he gave me was a leaky toilet, it wasn't actually leaking but the water ran from the tank to the bowl. My boyfriend went right up to fix it and when he left the apt it was fine. He mentioned the lock on the outside door stuck but since I didn't really have a problem with it, I didn't fix it. He also claimed not all of the burners on his stove worked. I explained to him that the gas can't get through the holes in the burner if its filled with dirt. Try cleaning it and if it doesn't work, I'll have someone come out and look at it. After that, he never came back to me with any issues. I asked him a couple of times how things were upstairs and he said everything's fine.

My tenant also failed to pay me Jan's rent because he lost his welfare check because he didn't complete his community service. At the time, we wanted to give the benefit of the doubt so we told him he'd have to go back to welfare or make some arrangement because he needs to pay us timely. We even helped him because his vehicle wasn't working, we drove him to several appts. We even went to bat for him when welfare was giving im the runaround. Anyway, he got back on welfare. We suggested he to go to Catholic Charities to help both him and us to pay Jan. He claimed he did this and that we'd be getting a check. Long story short, we found out a few months later that he wasn't elligible because he had already used them as a source. He paid me rent from Feb 15th to Apr 15th. When I contacted him to collect the rent and he informed me that once again, he didn't complete his service and lost his welfare check but he was getting a job and would pay is in a couple of weeks. I called him a couple of weeks later and he said he had other bills to pay but would catch up next week. Next week, never came so we filed a 14 notice to quit. I'm evicting my tenant for non-payment.

He went to legal aid for help and on June 27th, I received a letter stating that he wasn't paying me rent because of his living conditions. He had a laundry list of issues. The exterior basement door doesn't have a lock, it never has as far as I know. We have a piece of wood blocking the door and wedged up against cement, you can't get in and there are 2 locks on the upstairs door leading to the back halls. We didn't concern ourselves with it because it is pretty secure.

He claims that he has to light his stove with a match creating an unsafe condition. I light my stove with a match and don't feel unsafe.

He claims the front stairs are unsafe, again this was an existing condition, and if the job was done legally, the city should never have signed off on it. The stairs are only about 6 inches deep and the bottom step is actually on the sidewalk. We told the tenant months ago that we were going to replace the stairs and the porch and ironically signed a contract with the contractor the day before we got his letter.

He claims the back yard is unsafe because there was a branch on the ground from the neighbors tree and again, we had already hired someone to do the yard.

My biggest concern is his claim that he has rats, roaches and mice. If he does, it's because of his lack of cleanliness but I believe he's lying. I have been occupying the apt below him and do not have a problem and neither does the first floor tenant. Before I go to court, I want to have an exterminator check his apt to see if there's an infestation. Obviously, if there is a problem I want it taken care of. If the exterminator has to spray, the tenants will need to vacate their homes for a few hours. Aside from scheduling, legally, do I have to accomodate them in any way because they have to vacate the premises?

I know that he legally needed to inform me (but didn't)and give me a reasonable amount of time to correct the problem before he stopped paying. It's really a case of he said, she said. He's using anything he can not to pay me I don't want to violate any laws, I just want him GONE.

Thanks for any help you might offer.