Before I moved into my apartment in a six unit building with a one year lease I showed the landlord that the toilet was not flushing properly. He said it was fine and I disagreed. I told him that I would buy the $30 part and install it if he would repay me and he said he would. So, of course, I sent him the receipt from the store with a note asking him to pay and he has not responded. Never mind that I saved the guy a $100 bill from the plumber by doing the job for him but now he's going to rip me off for $30. I know it's not a lot of money but I want it and think his behavior is unfair and deceptive as you have talked about on this site. What do you think? Time for a demand letter? I have no intention of staying in the apartment after the lease is up anyway, so I might as well go for it.
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The Editor, Mark Bernardin, is an attorney living in MA. Please send your suggestions or comments to: TheEditor@malawforum.com
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MA Consumer Protection Act applies to landlords
Absolutely. The Massachusetts Consumer Protection act (93A) applies to landlords. I believe there is an exception for landlords that live in the same two or three unit building as the tenant, but that would not apply in your case. The conduct described in your question certainly seems unfair and deceptive. Massachusetts law, through regulations, often spells out specific examples of what constitutes an unfair and deceptive act. See 940 CMR 3.17(g), which classifies the following behavior us unfair and deceptive: "Fail(ing) to reimburse the tenant within a reasonable or agreed time after notice, for the reasonable cost of repairs made or paid for, or supplies or services purchased by the tenant after any representation, that such reimbursement would be made(.)" Hope that helps.