I am the owner of a two family in Massachusetts - I reside in one apartment - rent the other (2 Bedroom). My current tenants have taken in pets (a total of 7 - 5 cats 2 dogs) without permission. Their last agreed to inspection revealed deplorable living conditions - trash blocking emergency exits - trash/paper/cardboard piled to the ceiling - animal urine/feces in every room. These animals are left unattended many times. Most recently four days. The smell is detectable from the yard even now in the dead of winter. Can I legally call the board of health, or animal control? There are also two small children. I can only assume that if the board of health got involved so would DSS. My heart breaks for the children, but it will cost me thousands to professionally "gut" the apartment to make it habitable again.
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Editor's Response
Of course you can call inspectional services. Keep in mind, however, that if you do not have all your paperwork in place, evicting the tenants or forcing THEM to cleanup will be more difficult. For example, if you do not have a lease or a rental agreement, they will argue that you told them they could have pets. Also, if you did not give them an Apartment Condition Statement at the start of the tenancy, they will argue that many of the problems with the unit are your fault and ask inspectional services to force you to fix them. Hopefully, the inspector and the judge will not listen to their arguments, but you should be prepared. As an aside, I sympathize with your difficult position, but you need to protect your property. Good luck. For more information or to post a question, visit our Massachusetts Landlord Law Discussion Forum.