I was recently asked to manage a multi-family home that is in foreclosure. There are residents in the building who are tenants at will with no written lease agreement. One of the tenants was paying rent up until this month. I called him repeatedly asking why his rent had not been paid and when I could anticipate receiving it. He then proceeded to tell me he was not paying his rent until certain repairs were made to his apartment. At this point, I know that eviction is out of the question, since that could lead to the accusation that we are being retaliatory, however it seems that in this situation, a request for a written list of necessary repairs is reasonable from the tenant. Should I just proceed with repairs even though I do not have anything in writing?
-- (Posted by Sara on the Forum Chat Room.)

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239, Section 8A allows tenants to withhold rent in certain situations. Generally, the tenant must be up to date on his rent payments and his unit must have defective conditions that violate the Housing Code and are serious enough to harm his health, safety and wellbeing (such as no heat in winter or sewage problems). These conditions cannot have been caused by the tenant (or his family or guest) and must be known to the landlord, either through observation by the landlord or by notification from the tenant. Finally, the conditions must be repairable by the landlord without requiring the tenant to move from the unit.

Assuming the tenant did not notify the former owner of the problems in writing prior to the foreclosure, I would say the tenant has not even come close to satisfying the requirements for withholding rent. I would serve him with a notice to quit for non-payment of rent (14 days). At the same time, serve a letter explaining that you would like to enter the apartment to make the repairs the two of you talked about. Suggest three times to enter and make the repairs (pick times during the work day, and let him pick one). Yes, it would be nice to have the problems spelled out in writing, but don’t let that issue stop you from doing the repairs.

This is not a retaliatory eviction because you are merely trying to collect the rent. It takes months to evict a tenant. So by the time you get to court, with the repairs done, you will either already have the rent, or it will be clear to the court that the tenant is not paying the rent for reasons that have nothing to do with the requested repairs. Good luck.