My amicus brief for the statewide organization MassLandlords.net is the subject of a news story in today’s BusinessWest magazine. The case concerns the complex law surrounding security deposits.
Does the law really say that a landlord’s security-deposit mistake is a defense that allows the tenant to retain possession even after failing to pay rent? I don’t think so. To learn why, check out the article in BusinessWest.
But if the Supreme Judicial Court agrees with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, which represents the tenant, landlords will be even more reluctant to accept security deposits so (facing greater insecurity) will likely spread the risk through higher rents.
Peter Vickery, Esq., 