Category: landlord-tenant

fair housing, landlord-tenant, State Sanitary Code,

New Sanitary Code Delayed

April 27, 2023:- Landlords in Massachusetts have been preparing to adapt to the new State Sanitary Code, which was supposed to go into effect this month. But today the Department of Public Health announced that the promulgation of the amendments to the Housing Code, 105 CMR 410.000,  Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation (State Sanitary Code, Chapter II), has been delayed. The email did not give a reason.

For the time being, therefore, the old Sanitary Code remains in effect.

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

UPDATE

Today (April 28, 2023) the Department stated that it expects to publish the new code on May 12, 2023, which will be the day it goes into effect.

landlord-tenant, law, State Sanitary Code,

Crash Course for Landlords

On Saturday, October 22, 2022, in Springfield, Massachusetts, I will be teaching part of the MassLandlords Crash Course.

This fast-paced course is strictly limited to 16 participants to allow for detailed discussion and Q&A. Course tuition includes:

  • Small group session with the Executive Director, a trained presenter and experienced landlord, and Peter Vickery, Esq..
  • A comprehensive agenda, see below.
  • Your choice of two books:
    • Every Landlord’s Tax Deduction Guide by NOLO,
    • The Good Landlord by Peter Shapiro,
    • Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, and/or
    • The Housing Manual by H. John Fisher.
  • A bound summary of all material presented.
  • Breakfast pastries, coffee, tea.
  • Lunch sandwiches, sodas, chips, cookies; all dietary requirements satisfied, please notify us when you purchase a ticket.
  • A MassLandlords ballpoint pen.
  • A MassLandlords certificate of completion and permission to use “MassLandlords Crash Course graduate” on your marketing material.

You will receive a box packed with your personalized signed certificate, your choice of two books, course notes, pen, and half a dozen other pieces of literature.

To register click here.

The Crash Course is a program of MassLandlords, Inc., the statewide membership organization of housing providers that I am proud to serve as Legislative Affairs Counsel.

Photo by Bernie Almanzar on Unsplash
COVID 19, housing court, landlord tenant, landlord-tenant, law

Housing law update

March 29, 2021:- Today the Biden administration announced that it will extend the Centers for Disease Control partial eviction moratorium to June 30, 2021.

In the meantime, here in Massachusetts housing providers who go to Housing Court to try to obtain unpaid rent and to eventually regain possession of their property are up against taxpayer-funded lawyers. Tenants obtain counsel at no charge; housing providers must pay, unless they can find a lawyer who will work for free. To misquote Animal Farm, some equal protection is more equal than others.

To read my latest article on the subject for MassLandlords, click here.

Animal Farm, by George Orwell
eviction moratorium, fair housing, housing court, landlord tenant, landlord-tenant, law

Federal eviction moratorium extended

December 28,2020, Washington, DC:- Yesterday President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021 (H.R. 133) which, among many other things, extends the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) moratorium on some evictions. The CDC eviction moratorium is now set to expire January 31, 2021.

For the House summary, click here and scroll down to page 22.

fair housing, housing court, landlord tenant, landlord-tenant, law

What happens when the Massachusetts eviction moratorium expires?

October 9, 2020: – In this short video, I describe the two key things housing providers need to know about when the Massachusetts eviction moratorium expires:

  1. The Federal eviction moratorium ordered by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and
  2. Housing Court Standing Order 6-20.
Peter Vickery, Esq.