Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have a tennant that got behind on her rent. She came up with a budget and we agreed upon it plus her rent . Her son moved out and noticed some water damage . She has been paying the rent but not the back rent and has said nothing I tried talking to her but she says she sick. Its in writing by herself what she will pay . Do I have anything to stand on legally . Can she withold that money in Massachusetts until it is repaired I think she does not have the money. She said that family will fix it but I am going to as soon as I GET THE BACK RENT

Well, I'm not an attorney, but here are my thoughts. First of all, you're talking about two separate issues: her back rent owed to you, and your obligation to maintain a safe and habitable rental dwelling. Whether or not you're obligated to repair this water damage depends on the terms of your lease and the nature of the damage, but you can still file an eviction for the back rent owed. I believe, however, that once you start the eviction process, you can't collect anything less than the total amount owed, or else you have to start the eviction process over.

Posted by Ralph F, CA on Sunday, May 17, 2009

I have a tenant who has been behind on there rent for sometime 3500 00, I know they do not have a lot of money but they are trying, what would be a fair but not to overboard payment plan .They have been paying there rent for the last 6 months on time.

Posted by Donald G, MA on Sunday, March 14, 2010