| Tenant Protected Actions |
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| Landlord Retaliatory Actions |
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| Penalties for Retaliation |
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When Is It Illegal for Landlords to Retaliate in Massachusetts?
It’s illegal for Massachusetts landlords to retaliate with any substantial change in the terms of the tenancy, against tenants who have taken one of the following protected actions in the past six months:
- Participate in government actions (lawsuits, etc.) relating to the tenancy.
- Assert their statutory rights to gas and electric service.
- Complain to the landlord or government about mismanagement of the property.
- Participate in a tenant organization.
The law allows an exception when the landlord can prove a non-retaliatory, good-faith reason for the alleged retaliatory action. For example, a landlord who raises rent proportionately in response to a large increase in property tax is not retaliating, even if a tenant has recently complained about maintenance.
What Can Tenants Do in Response in Massachusetts?
If a landlord retaliates in Massachusetts, the tenant can respond by suing the landlord for damages (actual damages or 1-3 month’s rent, whichever is greater) plus court costs and attorney fees. Retaliation is also a defense against landlord actions like eviction.
Sources
- 1 Mass. Gen. Laws Chap. 186 § 18 (2022)
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“[Anyone] who threatens to or takes reprisals against any tenant of residential premises… judicial or administrative action… exercising the tenant’s rights pursuant to section one hundred and twenty-four D of chapter one hundred and sixty-four [right to gas and electric service]; or reporting to… [any] board having as its objective… regulation of residential premises; or reporting or complaining of such violation or suspected violation in writing to the landlord or to the agent of the landlord; or for organizing or joining a tenants’ union or similar organization… shall be liable for damages which shall not be less than one month’s rent or more than three month’s rent, or the actual damages sustained by the tenant, whichever is greater, and the costs of the suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.”
Source Link - 2 Mass. Gen. Laws Chap. 186 § 18 (2022)
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“The receipt of any notice of termination of tenancy, except for nonpayment of rent, or, of increase in rent, or, of any substantial alteration in the terms of tenancy within six months after the tenant has commenced, proceeded with, or obtained relief in such… or within six months after any other person has taken such action or actions on behalf of the tenant or in, or relating to, the building in which the tenant resides, shall create a rebuttable presumption that such notice or other action is a reprisal against the tenant for engaging in such activities. Such presumption shall be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence that such person’s action was not a reprisal against the tenant and that such person had sufficient independent justification for taking such action, and would have in fact taken such action, in the same manner and at the same time the action was taken, regardless of tenants engaging in, or the belief that tenants had engaged in, activities protected under this section.”
Source Link
