Landlord Harassment Explained
by
Scott F. Bocchio on Aug. 06, 2020
Summary: It is important for renters to fully understand what it means, and how to identify situations that may very well be considered harassment.
Landlord Harassment Explained
Typically speaking, the vast majority of landlords do not actually intend to harass their tenants, yet it does occur. That is why it is important for renters to fully understand what it means, and how to identify situations that may very well be considered harassment. You do have tenant rights in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So without further ado, the following information will provide you with valuable information about landlord harassment and your rights. So what exactly is landlord harassment? It is when your landlord creates conditions that are designed to encourage you to break the lease agreement or abandon the property that you are currently occupying.
Although it can be difficult to prove landlord harassment, the law does recognize it, and your landlord can be punished for this type of behavior. In fact, legal penalties may be imposed when the issues are brought to a court of law. Landlord harassment often happens when landlords feel as if they cannot wait for proper methods to raise the rent, or not renew lease agreements. A plethora of cases occur within strict rent-controlled areas where landlords want to get rid of current, lower rent tenants in favor of higher paying newer tenants.
Landlords who resort to these actions are often trying to avoid the expense of eviction and the hassle of removing a tenant in the proper and legal way. Even if the tenant is violating the lease agreement or the landlord has decided not to renew the lease agreement when it expires, there is absolutely no excuse and zero valid reasons for landlords to harass their tenants. Another aspect of landlord harassment occurs when a tenant makes a complaint about the landlord to an apartment association or government agency.
In essence, it is referred to as landlord retaliation and is recognized by the law as behavior designed to punish a tenant for filing a valid complaint. In addition, tenants can be protected from vengeful landlords if they properly withhold money from rent for repairs based on their state’s laws. If the tenant has issued a complaint about something a landlord has done or has not done, some landlords may feel offended or angry and set out to punish the tenant. At this point, landlords often retaliate by starting the eviction process, raising the rent or changing something about the terms of tenancy.
Other penalizing acts might include restricting or decreasing services. Although these things are perfectly acceptable for landlords to do when there are no issues between them and the tenant, they can be seen as an act of retaliation when performed soon after a tenant complaint has occurred.
If you feel that you are being treated unfairly by your landlord, please contact us immediately. Legal Rights Advocates, PLLC is a consumer advocate law firm that focuses on consumer rights protection services across the Unites States. We have well over twenty-five (25) years of combined experience helping consumers that are experiencing Debt Collector Harassment, Social Security Disability issues, and a whole lot more. LRA is truly your consumer rights advocate. We take great pride in the fact that our job is to protect you from deceptive and or abusive debt collection practices.
Our goal is to assist you each and every step of the way regarding your rights for consumer protection. Please call us today for more information at 855-254-7841 or click here to visit our website. We look forward to working with you.