Alan Reaches Settlement in Landlord Tenant Case Without the Need for Litigation
In a rare case that did not even require a lawsuit to be filed, Alan recently secured a monetary settlement for a client who had to vacate his apartment because the landlord had been ordered to correct violations of the local building code.
The client lived in an apartment within a house that was divided into six apartments. The local building code requires all apartments to have two means of egress. Unfortunately the client’s apartment was on the third floor and had but one means of egress, making installation of a second egress a practical impossibility. Additionally, the building was zoned for only two units. As a result, the zoning enforcement official ordered the tenant to immediately vacate the unit, despite the fact that the tenant had five months remaining on his lease. The tenant ended up moving into a friend’s apartment and had to put most of his furnishings into storage.
Through investigation Alan learned that the landlord had long been aware that the unit did not comply with the zoning code. Citing this fact, Alan sent the landlord a “demand for relief” pursuant to Chapter 93A of the General Laws of Massachusetts and requested payment of compensation for “unfair and deceptive acts or practices”; in this instance, renting the apartment to the tenant with the knowledge that it did not comply with either the building or zoning laws. Within one month of the landlord’s receipt of the demand, and without the need to initiate any lawsuit, the parties agreed to a monetary settlement.
Wellesley real estate litigation attorney, Alan Fanger serves the entire Greater Boston and Boston metrowest region including Arlington, Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Concord, Dedham, Dover, Framingham, Lexington, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norwood, Quincy, Sherborn, Sudbury, Waltham, Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston, Massachusetts.
