With sky-high rents and a lack of affordable housing, it can be hard to have sympathy for landlords. Massachusetts has instituted strong protections against unscrupulous property owners, but it can feel next to impossible to reclaim an apartment from a tenant who won’t follow the rules.
There are many instances where tenants rely on protections against bad landlords. But the rules can also be exploited for what some call the “free rent trick,” where tenants use the courts to get months, or even years, of rent-free housing.
Pro-tenant laws have made evictions increasingly difficult to achieve in Massachusetts, according to Jeffrey Turk, a lawyer who has represented landlords in housing court for three decades. They also allow cases to drag on — not infrequently for years at a time. Turk said there’s practically a “playbook” some tenants use to delay evictions
Source: A landlord’s 2-year, $80,000 effort to evict a non-paying tenant | WBUR News
