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By Mrs. Walrath of Stow, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1291) of Patricia A. Walrath and others for legislation to further regulate the withholding of rent by tenants. Housing. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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By Mrs. Walrath of Stow, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1291) of Patricia A. Walrath and others for legislation to further regulate the withholding of rent by tenants. Housing. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PETITION OF:
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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Section
127L of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official
Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the
following:—
Any tenant who deducts rent for any reason shall give to the owner at the time
of such deducting, a statement indicating the amount of such deduction, the
date on which it was made, the reason or reasons for such action, the name of
the person or escrow agent holding the funds, the account number, the name of
the owner from whom the rent is deducted and a clause indicating that the owner
is entitled to interest on said deducted funds at a rate of five per cent per
year and paid to the owner for each full month the rent is deducted. Such
statement shall be signed by all tenants deducting such funds.
Tenants who deduct rent for any reason are hereby required to place the
deducted funds into an escrow account with the court or an attorney to be held
for the owner. The tenant is required to furnish the owner with the name of the
escrow agent and the account number. Upon request the owner may at any time,
within two banking days, inspect the account to insure the funds exist and are
on deposit within the account so named. Failure by the tenant to deposit and
keep the deducted funds in the escrow account so stated would automatically and
immediately default any tenant defense, by-pass summary process and immediately
terminate said tenancy.
If the tenant deducts rent for a deficiency in the rented premises or a
sanitary code violation, a detailed description of any such deficiency or code
violation shall accompany the notice of deduction along with proof of notice to
the landlord of said deficiency or code violations along with proof of a similar
notice to the board of health or local code enforcement agency.
The deducted rent shall continue to be the property of the owner of the real
property, shall not be commingled with the assets of the tenant and shall not
be subject to any claims of any creditor of the tenant or of the tenants
successor in interest, including a trustee in bankruptcy.
Funds so deducted shall be immediately released, adjusted by amounts agreed to
between the tenant and owner or as ruled by court order, to the owner together with
all accumulated interest as soon as the stated reason for withholding the funds
has been corrected.
If the tenant fails to repay any rent deducted or interest thereon to which the
owner is entitled within thirty days after the owner is entitled thereto, the
owner shall be awarded damages in the amount equal to three times the aggregate
amount due together with court costs and reasonable attorneys fees.