State Specific Question About: MASSACHUSETTS (MA)

I am dealing with a set of tenants who are probably over consuming water and may have other people living there. I have checked the house and there are no known leaks. I have used a plumber and made water saving changes etc. and yet the bill is getting larger per month.

I have checked MA law and I do have some options including having extra residents sign a lease.

Assuming they are on a lease, give them a "30 Day Notice to Quit" for something like "Excess water usage". You might even pay the $35 to have it served by a constable.

Of course, this notice won't stand up in court (you don't even plan to go to court with it), but that's not the point.

Your point is landlord's Rule #1 - "The landlord is in charge, and the tenant is not".

Your real problem isn't the water usage. It's their belief that they can just blow you off. You gotta shake these tenants up!

Paper is cheap. Give them a 30 Day Notice.

Many utilities will transfer service, when a tenant refuses to pay their bill or moves out, over to the owner's name. My contracts with all utility services say never place anything into my name unless I agree to it.

So when my tenants fall behind on their water, power, sewer or gas, the utilities sometimes port over the service into my name without notice. Then I get a huge $1000 bill for past due service.

It is against the law for a landlord to cut off service to a tenant, paying rent or not.

This is when I put my City and Utility on notice I am going to sue them, and follow through with a suit in small claims court.

" I tell the judge, someone with an IQ under 100..."

What courthouse do you go to, Robert?

What kind of judicial officer do you choose?

I had this problem of overuse of gas, water, electricity. Four rentals, two meters. No cooperation. Month-to-month leases.

I amended the lease with 60 days' notice, and put a cap on usage, with a reasonable surcharge after a generous allowance is exceeded.

That was 3 years ago. I have saved lots of money because the possibility of a surcharge means people actually conserve. The allowance has never been exceeded and I have never charged a surcharge.

Now all new leases where I pay a utility have this feature.

I send a complimentary email congratulating tenants on conservation. If I note a rise in usage, I will let them know. Once there was a leak they found right away, and another time they stopped using the aircon so much...in both cases they thanked me for notifying them.