So I got a call from a nasty women who said she was from elder services who said we were harassing that problem tenant and said we couldn't evict a tenet for I think she said 6 months after she called the BOH, She had called them not us, for a slowly dripping facet, another time mold in her bath tub caulking, a ceiling fan with a light blown out , toilet seal leaking etc,..not Real big things and again never calls us to fix things but calls the BOH,..and The local BOH in this small town is happy to write things up,

So what would the basis for eviction be? If it because she is bringing up habitability issues- that would be considered retaliatory and you would lose.

In Oregon- tenant is responsible for replacing light bulbs. The others, the landlord would be responsible for. Fix in a timely manner, and send notice to BOH when done.

So,so,so.

What does your lease say? I am sure you are not the first S8 landlord to have items go wrong.

I'm a bit confused... do you actually HAVE a tenant that is on section 8 or you are asking these questions?

Earlier you were asking about how to NOT allow them (I think that was you) and now you are stating that they are there and you are being called by the "BOH" (which I have no idea what that even means). Is that your codes dept?

As the others stated, you need to just fix these things and move on, What you want to do for sure is maybe have a conversation with the "BOH" (calmly) and advise them that the tenants are not advising you of any repairs needed, they are just reaching out to them directly.

The other thing you need to do is advise your tenants to contact you DIRECTLY with any repairs or issues that need to be attended to. You cannot fix what you are not aware of.

Are you in a lease with them? If so, when does it end? If you are not in an area/state that requires you to provide a reason for the non reissue of the rental agreement, then just indicate that you are not renewing.

The other option you may have is just increase their rent.

I don't understand if you are actually trying to EVICT THEM (which as the others stated, the reasons above don't really seem to be logical for an eviction) or if you are just trying to end the tenancy (which is NOT an eviction).

Also... the "BOH" if it's anything like our Codes Dept... all they do is take the complaint and write it up. Many times they don't even go and look at it, just write it up, site some code violation and send it to the owner to advise to fix it "ASAP".

Just fix it, let them know it's fixed and move on. Again, may be helpful if you advise them personally that you are not being advised by the tenant to fix anything... they are just calling you.

Many tenants are (unfortunately) use to just calling the "BOH" or Codes, etc because in their past... nothing ever happens if they contact the landlord. ADVISE THEM that they need to call you first and give you time to fix it.

Mark, if you move to raise their rent, terminate their rental agreement, attempt to evict (except for certain issues) or in any way decrease services or access to amenities within 6 months of her call to the BOH, it would be considered a retaliatory action which is illegal in MA.

Rights against retaliation

Although the landlord of a tenant at will or under lease can terminate the tenancy or raise the rent without reason, s/he cannot do so in response to your exercising your legal rights. If the landlord tries to raise the rent, terminate or otherwise change your tenancy within six months of when you contact the Board of Health, join a tenants' organization, or exercise other legal rights, the landlord's action will be considered retaliation against you, unless the landlord can prove otherwise. The landlord will have the burden to prove that your tenancy was changed for reasons other than your having exercised your rights.

You can find a lot more info here;

://www.mass.gov/info-details/tenant-rights?_gl=1*iefizc*_ga*Njg1MDU5Mjc0LjE2ODU0NTk5ODA.*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*MTcxMjc4NzAyNy4yLjAuMTcxMjc4NzAyNy4wLjAuMA..

://www.mass.gov/topics/housing-property

://www.mass.gov/guides/landlord-responsibilities

If you place is not excrement house, why are you accepting section 8. The market is very favorable for property owners right now. Why bother messing with section 8?

In your application process you set the standards to be high - good credit score, good income, no pets, cooperative attitude, on the same job for 2+ years, no third party payers (ie. co-signers, churches, or whatever). The applicant or applicants stand or fall on the merits of your application standards.

You will not be in control of your property in your current situation.

Bonanza I have been singing that chorus for a few years now.

Plenty of good tenants out there that aren't sucking the hind teat.

OK, AFTER she moved in she applied and got a section 8 voucher, In Ma you have to accept that, now she has gotten a cat which is against our no pet rule, also she smokes also against our no smoking rule, she has caused problems with every other tenant in the building, She demands minor things to be fixed immediately calling the BOH but will only allow our contractor entry 3 hours on Thursdays which is often not convenient to his schedule, The BOH does not care.

she screamed to our contractors men so long and so aggressively they refuse to go there again.one, a marine said he went home shaking for the rest of the day,.. (my wife posted about this before)

I should to point out I have 6 multi buildings with 42 units and owned them for over 3o years and no one has ever called the BOH for anything, not sure what to do as its beyond anything that we have dealt with before, she only pays a small amount of the rent which includes heat and with her temper and sense of entitlement will try to fight any attempt to remove her,

She is by far the worst tenant over those +30 years, I want to be rid of her,but a while ago she talked to an elder abuse agency and they mentioned about maybe she would not have to leave if the BOH has been called,..I believe she has orchestrated things as a tool to stay,

Sounds like you have a "difficult" tenant. Word of advice; DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. We had one like you have now. My wife was adamant about documenting everything (she worked in a public school system). So glad we did. Did an eviction "for cause" on multiple items. Had several legal things come up afterwards...documentation put us in the clear...the ex tenant did not fair so well.

If you have a lease, just don't renew it. Dear Tenant, your lease ends 12/31. Please be advised that you will need to have all your belongings out by noon. Best wishes on your next home search.

Since you are in MA you might want to talk to an attorney that specializes in this. Maybe one of the group can give you some names.

I have never had any luck in the MA courts unless it was for non payment. The one S8 eviction I did was for non payment .... and I received the HUD payment thru the entire process.

Once heard a MA judge say "I will NOT make a family homeless to facilitate a sale." And he delayed the eviction ... again ... and again.

Could even be a scam to keep rents low.

This is one of the reasons to have yearly rent increases. Tenants expect it and don't push back when it happens. An ongoing history of yearly increases for ALL tenants gives documented proof against accusations of retaliatory hikes as long as they remain relatively constant.

It should also be written into the lease that tenants will see a rent increase on every anniversary of their lease signing. Thirty-day notices should begin with "It's time for your yearly rent increase".

That said, my S-8 Housing Authority usually dragged their feet getting an increase into my bank account.