Landlords have various legal duties to ensure their tenants live in acceptable conditions. Property owners must maintain specific standards outlined in statutes to remain within the bounds of the law.
Unfortunately, not all residential landlords meet these requirements. Failure to fix leaking roofs or exterminate pests can cause physical harm to tenants, reducing their quality of life.
The purpose of this blog is to explain negligence and landlord maintenance responsibilities. Tenants injured in rental units may be able to make successful claims against property owners and recover losses.
What Does Landlord Negligence Mean?
Landlord negligence is a legal term that describes a situation where a landlord fails to take reasonable care to prevent tenant harm. Massachusetts law requires property owners to take various minimum steps to assure courts they are preventing bodily injury.
Landlord negligence can take various forms (discussed in the next section). However, any property owner renting a unit should know their legal obligations to tenants. For example, landlords should promptly attend to repairs and ensure compliance with residential housing building codes.
Landlords should also be aware of the tools tenants have to address their negligence. For instance, renters may be able to deduct the cost of repairs from the rent or terminate the lease.
The Duties Of Residential Landlords In Massachusetts
Residential landlord duties vary by state. Legislatures offer varying levels of protection to tenants, depending on where they locate in the country.
In Massachusetts, landlords must comply with an “implied warranty of habitability,” which is legal jargon meaning that the property should be livable. Units should provide residents with various kitchen fixtures, heat, hot water, and electricity.
Here’s what that means in practice:-
-
Water – The property must provide facilities for tenants to heat water between 110°F and 130°F, and landlords must pay for the required fuel unless exempted in the rental contract. Landlords can install a meter, and state tenants must pay for mains water. However, they must still pay the water and sewerage bills themselves and recoup the funds later.
-
Pests – Units and common areas in apartments must also be free from rodents, insects, and other infestations, according to Massachusetts officials. Landlords must remove cockroaches, mice, rats, termites, and other insects before putting the unit up for rent. If renters discover pests during their tenancy, they can request extermination at the landlord’s expense.
-
Structural sufficiency – Landlords must also maintain the essential structural elements of rental units, including the floors, walls, ceilings, stairwells, and basements. Tenants are not responsible for costs associated with repointing a chimney or waterproofing an exterior wall. Rental units should be free from chronic dampness, rodent-resistant, and watertight. Water should not enter the property during rainstorms. Stairs should not be defective or risk causing tenant injury.
-
Proper exits – Landlords must also maintain the building’s designated exits. Occupants should be able to leave the building quickly without any snow, trash, or other debris in the way.
-
Kitchen equipment and appliances – Rental properties must have an adequately-sized sink, electrical outlets for refrigerators, and a working stove. In electric-only apartments, landlords must provide a stove outlet if tenants will provide their own. In Massachusetts, landlords do not have to supply a working refrigerator or freezer unit, but most do as standard.
-
Locks – Massachusetts law also requires rental properties to have locks on all doors and windows. Landlords who install them can show they are protecting tenants from injury and loss resulting from criminal activities, such as burglary.
-
Heating – Finally, landlords must ensure they equip apartments with a functioning heating system. Landlords must pay for fuel to heat hot water and electricity unless the rental agreement states tenants will pay for it. Rules state that internal temperatures must be at least 64°F at all times and between 68°F and 78°F from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.
Habitability requirements are relatively low in Massachusetts. However, landlords should still go through items on this list one by one to ensure they meet all the requirements.
To assist tenants, Massachusetts operates a State Sanitary Code (SSC). This obliges landlords to repair various issues within the given time limits stated by the Board of Health, between 24 hours and 30 days.
Official advice is for landlords to check for damage whenever an old tenant moves out. When that happens, Local Board of Health inspectors should verify that the apartment meets SSC standards and is free from pests and vermin. Certification helps landlords prove they are not being negligent.
When Can Tenants Take Negligent Landlords To Court?
Massachusetts law protects tenants from landlord negligence. Therefore, many landlords wind up in court for breaking the law.
However, going to court is usually a last resort. Most tenants and landlords attempt to arrive at a resolution before that happens.
This section explores situations when tenants can take negligent landlords to court. These include:-
-
When they violate the “warranty of habitability”
-
When they are negligent
-
When their negligence results in loss or injury from burglary or criminal acts
Tenants can take landlords to court for other reasons, such as entering the property without prior warning or permission, but these do not relate to negligence.
Poor Living Conditions And Breach Of Warranty Of Habitability
Poor living conditions and breach of “warranty of habitability” occur when landlords fail to meet the housing standards outlined by Massachusetts law. In these cases, tenants often seek out-of-court resolutions first, asking local housing inspectors to send landlords repair orders and demanding that they make necessary repairs. Tenants can sometimes organize together if a landlord negligence issue is affecting everyone.
With that said, out-of-court solutions can fail, forcing tenants to seek help from attorneys. Going to court can be highly effective if the prosecution can prove a landlord broke the law.
As stated above, Massachusetts law requires all landlords to owe tenants a “warranty of habitability.” This rule mandates them to keep apartments or properties in reasonable condition, as outlined in the previous section.
Landlords cannot evade their duty to provide habitable accommodation to their tenants under any circumstances. For instance, property owners cannot offer discounted rent in exchange for poorer living conditions. Any landlord that does this breaches their duties.
According to state law, the “warranty of habitability” begins the moment the landlord finds out about the actual living conditions in their property. (This knowledge can occur before a tenant moves in if a landlord had the opportunity to inspect the property). With that said, tenants should notify their landlord of habitability problems in writing first, before going to court. Landlords can then respond to issues within Board of Health deadlines.
Landlords must respond to habitability issues if they see them when visiting the property or tenants inform them, or if a Board of Health inspector notifies them that problems exist. They must also respond if they discover issues that could affect other tenants elsewhere in a building they own.
Courts won’t automatically assume a landlord has violated their “warranty of habitability.” Judges have considerable freedom to determine what constitutes a breach and what doesn’t. Therefore, Massachusetts officials recommend tenants acquire a Board of Health report documentation of code violations first before going to court.
Negligence
Given the above, tenants can take landlords to court when they are negligent or fail to exercise reasonable care when maintaining their property to prevent occupants from becoming injured. Successful lawsuits are more likely when renters prove the owner is liable under a legally-accepted category.
For example, landlords are liable for injuries caused by hidden defects on the property, even if they existed before tenants moved in. Landlords are also responsible for injuries in public areas under their control, including stairways, halls, and corridors.
Generally speaking, tenants can take landlords to court for the following negligence-related reasons:-
-
When landlords agree in the lease to be responsible for repairs but fail to carry them out
-
When landlord properties contain defects that cause injury,
-
When landlords have attempted to repair defects but have done so inadequately, and they have still caused injury
-
When a landlord is notified of an issue, and it later causes an injury
Injury From Criminal Acts Such As Burglary
Tenants can also take landlords to court when injured in rental properties as a result of criminal acts, such as burglary, if the landlord’s negligence played a role in the incident. For example, tenants can sue rental unit owners for failing to supply adequate locks on windows and doors.
Injury can be either emotional or physical. Some cases will award the former if tenants can prove severe mental upset or physical problems, such as heart murmurs, resulting from negative feelings. Physical harm encompasses any physical injuries that occur because of the landlord’s negligence.
Naturally, in either case, tenants should contact personal injury lawyers. Professional attorneys can tell them whether they have a suit and what kind of settlement or compensation they could receive.
Common Landlord Defenses Against Negligence And Poor Maintenance
Landlords can defend themselves along several lines against negligence and poor maintenance. Tenants should understand these defenses and how they work before submitting a legal claim or taking a case to court.
Actions Of The Tenant
Some landlords defend themselves successfully by arguing that damages or injuries occurred because of the tenant’s actions. For instance, landlords may point to clauses in the contract that say the tenant was responsible for maintaining the fitting that caused the injury.
Comparative Negligence
Related to this, landlords may also plead comparative negligence. Here, they argue that the injuries caused were at least partly the tenant’s fault.
Statute Of Limitations
A statute of limitations may also be relevant. In Massachusetts, tenants must bring a personal injury claim within three years.
Failure To Give Notice
Another valid defense is a failure to give proper notice. Tenants must tell landlords about hazardous property-related issues that occur during their tenancies. If they don’t, landlords cannot act to remedy the issue. Landlords may claim that tenants did not give them sufficient time to solve the problem and prevent injury from occurring.
Compliance With Building Regulations
Finally, some landlords use their compliance with building codes and regulations as part of their defense. Defense attorneys and premise liability lawyers may argue that building owners maintained all applicable standards and cannot be held responsible for any issues relating to code violations.
The Steps To Take After An Injury
After an injury in a rental apartment, tenants should act quickly to protect their rights and ensure a higher likelihood of a favorable legal outcome. Immediate steps should include:-
Tenants should immediately get medical attention for any bodily harm to reduce the risk of long-term health problems and death.
Tenants should collect their doctor’s report at a convenient time during their recovery. These documents can assist a case in court, persuading judges that a genuine injury occurred.
Tenants should next take pictures of the accident scene. Pictorial evidence can demonstrate the condition of the property and the source of the injury. Those who cannot take photos because of medical care should ask another inhabitant of the building or a friend to do so.
Tenants should then write down the list of events that occurred leading up to the injury. Courts consider this contemporaneous evidence, which can be highly effective in personal injury cases.
After that, tenants should inform their landlords in writing and ask them to contact their insurance provider.
At the same time, injured tenants should keep the results of financial losses, such as lost wages and medical bills, resulting from the injury. Courts may consider these when deciding on suitable compensation.
Finally, speak with a personal injury lawyer about your situation and case. Experienced attorneys can evaluate your circumstances and recommend a suitable course of action.
Final Remarks
In summary, landlords have certain obligations under the law to ensure properties are habitable. Courts may deem injuries that result from poor living conditions that do not meet these standards as negligence, and landlords’ may need to pay compensation.
To find out whether you could make a claim, contact us today.