Landlord-Tenant and Eviction Law

Experienced Massachusetts Eviction Attorneys

We appreciate our well deserved reputation of being one of the top landlord-tenant and eviction law firms in Massachusetts. We handle a wide variety of residential and commercial landlord-tenant matters, almost exclusively for landlords. Our attorneys have handled well over 2,500 eviction cases, and are well known in the Housing Court and District Court summary process sessions as experienced and aggressive Massachusetts eviction attorneys. Recently, Attorney Richard Vetstein successfully led the legal challenge to the statewide Covid-19 Eviction Moratorium Act, resulting in the Governor letting it expire. We also filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the successful challenge to the City of Boston Eviction Moratorium. We are also leaders in the lobbying effort to oppose the pro-tenant Housing Stability Act, pass the Rent Escrow Bill, and level the playing field between small property owners and tenants. Lastly, we are quite experienced with all of the major changes to court rules and procedures stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Summary Process” in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, the formal legal term for evictions is “summary process.” The Uniform Summary Process Rules provide that these cases are supposed to proceed “just, speedy, and inexpensive.” In practice, however, residential summary process can be anything but that. In fact, as we always inform our landlord clients, Massachusetts is one of the most tenant friendly states in the country, and an eviction can be lengthy, frustrating and unfair to landlords. In some cases, it can take many months or even years to evict a tenant. We know all of the methods typically employed by tenants to delay eviction, and we will vigorously pursue the landlord’s right to regain possession of their rental property. We also specialize in evicting “professional” and other problematic tenants who engage in drug or criminal activity or other bad behavior.

Further, Massachusetts eviction practice is loaded with traps for the unwary and procedural complexities for landlords. Landlords who represent themselves do so at their own peril and will often arrive at court with their cases dismissed for not following these requirements. It’s not a do-it-yourself situation. We also provide our clients with valuable “preventative medicine” by drafting leases and advising clients on tenant screening issues.

If you have a landlord-tenant legal problem, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] or by phone at 508-620-5352.

For more information about Massachusetts evictions and summary process, please read our guide, Get Out! A Landlord’s Guide to Massachusetts Evictions and our article on Evicting The Professional Tenant.