What are my remedies against an abusive landlord?
Question Details:
A landlord enters without permission 15 times; threatens/tells 16-year-old he is being evicted because the child's father is a bum and does not pay the bills. House was rented one year in advance per agreement with landlord since father was bringing boys who had been abused by their mother for new start. In fact, last half of year on lease was paid by the NFL National Football League Dire Need/Abuse Prevention Fund and written into the lease itself. Threats begin a little past half-way through year. Son reverts to failed school behavior, violence, and Dept of Children and Families calls conduct endangerment.
MGL CH 186 Sec 14 prohibits landlords from interfering with a tenant's "quiet enjoyment" of the premises even when rent is past due. The Landlords remedy is limited to bringing an eviction proceeding. In order to have a viable claim for more then nominal compensation (perhaps three times the agreed upon rent?) you would have to show that "but for" the landlords' conduct the 16 years would not have had the issues that have arisen. Given that you mention familial abuse it might be hard to separate the landlord's actions from the 16 year olds prior history. You owuld probably need testimony from a psychiatrist or psychologst to sort things out. The landlord's being obnoxious is not, in and of itself, compensible.
You may find,in the end, that the costs attendant with bringing this type of suit are greater than the damages you may recover.
One would have to review all of the past medical and school records to get an overview.
