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INTERNAL PROTOTYPE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE — DO NOT SEND

Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, 293 N.E.2d 831 (1973)

Citation
Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, 293 N.E.2d 831 (1973)
Parent Document
Boston Housing Authority v. Hemingway, 293 N.E.2d 831 (1973)
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date
1973-03-05

Other Sections in This Document (181)

Full Text

941 chars
The evidence is summarized. After making repeated demands to the landlord that repairs be made to remedy the defects which rendered their apartments uninhabitable, the tenants began withholding rent on March 1, 1969. They took this action after the Boston housing inspection department had issued a report to the landlord which certified that serious housing code violations existed which "may endanger or materially impair the health or safety, and the well-being of any tenant therein or persons occupying said property." Although G.L.c. 239, § 8A,[4] permits a tenant to withhold rent in such situations, it required the tenant to give written notice to his landlord of his intention to do so. The record supports *187 the Superior Court judge's finding that the tenants failed to comply with this provision of the statute and thus were foreclosed from asserting G.L.c. 239, § 8A, as a defence to the Boston Housing Authority's action.[5]