Skip to main content
DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)

Citation
Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)
Parent Document
Andover Housing Authority v. Shkolnik, 443 Mass. 300 (2005)
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date
2005-01-14

Other Sections in This Document (43)

Full Text

1,167 chars
The authority has an equal responsibility to all of its public housing tenants, many of whom are disabled or elderly. General Laws c. 186, § 14, imposes liability on “any lessor or landlord who directly or indirectly interferes with the quiet enjoyment of any residential premises by the occupant.” In Doe v. New Bedford Hous. Auth., 417 Mass. 273, 285 (1994), we stated that “[t]he covenant of quiet enjoyment protects a tenant’s right to freedom from serious interference with [her] tenancy — acts or omissions that impair the character and value of the leasehold.” The interference need not arise directly from the landlord’s conduct. Id. A landlord may be liable as a result of the conduct of third parties if serious interference with a tenancy is a “natural and probable consequence of what the landlord did, what he failed to do, or what he permitted to be done.” Id., quoting Blackett v. Olanoff, 371 Mass. 714, 716 (1977). Here, if the authority failed to take action against the tenants for excessive and largely unabated noise that plainly breached Taylor’s quiet enjoyment of her apartment, such inaction could constitute a violation of G.L. c. 186, § 14.