Damages under Tenant’s Breach of Lease
A recent case held that if a tenant breaks a lease before the lease termination date, the landlord cannot seek damages until the lease period ends, because it is impossible to conclusively determine the damages until that point – even if the landlord re-leases the property – because the second tenant could breach too and…
Homestead: Protection for Your Home
“I hereby declare that I own and am possessed and occupy thepremises as a residence and homestead under MassachusettsGeneral Laws Chapter 188, as amended.” The above is a core statement to be made in a homestead filingand for a Massachusetts homeowner, could preserve equityin his or her residence of up to $500,000. The MassachusettsHomestead Act…
Protecting Your Second Residence from Long-Term Care Costs
You have put in long hours at the office for the better part of threeor four decades, and are now approaching your retirement years.Throughout your working life, you and your spouse have beendiligent in paying your bills, financially supporting your childrenthrough college, and still managing to save enough money tosupport yourselves during your golden years….
A Fee by Any Name Is Probably Prohibited
A new case interpreted a law limiting the amount a landlordmay collect from a residential tenant. Under G.L. ch. 186 §15B,landlords are limited to collecting first month’s rent, last month’srent, a security deposit and a small key deposit from the tenant. The amount of the last month’s rent and of the security depositcannot be higher…
Airbnb Rentals Pose Novel Issues for Condominium Associations and Unit Owners
Airbnb and other similar web-based services provide anincreasingly popular alternative to hotel accommodations byconnecting travelers to local owners or occupants who wantto earn extra revenue by renting out their homes, or perhapsjust a room in their home, on a short-term basis. Travelerslike it because they can rent anywhere from fully furnishedluxury homes to spartan rooms…
Handling Condominium Fee Delinquencies in Your Association
A fundamental aspect of condominium unit ownership is the requirement to pay a proportionate share of the condominium’s common area charges. Common area charges generally include the cost of items such as landscaping, snow removal, maintenance, management fees, master insurance premiums, and common utilities, among others. The failure of one or more unit owners to…
An Oil Spill Close to Home:Your Legal Liability, Clean-Up Costs & Insurance
Oil spills are in the news today and on people’s minds, thanksin part to the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. Clean up of thatspill will likely run in the billions of dollars.Have you ever thought about who would pay for clean upof an oil spill at your home? No matter who spills the oil,the…
Congress Ends “Apply and Suspend” Strategy to Maximize SSA Benefits
On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed the recently passed ‘compromise’ budget which avoided a shutdown of the Government. This bipartisan compromise budget bill was worked out by members of Congress and officials in the Obama Administration. Each side won some and lost some in the negotiations to pass a budget that will keep the…
Department of Developmental Services (“DDS”)
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is anagency under the Executive Office of Health and HumanServices. Its name is reflective of the expectations about thepersons with disabilities it serves in the community. However,unlike its name suggests, DDS does not serve all persons inthe Commonwealth with developmental disabilities, rather itserves only those persons residing in the…