What rights do tenants have after a fire?

[jmm]

There was a fire at my brother Jim's apartment tonight. Thankfully nobody was hurt. Even the pets are ok. Their hamsters and my brother's chinchilla will be staying with me for a while and they all have places to stay for the night but the firefighters said it may be a while before they can move back in. Most of the damage was limited to their unit, especially in the ceiling, and one of his roommates pretty much lost everything. Everybody agrees it was an electrical fire. They moved in in Sept 2004. Even then the lights flickered alot but it's gotten worse and they've been complaining to the landlord. About four months ago he agreed to do something about it but the electrician he sent to check out the place told my brother it would be expensive because all of the wiring would need to be replaced and nothing was ever done about it. One of his neighbors told us tonight that she had even planned complaining to the board of health about him on Monday about a number of problems including mice.

Their lease was up this past Sept but they've stayed on as tenants at will so now I'm very concerned about what rights they have. Since my brother's unit suffered most of the damage can he just kick them out to delay getting it properly fixed? Now that I know everyone is ok I'm very worried about what recourses they will have, if any, to be compensated for housing and lost property. They've already talked about contacting a lawyer tomorrow so any advice would be appreciated.

[Blue-Jay]

1. I think your brother is mostly out of luck.

I hope he had renter's insurance to cover his belongings. I'm not aware of any leverage that he would have on the landlord either.

Sorry to hear about this.

[jmm]

4. He didn't have renter's insurance

I know of similar situations, including one my family was involved in when I was in high school, where people were able to get some form of compensation because of negligence but my biggest concern involving my brother is that they didn't have a normal lease. I don't know how long the repairs will take so I'm worried the landlord will try to drag things out for a month then tell them they're out of luck.

[Blue-Jay]

5. I don't understand why the landlord would stall on repairs.

More stalling = less money, and landlords like their money. It makes more financial sense to get things fixed as fast as possible. Then again, people can be strange for their own reasons.

[jmm]

11. My guess is he simply thought he could get away with it

At first the problem with limited to the lights. When the problems got worse and he finally had an electrician check out the place the electrician admitted to my brother that some would try to simply replace the fuse box but their apartment and possibly the whole building needed every single wire and electric outlet changed. Nobody had refused to pay rent or threatened legal action. He probably thought he could take advantage of his tenants and find someone who would do the job cheaper and not properly.

[lizziegrace]

8. The lease

Unless it specifies that it renews for an entire year, it is assumed it is a month-month lease with a 30 day termination notice. Even though he doesn't have a current lease, his old lease should still be in force and his landlord is bound by the terms and conditions, just as your brother is.

[nytemare]

2. I just did a search for renter's rights.

This came up. This is for Virginia, but I am sure Mass has similar laws.


http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/family/354-066/354-066.html

[jmm]

6. Thanks!

That looks pretty similar to what I've been reading about Mass laws and has given me a couple of ideas for them.

[CanuckAmok]

3. talk to that lawyer!

Usually the onus of insurance falls on the tenant.

However, the fact that he has a documented history of complaining about conditions there may be a blessing in disguise.

If he can get the other tenants, and that electrician, to support his claim that the landlord knowingly ignored a safety concern (which ultimately led to the fire), he may be able to claim real and punitive damages against the landlord for negligence.

[jmm]

9. Two other tenants already agreed to support their claim

They're not sure what the electrician's name was so I hope they can figure it out.

[CanuckAmok]

10. that's when they take turns...

...phoning every electrician in the book and asking them if they did the estimate. Don't tell them why, just find out.

[Seabiscuit]

7. Fire insurance is generally a part of tenant insurance. Without it,

you're generally shit out of luck.

The landlord doesn't have to carry fire insurance. He/she generally has no control over fires, absent making sure there are no obvious structural fire hazards.

[DesEtoiles]

12. Read the lease-what does it say about holdovers

It probably says it's a month-to-month lease, meaning either party can terminate with 30-days' notice.

Also, the lease should have a casualty clause that describes what happens when the premises are damaged or destroyed.

Does the owner have a lender? Most likely, the loan documents will require the owner to use insurance proceeds to reconstruct within x days...