The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a bank’s eviction judgment and rent award against a tenant who stopped paying rent after the bank bought the home at foreclosure, but it sent the case back to recalculate the interest on that award. Interest on rent that came due after the case was filed must run from each missed payment, not from the day the case began. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.
What happened
The tenant had rented the home since 2010 under a written month to month lease with the owner. The owner defaulted on his mortgage, and the bank, as trustee, foreclosed and bought the property at a January 2018 foreclosure sale. The lease survived the foreclosure, so the bank became the tenant’s landlord on the same terms, including rent of $500 a month. The tenant made no rent payments to the bank from February 2018 through January 2025, and the unpaid rent totaled $42,000. The tenant had earlier sued the banks in a case that ended in federal court, where he lost on claims covering the years before the bank took title.
What the court decided
In Wells Fargo, N.A. v. Heal, No. 25-P-996 (Mass. App. Ct. August 4, 2026) (Rule 23.0 decision), the court affirmed the judgment for possession and rent, vacated only the prejudgment interest, and sent that issue back.
The bank proved its right to possession. A foreclosing bank can make its first showing by producing the foreclosure deed and the affidavit of sale. Federal Nat’l Mtge. Ass’n v. Hendricks, 463 Mass. 635, 642 (2012). The bank produced both. The tenant said the former owner never got notice of the sale, but he offered no affidavit from the former owner. His own statements were not competent evidence on that point, so he did not raise a genuine dispute.
Old claims could not be brought again. The tenant’s counterclaims about the years before the bank owned the property had already been decided in the federal case, which he appealed as far as he could. A party who had a full and fair opportunity to litigate an issue cannot relitigate it. Pierce v. Morrison Mahoney LLP, 452 Mass. 718, 730 (2008).
Repair claims were separated, not lost. A tenant facing eviction may raise claims about bad conditions as a defense and counterclaim. G.L. c. 239, § 8A. But a conditions claim can only defeat possession if, among other things, the landlord knew about the conditions before the tenant fell behind on rent. The judge found the tenant had not given that notice. So the judge could move his conditions claims to the civil docket, where he can still pursue money damages.
Rent kept adding up. The complaint asked for only five months of rent, but the tenant stayed for years without paying. The court held the bank could recover all rent and use and occupancy that came due while the tenant stayed.
Interest was figured wrong. In contract cases, interest runs from the date of the breach or demand if known, otherwise from the date the case started. G.L. c. 231, § 6C. Each monthly payment was a separate breach, so interest on each month that came due after the case began must run from when that month came due. The judge may approximate by grouping each year’s rent and running interest from the end of that year. Bank v. Thermo Elemental Inc., 451 Mass. 638, 662-663 (2008).
What this means for you
If you rent a home and the owner loses it to foreclosure, your lease does not simply vanish. In this case the lease survived, and the bank that bought the property stepped into the owner’s shoes as landlord. That cuts both ways. You keep your tenancy, but you also keep owing rent, and unpaid rent keeps growing for as long as you stay.
This tenant lost his home and owed years of rent because he stopped paying and could not back up his defenses with evidence. A few lessons stand out. First, statements in your own papers often are not enough at summary judgment; you may need affidavits from people with firsthand knowledge. Second, claims you already lost in another court usually cannot come back. Third, if you want bad conditions to protect your possession, the landlord must know about them before you fall behind. Written notice is the safest proof.
What to do now
- If your building is foreclosed, find out in writing who the new owner is and where to pay rent.
- Keep paying rent or use and occupancy, or set it aside, while you sort out who is owed.
- Report repair problems to the new owner in writing, and keep copies, before any rent is late.
- Ask your local board of health for an inspection if conditions are unsafe.
- If you receive a notice to quit or summons, get legal help right away and gather affidavits early.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
