Yes, at the end of the lease term, if that is the real reason and the notice says so. The Appeals Court affirmed an eviction of a Section 8 tenant from a Brookline single family home after the trial judge believed the owner’s testimony that a family member needed to move in. This is an unpublished Appeals Court decision under Rule 23.0, which courts may cite as persuasive but not as binding precedent.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 rented the home under a one year lease starting in June 2022, with rent subsidized through the Section 8 voucher program run by the Brookline Housing Authority. The lease said the landlord and tenant would consult by April 1, 2023 about whether to renew or end the lease on June 30, 2023. In the fall of 2022, the owners decided to move a parent into the house, which was next door to their own home. They emailed the tenant on March 7, 2023 that the lease would end June 30, and on March 31 served a notice to quit effective at the end of the lease, giving as the reason the owner’s desire to use the unit for personal or family use. At trial, the tenant argued the real reason was retaliation and that the landlord never consulted with her as the lease required.
What the court decided
The Housing Court judge found the owner’s testimony about her parent’s situation credible, detailed and the actual reason for ending the tenancy, and found no evidence of retaliation. The Appeals Court affirmed in 387 Newton Street LLC v. Nwoye, No. 24-P-1137 (Mass. App. Ct. October 7, 2025) (Rule 23.0 decision).
Family use is a permitted reason. Federal rules limit when a landlord may end a Section 8 voucher tenancy. One example of permitted “other good cause” is the owner’s desire to use the unit for personal or family use. 24 C.F.R. § 982.310(d)(1)(iii). The same regulation does not allow that reason during the initial lease term. Here, the notice took effect when the lease expired. The landlord must also give written notice that specifies the grounds. 24 C.F.R. § 982.310(e)(1); Cambridge St. Realty, LLC v. Stewart, 481 Mass. 121 (2018). The notice here named the reason, so it was legally sufficient. The panel contrasted Scott Realty Group Trust v. Charland, 98 Mass. App. Ct. 706 (2020), where notices that gave no reason at all violated the housing assistance payments contract.
The “consult” clause. The lease language requiring the parties to consult did not let the tenant block the landlord from ending the lease at the end of its term.
Credibility. The appeals court accepts a trial judge’s findings unless clearly erroneous. Cambridge St. Realty, 481 Mass. 121. The owner testified in detail, and the judge believed her, so the panel accepted those findings.
Discovery and cross examination. The tenant said the landlord’s interrogatory answers about its communications with the housing authority were incomplete. But she never filed a motion to compel, and no one from the housing authority was subpoenaed. The judge let her ask the witnesses who did testify about those communications. Judges have considerable discretion over procedure in summary process, Bank of Am., N.A. v. Rosa, 466 Mass. 613 (2013), and discovery in these cases is expedited and limited, Diplomat Prop. Manager, LLC v. Lozano, 102 Mass. App. Ct. 57 (2022). The panel found no abuse of discretion in the discovery or cross examination rulings. The judge also did not stop her from questioning the other owner; she never subpoenaed him. Finally, the panel found no evidence of judicial bias; adverse rulings alone do not show bias.
What this means for you
A Section 8 voucher gives you real protection, but not a right to stay forever. At the end of a lease term, a landlord can end the tenancy for a reason the federal rules allow, such as moving in a family member, if the notice states the reason. Your best defense is often showing that the stated reason is not the real one. That is a credibility fight, and you need evidence, not just suspicion.
This case also shows how procedure decides outcomes. If the landlord’s discovery answers are incomplete, file a motion to compel before trial. If you need a witness, including a housing authority employee or a co-owner, subpoena them. Complaining at trial or on appeal is usually too late.
What to do now
- Read your notice to quit closely. Check whether it states a reason and whether it takes effect during or after your initial lease term.
- Contact your housing authority caseworker as soon as you get a notice, and ask what the landlord has told them.
- If you think the reason is false or retaliatory, gather evidence now: emails, texts, repair requests and anything showing the unit is being re-rented.
- Serve discovery early, and file a motion to compel if the answers are incomplete.
- Subpoena any witness you need for trial.
If this is your situation, call Doubleday Law at (617) 575-2006 or tell us what happened. Housing Court deadlines are short.
