Yes. The Appeals Court held that a landlord who took months to fix a rotting bathroom floor after inspectors cited it violated the Consumer Protection Act, G.L. c. 93A, both under the Attorney General’s landlord regulations and because the habitability breach was substantial. This is a published decision of the Appeals Court and is binding statewide.
What happened
The landlord brought a no-fault eviction against a tenant who had lived in the Lowell apartment with her four children since 2015, with a Section 8 subsidy. The tenant told the landlord about rotting bathroom underflooring in July 2021. Between October 2021 and March 2022, the Lowell board of health and the agency that administered the subsidy each inspected twice and sent the landlord four notices of code violations, including the bathroom floor. The landlord did not start on the floor until about five months after the first board of health notice, and repaired it only after the agency told the tenant the subsidy payments would stop. After trial, the Housing Court judge found a breach of the warranty of habitability from July 2021 through March 2022, gave the tenant possession, and awarded $1,170 in damages, or $130 a month for nine months. But he found no Chapter 93A violation and denied attorney’s fees.
What the court decided
In Ndoro v. Torres, 105 Mass. App. Ct. 128 (2024), the court reversed the Chapter 93A ruling and the denial of fees.
Missing the repair deadline is an unfair practice. The Attorney General’s regulation, 940 CMR 3.17(1)(b), makes it an unfair or deceptive practice for a landlord, after notice under G.L. c. 111, § 127L, to fail to fix a violation that may endanger a tenant’s health or safety, or to fail to keep the unit fit to live in. Section 127L requires the owner to begin repairs within five days of written notice and substantially complete them within fourteen days, unless a board of health, code enforcement agency or court orders a shorter time. A separate rule, 940 CMR 3.17(1)(i), makes it unfair to fail to comply with the State Sanitary Code within a reasonable time after notice from the tenant or an agency. The trial judge said the landlord fixed the problems within a reasonable time. The Appeals Court held that conclusion conflicted with the judge’s own findings. The undisputed evidence showed she did not address the floor within fourteen days of notice. That violated Chapter 93A. The court relied on South Boston Elderly Residences, Inc. v. Moynahan, 91 Mass. App. Ct. 455 (2017).
A serious habitability breach is enough on its own. Even apart from the regulations, a substantial and material breach of the implied warranty of habitability can violate Chapter 93A. Cruz Mgt. Co. v. Thomas, 417 Mass. 782 (1994). The judge found the floor was serious enough to endanger the health or safety of the tenant and her children. The roughly nine month delay met that standard.
The landlord’s excuses failed. The landlord said she did not understand how serious the floor was until she read the trial judge’s findings. The court rejected that, given the notices from two agencies and from the tenant. On appeal she also blamed pandemic shortages of labor and materials. She had not argued that in the Housing Court, so it was waived. There was no evidence she asked the board of health for more time or appealed any notice.
Remedies. The case went back to the Housing Court for judgment for the tenant on Chapter 93A. The judge must set damages and may award double or treble damages if the violation was willful or knowing, or if relief was refused in bad faith. G.L. c. 93A, § 9 (3). Any added damages cannot duplicate the habitability award. Because Chapter 93A shifts fees, the tenant is entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs for the Chapter 93A claims in the trial court, G.L. c. 93A, § 9 (4), and the court allowed her to apply for fees on appeal.
What this means for you
When an inspector cites your landlord for a condition that may endanger your health or safety, a clock starts. The landlord has five days to begin repairs and fourteen days to substantially finish them, or less if the inspector orders it. A landlord who lets that pass may owe more than a rent reduction.
Chapter 93A can add multiple damages and attorney’s fees, which can change the math in your case and in any settlement talks.
What to do now
- Tell your landlord about serious problems in writing, and keep a copy with the date.
- Ask your local board of health to inspect, and keep every notice it sends.
- Mark the five day and fourteen day deadlines from the date the landlord received the notice.
- If you have a housing subsidy, keep the agency’s inspection results and any letters about withheld payments.
- If you get an eviction case, raise habitability and Chapter 93A counterclaims in your answer.
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.
