In September 2026 the Massachusetts Appeals Court held that once a judge finds a landlord broke a consumer protection regulation by failing to make repairs in time, the judge cannot then decide that the same conduct is not a Chapter 93A violation. The court sent that part of a tenant’s case back for damages and attorney’s fees, and otherwise affirmed a jury verdict for the tenant on habitability and quiet enjoyment. This is a published decision of the Appeals Court and is binding statewide.
What happened
The tenant rented an apartment in Bristol County starting in 2019. Within fifteen days she reported damaged or missing window screens and a patio door lock that did not work, and she followed up in writing a year later. Some screens were not replaced until 2022 or 2023, and the door was fixed in October 2022. The tenant signed a renewal for 2022 to 2023, but the landlord never gave her a signed copy. The landlord filed for eviction twice. A jury found she was a tenant at will and awarded her $7,068 for breach of the warranty of habitability and $4,950 for interference with quiet enjoyment. The judge found the landlord violated Chapter 93A by not returning a signed lease. He also found the landlord broke the repair regulation, but ruled that was not a 93A violation because supply chain problems from COVID-19 excused the delay.
What the court decided
In AIF Dartmouth, LLC v. Hanson, Nos. 24-P-961 and 25-P-341 (Mass. App. Ct. September 14, 2026), the court vacated the ruling of no 93A damages for the repair violations and affirmed the rest.
A regulation violation is a 93A violation. The Attorney General’s landlord regulations list acts that are unfair or deceptive. One is failing, within a reasonable time after the tenant’s notice, to make repairs the landlord represented it would make. 940 Code Mass. Regs. § 3.17(1)(e). The trial judge found the landlord violated that regulation. Because the regulation says such conduct is an unfair or deceptive practice, the judge had no discretion to rule it was not a 93A violation. The landlord’s double recovery argument failed. A tenant cannot collect twice for the same wrong, but may take the larger award. McGrath v. Mishara, 386 Mass. 74 (1982). And once a 93A violation is found, the court must award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. G.L. c. 93A, § 9 (4).
Security deposit interest. The landlord did not pay annual interest on the deposit for three years, then paid all of it, 43 cents, during the tenancy. The law lets a tenant deduct unpaid annual interest from the next rent payment. The court noted that triple interest comes into play when interest is not paid within thirty days after the tenancy ends. G.L. c. 186, § 15B. Even a per se 93A violation must cause a separate, identifiable harm to support damages. Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., 464 Mass. 492 (2013). Because the interest was repaid, the tenant showed no harm.
Emotional distress. The court found no error in the judge’s refusal to award emotional distress damages on this record. It noted, though, that a judge may award emotional distress damages for interference with quiet enjoyment without bodily harm. Homesavers Council of Greenfield Gardens, Inc. v. Sanchez, 70 Mass. App. Ct. 453 (2007). One justice dissented on this and other points.
Attorney’s fees. A lease that lets the landlord recover fees carries an implied promise that the landlord will pay the tenant’s fees after a successful defense. G.L. c. 186, § 20. But the tenant had argued, and the jury found, that no lease governed her last year. The court held she could not then claim fees under that lease. The tenant may recover appellate fees for her successful appeal.
What this means for you
If your landlord fails to make repairs in time and a judge finds that broke one of the Attorney General’s regulations, that is a Chapter 93A violation. The judge cannot excuse it as not unfair. That brings mandatory attorney’s fees and can bring larger damages.
The case also shows two traps. First, the positions you take at trial can limit you later. Arguing that no lease applied helped this tenant on possession, but cost her the lease’s fee clause. Second, a technical violation without real harm may not pay. Here, interest that was late but repaid during the tenancy did not support damages.
What to do now
- Report every defect to your landlord in writing, including on the statement of condition form at move in, and keep copies.
- Follow up in writing if repairs are not made, and keep a dated record of how long each problem lasts.
- Ask for a signed copy of every lease or renewal you sign.
- Check that your landlord pays or credits interest on your security deposit every year.
- If you get an eviction notice, talk to a lawyer before you file your answer, because your counterclaims and positions matter.
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.
