So we have a couple that is on housing. They have been there a long time,.about 20 years.Recently housing did annual inspection and found problems. Mostly due to the tenants bad practices, So we asked our handyman to fix them,..He doesn't want to deal with it/them, We have asked 4 more and they know these people and the unit (small town.) 3 have looked at it, and also won't deal with it, mostly because of the tenants instability, as they have gotten worse with their problems,..one of the couple gets drunk and nasty and the other takes drugs and is crazy and the now condition of the unit.

They apparently had several humidifiers going all winter that caused lots of condensation on the windows and the sills inside have started to rot. Same with bath floor

,.Stains on wall and ceilings (?) Junk all over and they obtained ferrets that are allowed to run cage free (they had them before and were told to get rid of them which,.. looks like they did but since got 2 more,..feces all over the unit,..so Disgusting that the three home service people said they just didn't want to deal with it.

This unit wasn't bad a year ago. we think the couples mental condition has deteriated.Of course we can't get rid of them right now,..

So I'm guessing that the unit won't pass.In this rather remote Mt town, we have called every trades person in the area for about 25 miles. Either they don't do this work or have heard of this couple and say something like "we are glad to work on your building , but not in THAT unit".

We think these people should clean up the mess they created. knowing these people they will probably find a Dr that will deem the ferrets are emotional support animals.

I'm sure housing doesn't care about our problems with them, but what can we do about this?

Isn't the deterioration of the unit sufficient grounds for eviction? Give them an ultimatum to fix or evict.

All the restrictions are about COVID, not their living conditions. I'd just go through with a normal notice to remedy then evict if they didn't fix.

Take lots of pictures and bring witnesses. Get testimony from all the tradesmen you asked to fix the unit and their reasons why they won't.

Ferrets roaming and going to the bathroom everywhere is bad news. That stench is foul. I got a unit back after that and it ranks in the top 3 of nasty smelling units I've had.

If there is enough feces present you might be able to get the Dept of health to pass a finding and also look for an agency that deals w mental health?

I'm sorry that you've allowed yourself to get into the current situation that you find yourself in with these tenants. Comparatively speaking aback in 2019 it would have been much easier to either get these tenants to cooperate or to evict them for this type of behavior. Unfortunately with the MA court system essentially at a standstill it's probably going to takes many months & thousands of dollars to handle this situation.

Most of what happens next depends a lot on how good the PHA & the caseworker handling these tenants do their job. I've found that some PHAs, their inspectors & caseworkers will work with both the tenant & the LL to resolve these types of problems in a reasonable manner while others just blame the LL for everything & abate the rent. Have you talked with the PHA inspector or your tenant's caseworker about the condition of the unit? Have you discussed the tenant's apparent health deterioration? If not I think that this should be one of your first steps. If you can't resolve the problem there then kick it up the chain of command to the PHA director & then to the PHA board members if needed.

Do you have any sort of a paper trail showing the condition of the unit & how you've responded to legitimate maintenance? This would be things like a move in statement of condition, BOH inspections, previous court actions, contractor invoices, etc. At the very least you should have copies of the PHA's annual inspections as well as the reinspections showing that the unit passed.

You state "They have been there a long time, about 20 years". Have you been their LL the entire time? If not how long have you owned the property? Do you do regular inspections of all your units? If not you should start doing at least yearly inspections of each of your rental units.

Considering that they've been there so long are they old enough to perhaps get elder services involved? Elder services might be able to get them help to keep their unit clean or even get them into elderly housing. Several years ago it took a LL friend in my area over 2 years & 10's of thousands dollars to handle a similar situation. More recently it took over a year & about $30K for a fellow poster on this site to handle a similar problem.

At this point, I think that you should brace yourself for it taking a lot of time & a good deal of expense to resolve this situation. IMO you definitely are in over your head & should immediately talk with an attorney who know MA LL / Tenant law & is familiar with your local PHA & the local Housing court.

Again I'm sorry that you've gotten into this mess.

Sisco is likely correct. When the housing unit fails to meet standards, Section 8 usually cuts off the payments. They will not "do" anything. That is your job.

With that state of things as they are, I'd probably just let it ride for now and keep collecting rent until courts open back up. The disaster is already there, and eviction is almost impossible, so you might as well get paid as they destroy the place. Beats not getting paid while they destroy the place.

Go to the inspection when it happens ... I have found the inspector MUCH more cooperative when I am there.

BIG lists of problem when I am not there.

I had a situation where a woman could no longer bend to clean the cat box so it went all over. Cat stink out into the mail stairwell. Cat kibble all over rugs, kitchen full of garbage, hair dye stain on bath floor. I told her the place would not pass the next 5 year state inspection, it was a multi. I told her they will demand that I evict her. So I offered to return her security and make a deposit on another unit or I would evict her and she would have trouble forever after. So she took the deal.