State Specific Question About: MASSACHUSETTS (MA)

Hello everyone, I haven't been around for so long, hoping everyone is ok and safe.

I own a multifamily in MA, live in 1st floor, If I purchase a generator, am I required to share it with my tenants in case of a major event or power outage?

Happy Holidays everyone!!

If a major event happens sharing it will likely be the least of your problems. It would likely not be enough to run the whole place so how would all of them decide who needs it most? Do you think they will draw straws?

Also, what about your other stores and/or items? Do you really think that tenants who have not made themselves ready would be willing to share with you as the landlord --- or anyone else for that matter?

Is this just a duplex, with you downstairs & a tenant upstairs?

If it's just one other, I would let them have one outlet to show good will, so they can preserve food & have occasional light.

Lord Zen,

Depending on which ideas you think most probable when you read about prepping or survival situations, along with your available cash and time and your location, availability to bug out, and some other factors, I'm leaning towards the following:

1. A place in the country. Not a big fancy place, but maybe a trailer on a few acres. More than 150 miles from a big city. Not on a major road. Someplace with more than one exit/approach.

2. A boat. Sailboat with an engine, Especially if you are near an ocean.

There are 2 main thoughts regarding dealing with trouble:

1. Fort up. Have a "compound" or group of like minded people in some area that are able to support each other.

2. Be mobile and avoid problems.

Both have their problems and their advantages. It can lead to long discussions.

The real questions are how are you prepared to deal with potential problem situations if they come to your door? How do you protect your family?

Just look at the big cities right now.

Some side notes:

If you get another location or a boat, do you put it in your name or bury it in some trust or entity that is hard to trace?

If trouble comes, how do you deal with it and defend your family? Are you able to defend them? (Have you been following the response times of the police?)

LZ, I've been wondering where you've been.

IMO legally, you would not be required to share the generator. However, if for instance there was an extended power outage in during the winter months, it would definitely be in your best interest to use some of your generator's capacity to run the heating systems to avoid freezing pipes in any of the units.

Make sure that you keep the generator located so it doesn't allow CO to enter the building. You should also have a qualified person hookup a by-pass switch to provide the power where you want it.

We have a generator which we use to run our home Compound if the power goes out. All the studios are on our well (6 units plus us) so everyone benefits in that way. Then, DH will run their units specifically for an hour or so morning and night to keep the fridges cold (if they don't open them) and to let them get a hot shower. But they won't have 24/7 power.

It's a dual fuel type but we only have used the propane option so far: easy and cleaner and we always have at least a few bottles around for the grill and fire pit and there is a gas station at the end of our road that sells them (if it's a widespread outage, no gas.)

We've only used it once or twice since installation but it was really nice to have - DH has it wired to run our well pump, one of our HVACs, fridge, internet and I think our living room TV (priorities.)

As landlord you do not need to provide utilities in a disaster. But then there is the neighborly thing to do.

Richard is talking about being ready for disaster before hand to not be a victim. "Be Prepared," isn't just the Boy Scout motto, it's wise. We currently have two generators, a 2kw and a 6.5kw (I think). Enough to run two refrigerators and two AC units to keep our "great room" cool. The small Honda is back-up or to use for neighbors refrigerators.

If power goes out we roll out the gen, plug it in, and resume our normal life. If cable fails we fire up the cell phone hot spot. If the AC fails we have a back up set of window bangers, 30 min we are back up and running. It's mostly about not being inconvenienced.

My big gen is actually a welder that also produces power. It sucks gas, like a gal an hour or $75 a day. And I can only safely store 25 gal. We've used it for three outages now. Seems like every July when it's 150 degrees the power fails. Last time 120 poles went down in a microburst on the only line that feeds our town.

Before buying a genset consider fuel access. If power is out gas pumps don't work. Most cars can't be drained or siphoned anymore. Drilling the tank may be the only way. Can you safely store gas? The red metal jerry jugs cost $55-60 now, each. $300 to store 25 gal. It adds up.

We were going to get a big tri fuel natural gas genset last summer but a delivery and price issue I canceled it and haven't done anything. We've also looked at solar, but the costs, yikes! Like 5 grand to run our refrigerators, forget 24 hr AC, it would take 80k for an array and batteries.

We are pretty well set for anything that comes, but I also plan for my neighbors. We are in a very Mormon county on the UT/NV border. We store extra food to share, not a lot (so don't come to my house in the zombie apocalypse) but enough to keep our nearby unprepared neighbors fed for a week or two... before we eat them. ;)

I think working together and helping your neighbors in a disaster is better than being at odds with them because you are cool and eating frozen lobster while they are melting and eating dry ramen. I want my neighbors on my "team."

I want the new big generator not only so we can cover our own needs, but to provide a "cool space" for neighbors and power to keep their food from spoiling. I don't want to be the person in the house on the hilltop living in splendor when everyone else is suffering. Another aspect of having neighbors with us instead of against us, is their homes provide a security buffer. When they depend on my power, they aren't going to let anyone steal the generators. That has been a problem in past disasters like hurricanes. All the low lifes come out.

Other things to consider. 1. Buy the next size larger genset than you think you need. 2. Portable gensets, unless they are diesel are not made to run 24 hours a day. 3. You really need two that you can rotate unless you don't need to provide AC. If one dies you are SOL in the worst time. 4. Security, if things get bad, people may try to steal your genset.

In a duplex as owner I think you are forced to be perhaps more open to helping your tenant not be inconvenienced too much, since they are going to see you living well while they suffer. That never goes over well.

And finally, if you choose to include your tenant (and I would) I'd have a very clear conversation. "I am buying this $2,000 gizmo for MY family. I suggest you buy one too. If you don't I will have just enough extra power for your fridge and a fan for X hrs a day. If you hook up anything else I'll pull the plug. You will have to help with security and finding fuel if the outage drags out. For lights you should buy outdoor solar lights."

We have had a little gas genny for years. It would keep the fridge going, a TV, a light and a DVD player (or internet). We had a 120v well at the old place so water was still an option without having to drain the tote I set up.

Along comes the new place with a 240v well. Oops. Had power out for five days (in a row) this year. It was an eye opener. Not prepared at the new place like we were at the old one. Had to run the fridge, freezer and other stuff on more rotations than before. Had plenty of gasoline although it was getting old even with the stable in it.

Now I have a bigger unit. 240v so I can have a well. Still have tote full of water, but that's last option. This is a dual fuel. Still have gasoline but slowly getting more propane tanks as they don't spoil even tho they don't get the same efficiency as gasoline.

Run the genny under load to be sure all is still good. Calculate what you can run on it and get a game plan ahead of time. Watch out for the exhaust and for the people that will take it, or your fuel.

If I was in a shared building I would work something up with the neighbor. I'm all alone so the neighbor's will need to prove a real need or worthiness before I share my stuff.

Bullets, bacon and blankets. The three B's of survival.

I'm not sure how we went from "am I ogliged to provide power during an outage" to Mad Max levels of post-apocalyse... but an interesting read.

Question 1: Is your duplex on a master electrical system, or are there separate meters?

Question 2: Is/are you electric breaker panel(s) set up with a back feed plug, where you can plug the generator into the panel and it feeds the outlets?

Those two questions will answer A LOT of what you need to know. But generally speaking, the answer is NO, you are not required to provide power if the power outage is due to utility company issues. You are a landlord, not a public utility. You are responsible for providing the connection systems to the utility (i.e. breaker panel, wires, switches, outlets), but you have no obligation to provide the power, gas, water, etc that feeds those systems.

The reason I asked those two question is if your duplex is a master meter, and if your system is set up to where you want to back feed the generator into the panel, then if you do that by default any power you generate will be shared between you and your tenant. That's why I would suggest not back feeding the panel unless your electric panel ONLY supplies your unit and NOT the tenant's unit. Portable generators are mostly designed to run the bare minimum essentials like fridge, lights, and communication devices. Once climate control systems (HVAC) start firing up, you quickly max out most small generators just for one living unit. If all you have is a portable generator, consider buying a through-the-window AC unit with backup heat strips that can be installed in a main area of the house, and be sure you generator has enough juice to run that at max draw so that when the unit kicks on it doesn't trip the breaker on the generator, plus have enough extra capacity to preserve food and keep the lights on.

Many of us live in cities where utility crews can fix minor problems fairly rapidly. We've had two power outages this year so far, but both were fixed in less than 6 hours. Barely worth the time to run a generator outside and hook up all the extension cords. We just left the fridge and freezer closed, and nothing spoiled.

Does the tenant upstairs have there own meter?

Then again, if they have no heat they might start jogging in place to keep warm.

DJ Yes is a 2 family, I live in 1st floor, that is a good idea too.

Richard those are great examples. I am "Loading" towards getting ready for any potential situations, I have some supplies and food, I had been reading and watching a lot of videos about preparedness, having conversations with family, gathering things, planning, polishing our current skills and working towards new ones.

Steve hi my dear friend, I had been here and there, lot of things going on, but I am back, or that is what I think hehe. Yes that is what I wanted to know, legally talks, and great input too.

WMH that is a great thinking, run it for certain time, not 24/7. We don't have one yet but i am shopping around to see.

-LTZ thanks, I don't mind to share, I just wanted to know about the legal responsibility, 2 different things, being responsible for something, so they are expecting that I MUST DO THIS OR THAT, in comparison that I have the option to make a choice to do this or that. And yes my family is getting ready little by little as I stated in the previous comment, we do not have a generator yet, but we are shopping around, that is also one of the reason that ask, it helps to make my decision.

"The red metal jerry jugs cost $55-60 now, each. $300 to store 25 gal. It adds up." - I am going to look for this. I was looking at a Westinghouse Tri fuel.

" I don't want to be the person in the house on the hilltop living in splendor when everyone else is suffering. Another aspect of having neighbors with us instead of against us, is their homes provide a security buffer. When they depend on my power, they aren't going to let anyone steal the generators. That has been a problem in past disasters like hurricanes. All the low lifes come out." - I like this, great thinking, I have 2 close neighbors that I can rely and i would help with closed eyes.

"And finally, if you choose to include your tenant (and I would) I'd have a very clear conversation. "I am buying this $2,000 gizmo for MY family. I suggest you buy one too. If you don't I will have just enough extra power for your fridge and a fan for X hrs a day. If you hook up anything else I'll pull the plug. You will have to help with security and finding fuel if the outage drags out. For lights you should buy outdoor solar lights." - We were having a similar conversation, that is why I thought to ask the question.

Thank you for the time to share this detailed note.

-zero thank you for sharing, "Run the genny under load to be sure all is still good. Calculate what you can run on it and get a game plan ahead of time. Watch out for the exhaust and for the people that will take it, or your fuel." Yes this is very important for us.

"Bullets, bacon and blankets. The three B's of survival." -Indeed hahaha, I think I am almost 70% Loading of these P.

-Robert, OntarioCanada much appreciated, "A lot depends on how insulated upper floor is as do not want pipes to freeze along will there be enough heat to prevent pipes freezing. In order to provide power for all floors then will require a generator large enough to handle the entire load on all floors. A larger will be required where mounted on concrete base." - Yes we need to calculate, in this case, for a large one, the only issue is the $$$ jajaja.

-Sid nice reading you here. I like to talk about zombies and apocalypses jajaja.

"Question 1: Is your duplex on a master electrical system, or are there separate meters?" - Separate meter.

"Question 2: Is/are you electric breaker panel(s) set up with a back feed plug, where you can plug the generator into the panel and it feeds the outlets?" - Ummm no, they are not.

"The reason I asked those two question is if your duplex is a master meter, and if your system is set up to where you want to back feed the generator into the panel, then if you do that by default any power you generate will be shared between you and your tenant. That's why I would suggest not back feeding the panel unless your electric panel ONLY supplies your unit and NOT the tenant's unit. Portable generators are mostly designed to run the bare minimum essentials like fridge, lights, and communication devices. Once climate control systems (HVAC) start firing up, you quickly max out most small generators just for one living unit. If all you have is a portable generator, consider buying a through-the-window AC unit with backup heat strips that can be installed in a main area of the house, and be sure you generator has enough juice to run that at max draw so that when the unit kicks on it doesn't trip the breaker on the generator, plus have enough extra capacity to preserve food and keep the lights on." - Good to know, we have to keep studying the options, we haven't had any major power outage, nothing that wouldn't be fixed in less than 8 hours but I just want us to be as prepared as we can.

-Ray-N-Pa nice to read you,

"Does the tenant upstairs have there own meter?

Own meter - they can work on there own back up systems , that is unless you want to be a nice guy" - Separate meter, I just wanted to be sure I was not responsible for this, but every little details count as LTZ said, I don't want to be the nice guy but if I can help, I do... I don't want them against me, but if they want to be, they are welcome to try :D, I just like to look at every possible scenario.

Again, thank you very much to all and every suggestion and ideas, every small detail counts, now i have to digest all of this :D.

I wouldn't think you have any responsibility for providing emergency power but if they see you there with all the lights on and heat or ac during an extended outage, they will be bitter and feel entitled.

If they share the same service, then you can easily share. A whole-house generator has a cutover switch that is installed for each circuit panel. So that wouldn't be a problem, but if your service and theirs are separate, I am not sure it would be possible.

Whole-home generators run on either natural gas or LP or diesel. LP or diesel require tanks and storage. That's a hassle but the only way to ensure SHTF off-grid safety. If cheaply possible, share the generator and raise rent. Keep in mind, sharing generator helps protect your pipes from freezing and prevents them from starting a fire for cooking/heat. If you can't share it without joining services, then there's your answer. You have no choice. But, you could offer them a circuit wired to your generator for heat/fridge/cooking. You could install the plugs next to the other plugs and when emergency strikes, you plug in the fridge and AC to the emergency plug and throw the breaker on. That would be a compromise that would still keep the services separate and they couldn't use it during normal times since the breaker is in your panel.