so I have had over a hundred tenants in 8 multi units over the last 35 years. These buildings are in NYS except for one,..and thats in Ma and a 4 plex ,..it was my first purchase. It is also the worst as far as management because of Ma laws. my worst tenant is a 71 year old would who lives raising like her 14 year old grandson. I have been told by another tenant that she told her she purchased a book with a title to the effect ,..how to screw your landlord...she is section 8 and this is a very nice 3 bedroom unit with more sq footage that the average house in Ma. she pays w sect 8 only 1500 and we provide heat, sect 8 in this Mt town doe not pay more.

She has been there for ten years and has caused a lot of trouble (I could wright a book) in trying to get her out I Have spent over 10,000 in 2 lawyers from ones suggested by our local LL Assoc to get her out..

So if she makes a claim to the local BOH (something she causes herself) you cannot evict her for months,..after which she does it again, as it is considered retaliation ,..

She also refuses entry to our service people very often buying her more time,...the hired lawyers can't seem to claim this in court (?)

So She uses the fact she is just a poor old lady that has to raise

a child, and no place to go ,and of course landlords have plenty of money. It seems to work.

So just a few days ago one service person got in and said that she has installed an illegal clothes washer with bad piping and a unvented dryer. both against our lease

one complaint has been moisture damage and mold,.

I finally fired my lawyers as they seem to do nothing but send bills.

my main questions,.....do you think I can use these illegal appliances to get her out?

There are professional services that for a fee will do almost anything to remove trouble. I used such a service once. An attorney who rented an apartment on my beach front Marina Del Rey building.

I read a book a long time ago titled "The Section 8 Bible

Book" by Michael McLean and Nick Cipirano which had some good ideas about dealing with the individual you are having trouble with.

The Section 8 bible, although having some good ideas would not be applicable in this case because the property is in question were in Philadelphia before covid. Which were much more landlord friendly. Places like Massachusetts in New York give tenants full rights and practically ownership over the building.

Seeing that the dryer is vented improperly, that would be a code violation. It would be better to shut the whole building down than to put up with this person.

I have a few S8 tenants and I have had only 1 bad inherited one. Hopefully your service person took pictures. You probably won’t be able to evict over that but you would be able to issue a notice to correct the violation.

Some good points guys, thank you,....

Some good points guys,...thank you

Do you have a copy of any move in inspection by the BOH, your own statement of condition or the initial S8 inspection as well as the yearly inspections?

Is this property in Western MA? If so I imagine that she most likely knows the PHA people as well as whoever is in charge of the BOH & the building department. At this point, I think that you might need to get a court order allowing you to do a complete property inspection & have a cop, sheriff, constable, building / plumbing inspector as well as a PHA person there when you do it. Any rental agreement violations that she has done such as the washer you'll need to write her up & give her deadline to have it properly removed. Anything that your responsible to correct you need to send notice of when & what you're going to do to cure the issue. Then follow through with what needs to be done. IMO you want to put her on the defense & not let her get away with this stuff.

Thank you Steve

So do file a complaint with the

BOH and ask them to send her a notice of a violation or do we send her a registered letter telling her she must remove them and giving her X days to do so?

If this were me, I would send notice that on (date & time) during the maintenance call a clothes washing machine was observed by our service person. I would send this along with a demand that it must be properly removed with in 7 (or what ever you think is reasonable) days & your plumbing drains & water lines be restored to their original condition by a MA licensed plumber. You might also include that on ______ (the last day you give her to remove it) at ______ (pick a time during normal business hours), you or your representative will come by to verify that it has been removed.

I would attach a highlighted copy of the part of her lease that states a clothes washer can not be installed in the unit.

Judging by your past experience with her, I would also send this first class mail, certified mail RRR, proof of delivery & perhaps even have it hand delivered by a constable or sheriff. In the body of the letter state how it's being delivered, the certified mail # & cc the PHA, plumbing inspector, building department & anyone else who has previously been involved with your dealings with her.

Since this is not necessarily a health issue but a lease violation & perhaps an illegal non permitted / inspected plumbing installation IMO the BOH shouldn't need to be involved. If she does not comply or respond, you will need to follow up with the plumbing / building inspector as well as her S8 case worker.

To help establish a solid paper trail documenting her continued disregard for your property & your rights, it's important to CC everyone who has ever been involved with helping her over rule any of your previous complaints.

Lastly depending upon how you hold title to this property, you might have to at some point engage a lawyer to haul her into court. The one & only time that I had to deal with this type of thing, I had their case worker, my service person and someone from the building department summons to appear in court & to bring their pertinent paperwork.

Interesting thread, i am so sorry you had to deal with this Hollis, please keep us posted of the outcome...