Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

My former landlord took my wife and I to evection court, we counter sued for damages and won. how do we collect and how long does the land lord have?


Asked on 3/19/13, 11:13 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

The Landlord has a specific period in which to appeal the judgment. Once that period ends, the landlord should pay the judgment. I do not recall the time to appeal a judgment in housing court, but you can call the court and find out.

If the landlord does not pay by then send him a certified letter demanding payment in ten days, and then if he does not pay, you can request a creditors exam at the court or request the court to issue a writ of attachment against the property or his personal bank account if you like.

There are many collection attorneys who will gladly assist you.

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Answered on 3/19/13, 11:23 am
Christopher Vaughn-Martel Charles River Law Partners, LLC

Thank you for your question.

Our office handles tenant-landlord disputes and litigation throughout eastern Massachusetts.

The best thing you can do is take your judgment to an attorney to assist you in further collection activity. I believe that the time for appeal in the housing court is 10 days, but it may be slightly longer. After that, you can request an execution and use that to garnish wages, record as a lien against the landlord's property, etc. Judgments are generally good for 20 years in Massachusetts.

Our office would be happy to assist you on a contingent-fee basis, meaning that we are only paid if and when we collect funds on your behalf.

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Answered on 3/19/13, 3:39 pm


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