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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

McGrath v. Mishara, 434 N.E.2d 1215 (1982)

Citation
McGrath v. Mishara, 434 N.E.2d 1215 (1982)
Parent Document
McGrath v. Mishara, 434 N.E.2d 1215 (1982)
Jurisdiction
Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date
1982-05-03

Other Sections in This Document (74)

Full Text

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8 Mass. App. Ct. 84, 91-92 (1979). We note that the statute allows a landlord to deduct from a tenant’s security deposit only unpaid rent and the amount of any damage caused by the tenant or the tenant’s guests. As to this latter type of deduction the statute requires the landlord to “itemiz[e] . . . [the damage] with particularity indicating the nature of the repair necessary to correct any damage and the actual or estimated cost thereof.” G. L. c. 186, § 15B, as amended through St. 1975, c. 154. This requirement has the effect of ensuring that landlords do not make spurious and unfounded deductions for damage. When the permitted deduction for “unpaid rent” is viewed in the context of the statute as a whole, we think it clear that it was not intended to permit a deduction of “rent” by a landlord who knew or should have known it was improper. There is support in the record for the judge’s finding that the landlord here acted in bad faith in deducting the $135 figure for rent owed and that this conduct violated the provisions of § 15B. 6 c. Violation of the Boston Rent Control Ordinance.