Guide to Somerville’s New Tenants’ Rights Notices
If you're a landlord in Somerville, you have to fulfill certain duties to your new tenants thanks to the passing of a recent amendment. Specifically, you have to provide your new tenants with notices of their rights as soon as they become tenants, not just if or when you begin eviction proceedings against them.
These new rules and restrictions are important to grasp, both so you can treat your tenants properly and so you don’t experience any legal difficulties. Let us break down the ins and outs of Somerville’s new tenants’ rights notices in detail.
The Housing Stability Notification Act Amendment
The Housing Stability Notification Act or HSNA was an ordinance originally passed in 2019, designed to affect Somerville landlords. Specifically, the HSNA required landlords to provide their tenants with specific documents summarizing their tenant rights, as well as support resources, whenever those landlords intended to pursue eviction.
For example, if you have a problematic tenant and wish to begin eviction proceedings against them, you must provide them with a copy of their rights documentation. The rights documentation must further include contact information for support resources, such as the Office of Housing Stability.
However, the HSNA was recently amended by a new bit of legislation, which went into effect on July 13, 2022. The HSNA amendment now states that all Somerville landlords must provide tenant rights documentation and resources at the start of new housing rentals, not when beginning eviction proceedings.
Under the new rules, Somerville landlords must provide their tenants with a copy of their rights documentation right away, as late as the first day of tenancy. This is not a massive change for Somerville landlords, but it is something to keep in mind if you are planning on taking on new tenants in the near future.
Why Did the Amendment Pass?
The amendment passed for a variety of reasons, largely revolving around a perceived lack of tenant rights adherence from local landlords. According to Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, the amendment to the HSNA will, “inform and empower all tenants.” She further states that, “The earlier residents know their rights and resources, the more protected they’ll be. This amendment better reflects the urgency the housing crisis necessitates.”
Furthermore, some local counselors pushed for the amendment in order to minimize tenant rights violations on the part of landlords. According to At-Large Councilor Willie Burnley, Jr., who was responsible for proposing the amendment to the HSNA, passing this Know Your Rights bill will let residents, "feel empowered to stand up for themselves and their neighbors".
If you are a responsible and law-abiding landlord, you don’t need to worry. All this requires is a slight change in when you deliver key documents to your tenants. In some cases, it may even streamline the process!
When Do Tenants Need to Receive Rights Notices?
According to the new HSNA amendment, all Somerville tenants must receive notices of their rights as soon as their tenancy begins. For instance, if you have your properties set up so that tenants begin their rental periods on September 1 each year, you need to provide them with a copy of their rights on September 1.
The easiest way to do this is to simply prepare copies of tenants' rights notices and keep them in your local office or with your property manager. That way, when new tenants are invited or welcomed into rental units, you can simply hand them the paperwork and inform them of what the paperwork says.
You are not required to make tenants sign anything, nor are you required to make sure that tenants read the resources you provide them. All you have to do is hand over the paperwork.
This could be advantageous for Somerville landlords in the long term. Once your tenants have their rights documents, you do not have to provide them with another copy if you begin eviction proceedings against them.
For instance, if you have a problematic tenant and wish to begin eviction proceedings, you are not required to deliver them with a copy of their rights, which can be time-consuming and difficult if you don’t know where they are. Since you’ve already given that tenant a copy of their rights, they should already know (legally speaking) what their options are, what you are legally allowed to do, etc.
Other Effects of the HSNA Amendment
The HSNA amendment did not just change when you need to deliver rights and resources documentation to your tenants. It also slightly modified how that documentation must be delivered.
According to the amendment, your notices of tenant rights and resources must be delivered in one of three ways:
● In hand, as in you personally hand your new tenant their rights and resources paperwork
● By certified mail
● By email
Furthermore, you must deliver notices of new tenant rights and resources in the tenant’s primary language. If you don’t already know this, it may be wise to include an area on your applications allowing new tenants to describe their primary languages upon applying to your rental units.
For instance, if a new tenant speaks Spanish as their primary language, you are required to deliver rights and resources notices in Spanish, even if the tenant speaks English perfectly fluently. This is unlikely to result in any major legal issues, but it could cause some confusion or legal hurdles on your end. To be safe rather than sorry, make sure to deliver these notices in each tenant’s primary language if you know what it is.
If you don’t know what a tenant’s primary language is, you may be allowed to default to English without any legal repercussions.
Do the New Tenants' Rights Notice Rules Affect Landlords?
At their core, the new tenants' rights notice rules affect landlords in minor but important ways. You could face fines or legal difficulties if you fail to provide new tenants with notices of their rights on move-in dates. On the other hand, you aren’t required to provide tenants with rights notices if you want to evict them, potentially making that process easier.
In aggregate, this is unlikely to result in any major changes in terms of your responsibilities or in terms of rights disagreements. Even if you deliver documentation to your tenants describing their rights, they may not read the documents, so they may still be uncertain about what their rights are or what your rights are as a landlord.
It may help to ask your new tenants if they have any questions about their rights (or your rights). Most rights notices are not very long and are written for maximum legibility. That way, you can clear up any confusion regarding matters such as subletting, security deposits, repair requests, etc.
What About Lead Notifications?
At the time of this writing, all landlords are required to notify new rental tenants about the presence of lead in paint or walls if the home in question was built before 1978. The HSNA amendment does not change this notification requirement whatsoever.
In a nutshell, if you rent a home that was built before 1978, you and your new tenant must sign two copies of the Tenant Lead Law Notification and Tenant Certification Form. This proves that the tenant knows about the possibility of lead poisoning in some elements of the house, like paint, walls, pipes, etc.
It also proves that the tenant agrees to rent the property from you despite this possibility. This requirement only applies to homes built before 1978, which is when the US government banned lead from being used in paint going forward. Because of this, homes built prior to 1978 oftentimes include lead paint, including single-family and multi-family homes in metropolitan areas like Boston.
For maximum convenience, it’s wise to provide your new tenants with the above form at the same time as you provide them with their rights and resources notice. That way, you’ll deliver all the important documents your tenant needs in a single package and in a single meeting rather than having to meet with them repeatedly in the first week of tenancy.
—
To summarize, Somerville landlords must provide their tenants with notices of their rights immediately, not just when preparing for eviction proceedings. Make sure that you provide your tenants with a notice of all of their rights so they know what they – and you! – are allowed to do and the proper channels to contact if support is required.
These changes to tenants’ rights notices should have positive effects for both tenants and landlords across Somerville. But if you’re having difficulty getting new tenants, Cambridge Sage may be able to help.
As experienced real estate advisors, we’re well-equipped and ready to help you find the right tenants for your properties in Cambridge, Somerville, and the surrounding Boston area.