This month, the City of Boston enacted a new ordinance that requires property owners, their agents, and constables who serve residential tenants with either a Notice to Quit or a Nonrenewal of Lease to also serve those tenants with a Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources form (the ordinance can be found at this link). The current version of the Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources form can be found at this link. The Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources form must be provided regardless of the reason that the owner is ending the tenancy. For managers of residential rental properties who routinely send nonrenewal notices (or notices to quit) this could be a trap for the unwary. The Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources form is available in multiple languages on the City’s website. In addition to serving a tenant with the Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources, the property owner, agent or constable must also serve a copy of the Notice to Quit or Lease Nonrenewal on the City of Boston’s Office of Housing Stability together with a certificate of compliance/service. The current version of the Certificate of Compliance can be found at this link.

This month, the City of Boston enacted a new ordinance that requires property owners, their agents, and constables who serve residential tenants with either a Notice to Quit or a Nonrenewal of Lease to also serve those tenants with a Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources form.

Violations of the new ordinance may be investigated by the City’s Fair Housing & Equity (OFE) and may result in a warning or the imposition of fines from City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD). In this sense, violations are treated under the non-criminal disposition statute like building code violations and are “ticketed” offenses. It does not appear that failure to provide the Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources form would give a tenant a defense to a summary process (eviction) action that could result in the dismissal of the case. Such a result would likely require a change to state summary process law and could not be accomplished without approval from the state legislature.

We note as well that the City of Somerville passed a similar tenant notification ordinance late last year and the City of Cambridge enacted a Tenants’ Rights Ordinance that took effect last month. While the City of Boston and City of Cambridge ordinances may have been hastened and/or driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, these ordinances will apply beyond the COVID-19 emergency.