Walk It Through: The Spare Key
Entry only to inspect, repair or show, and a few other listed reasons.
A tenant comes home from work to find the landlord inside the apartment, with no notice beforehand.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One apartment and one landlord. The deposit inspection itself, emergencies, and the eviction case are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Security depositA deposit equal to no more than the first month's rent, which stays the tenant's property: the landlord holds it in a separate, interest bearing account in a Massachusetts bank, beyond the reach of the landlord's creditors.
- ReprisalA landlord's threat or action against a tenant for enforcing housing law, reporting a code violation, complaining in writing, or joining a tenants' union. A notice ending the tenancy within six months after is presumed to be one.
- Summary processThe court action through which a landlord recovers possession after a notice to quit.