- Jurisdiction
- Massachusetts
I have lived in my apartment for 14 years. It's a two-story house that has been converted into two apartments - my landlord lives on the first floor, my boyfriend and I on the second floor. We are at-will tenants and never signed a lease. Five years ago my landlord fell and was permanently injured. He has since been bedridden and needs full care. He goes to dialysis 3 times a week. There are days when he's not himself and is confused, especially if he has an infection or hasn't gone to dialysis. Nursing aides come every day, but leave in the evenings. When this happened, none of his family members discussed anything with us, regarding extra duties. Therefore, we have stepped up to help. He often calls at night, sometimes after 10 p.m. because he can't reach something he needs. We help with shoveling in the winter and trimming the lawn and planting flowers in the summer. We have just been informed that he was no longer managing his money properly, and since then two of his family members have stepped in to take over his finances. They also want to raise our rent, without discussing it with our landlord. My question is: who is in charge? Does his family have the right to raise our rent? Especially without discussing it with him? Should continue to deal with my landlord only? Should I ask him how he feels about all this? We currently pay $600 per month. One family member wants us to pay $750. Another wants us to pay $900, which we cannot afford. She also wants to treat us like brand-new tenants and make us sign an lease that would have us paying a security deposit and last months' rent. Is this even legal? I've lived on the property for 14 years.
