State May Regulate Evictions

A committee of Massachusetts legislators met yesterday to evaluate a new bill designed to protect tenants from illegal eviction. The bill is being hailed as the first statewide set of set of guidelines that would clearly define the rights of landlords and tenants regarding property eviction.

The proposed bill, widely expected to receive committee approval this morning, would regulate all landlord-tenant evictions in all privately owned buildings that have more than three units of housing.

State Senator Salvatore R. Albano (D-Somerville), the chief sponsor of the "just Cause for Eviction" bill, supports the legislation because he thinks that the problem of unlawful eviction has to be stopped, Greg F. Levendusky, an aide, said yesterday.

At present only Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline have regulations that define the rights of rent-controlled tenants and prevent illegal eviction.

Under the proposed legislation, there would be 12 just causes for eviction. They include not paying the rent, disturbing the peace, causing damage to the property, being convicted of a committing a crime on the property, violating the rules of the lease, not allowing official inspection of the premises, and several others.

"There is currently no protection against arbitrary eviction," said Levendusky. "And because of the present eviction policy, low and moderate housing tenants have had many problems.

"This legislation seeks to alleviate the problems by circumventing the abuses by the landlord, and protecting the tenant," Levendusky said.

Eviction-related housing problems occur when landlords retaliate against tenants by terminating their leases, particularly when tenants complain to the state about unsatisfactory health or living conditions, said Emily Dreyfus, an advocate of there bill who belongs to the Massachusett's Tenants Organization.

Landlords also use arbitrary eviction when developers try to clear out entire building to convert them into condominiums-an action declared illegal in a 1983 court ruling, Dreyfus said.

"There is a loop-hole in the process of evictions and there is a strong need to find some justifiable reason for evictions," said one staff person on the Committee on Urban Housing and Development.

The Opposition

But the proposal is expected to encounter strong opposition from landlord and realty lobbies which have successfully blocked the bill from passing in past years.

The Massachusett's Association of Realators opposes the legislation because the group said the establishment of statewide regulations are not necessary when local communities can exert control over the cases on a municipal level.

"State legislators should not thrust this kind of bill on the people," said Robert L. Nash, of the Massachusetts Associations of Realtors.

Some opponents speculate that if the bill is passed, the new law would eliminate a lot of the flexibility that tenants currently enjoy.

"Some tenants do not want to have a lease, but now landlords will be more restricted and will require lease, and thus rescue flexibility for some people," said Nash.

The new law could also alter the entire housing market, Nash said. "It will be more difficult for property owner to evict a troublesome tenant, and thus the selection process for residents will be more strigent."

If the bill passes the committee hearing, Beacon Hill watchers say it should pass in the House, but may be defeated in the Senate where legislators killed the proposal last year.