But according to Pollets, Fastnet was up to date on rent until the fire and stopped paying full rent until the repairs were made under his direction.

"This isn't a question of not paying rent. We've been trying to deal with them for over a year to get them to make the repairs," Pollets said.

Sal's Auto Body, also one of Pollets' clients and another 100 Windom St. tenant, cited similar experiences with Beal.

Pointing to holes in his garage doors and a broken lock on his side door which he said was broken by firefighters in the March 1996 incident and never repaired, owner Suhail "Sal" Alami said Beal has not responded to his complaints either.

After a city inspection in February 1996, Alami was forced to close down his wooden spray booth and stop painting cars. When he applied for a permit to build a metal one, he said he was told that he could not get the permit because the property was not zoned for auto body work.

According to Pollets, Beal never took and still fails to take the necessary steps to secure the permits Alami needs; as a result his client is forced to contract out much of his work.

However, Alami said he was pleased when he learned Harvard was the owner of the property because he had had problems with Beal.

Citing trimmed hedges, newly-laid mulch and the addition of signs which prohibit overnight parking, Alami said that since the University announced its ownership, Beal's maintenance of the parking lot has gotten better.

Other 100 Windom St. tenants had fewer complaints about Beal's management but were wary of the University.

Tamera O'Dell, who works with her husband at his business, Broadway Foreign Auto Repair, said they took over an existing business, assumed its lease and were able to renew it. They have had no problems securing permits and have always found Beal responsive to maintenance requests.

O'Dell said she was not concerned about upkeep when Harvard took over the ownership because she feels "they want to keep it up in a way that would be consistent with their reputation."

But O'Dell said having Harvard as a landlord made her worry about the future.

"We don't know what their plans are," she said. "I'm not ready to retire yet. It's a good location for us."

Felix Shneur, owner of Superior Installations, also located at 100 Windom St., had similar concerns.

"I have no lease," he said. "What if they're going to tell me tomorrow or today, 30 days and you're out?"

Superior Installations is like both Fastnet and Sal's--a tenant-at-will in the building. Without leases, tenants-at-will can be evicted with a 30 day notice at the will of the landlord