The bill, tenants argue, could thus price them out of the court system.
Cheating the System?
The bill would only affect these tenants, not the honest ones, they say.
Sen. Robert A. Bernstein (D-Worcester), told the joint committee that this leniency toward tenants discourages many would-be landlords in Worcester from entering the market.
"When a tenant enters into a lease, they agree to pay x number of dollars every month--they don't get a bye or a free pass whenever they feel there are code violations; they get a free pass or damages when violations are decided by a court," he said.
Cambridge resident Skip Schloming, a member of the Small Property Owners Association (SPOA), describes the bill as one that would "stop extortion by tenants."
Schloming says that current law allows fraudulent tenants to live free for months, at the risk of bankrupting property owners.
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