Just cause eviction rules in Lynn, MA — sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances — list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Lynn has no local just-cause eviction law; state law governs. Landlords must serve proper written notice and win a court judgment. A tenancy at will needs 30-day or full-rental-period notice (MGL c.186 §12); nonpayment allows a 14-day notice.
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause requirement for private housing, and Lynn has not adopted one, so a landlord may end a tenancy at will without stating a reason by serving proper notice. Under MGL c.186 §12, that notice must equal the rent interval or 30 days, whichever is longer; for nonpayment, a 14-day notice to quit applies. Only a court can order eviction, through a summary-process case in Housing Court. Self-help lockouts, utility shutoffs, and removing a tenant's belongings are illegal, and retaliatory or discriminatory evictions are barred under state and federal law.
An illegal self-help eviction, such as changing locks or shutting off utilities, exposes a landlord to damages of at least three months' rent plus costs and attorney fees under MGL c.186 §14. Defective notice gets a summary-process case dismissed.
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