Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment

Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment by Di Moore (MA) on November 5, 2009 @15:37

The MA court, in early October, ordered the tenant to leave the apartment by 12/15/09, with a judjment of $5500 to the landlord, plus a full tank of heating oil. It is now early November, and she has not paid any judjment money, nor has she paid November, 2009, rent. Is there any recourse other than hiring a lawyer? There is no lease, she is a tenant-at-will. Not sure what the next step should be.

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Re: Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment by OK-LL on November 5, 2009 @16:31	[ Reply ]
Yes, you can garnish her wages or bank account to satisfy the judgment. It's a simple matter of filing a couple of forms in court. If you're aren't confident about the process, you can get an attorney to do it for you for a flat fee or percentage of the collected amount. Be sure he gives you copies of all paperwork so you can do it yourself next time.

Re: Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment by OK-LL on November 5, 2009 @16:33	[ Reply ]
PS - You usually have to wait until the judgment is final, that is 30 days after issued -- before you can start collection actions. You may also be able to seize personal possessions to satisfy the judgment -- for instance we like to call the deadbeat in to an asset hearing to shake out his pockets and take the jewelry off his neck. Ask your attorney.

Re: Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment by Ultimate M-Bone on November 5, 2009 @16:55	[ Reply ]
Is it customary in MA for the judge to allow tenant to stay for 2 months after a hearing? Was this an eviction hearing? Seems odd to me, wondering if you did it right.

Re: Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment by Anonymous on November 5, 2009 @17:08

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I'm suprised that the judge let the tenant stay as long as they did. You are going to have to wait until the date they are supposed to be out, you may have to file a writ and have a sheriff put them out (depending on what your state is), then you will have to go back to SSC for the rest of the rent, unless that was included on teh $5500. Getting a judgement is one thing, collecting is a whole other thing.

Re: Tenant Won't Pay Rent after Judgment by Di (Moore) on November 5, 2009 @17:21	[ Reply ]
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS, AND SO QUICKLY! TY.