In a recent publication released by the Boston Housing Partnership (BHP), a not-for-profit organization that assists Boston-area individuals and families find and retain affordable housing, landlord/tenant mediation was suggested as a beneficial service to assist landlords and tenants find resolution to their housing disputes.

The publication also mentioned some of the disputes that are most often handled with landlord/tenant mediation, including circumstances in which:

• An owner finds reason to evict a tenant.
• A tenant pays rent late on a regular basis.
• There are violations to the lease that cause problems.
• There are personality conflicts that exist between an owner and a tenant.
• A tenant refuses entry to the landlord, who seeks to provide inspection services or repair services to the rented property.

As examples of successful landlord/tenant mediation, BHP relates the following stories:

In one case, a tenant was not paying her rent at the first of the month and was also allowing her 12-year old son to play in the hallways of the building unsupervised.  Following landlord/tenant mediation, the tenant agreed to ensure that her child was properly supervised by enrolling him in an after-school program.  She also agreed to do better in paying her rent by the first of the month after learning of the difficulties this late payment presented for the landlord.  The tenant followed through with both agreements following mediation for the remaining year of her lease.

In the second case, the tenants were a young adult and her parents, who worked often and left the young adult at the property alone.  During these times in which the young adult was left alone, she would often invite friends over, causing disturbance for the other tenants.  In a counter-complaint, the tenants informed the landlord that their daughter had just ended an abusive relationship and there was concern that the ex-boyfriend would enter the premises through a door to the common area that was left unlocked frequently.  As a result of the mediation, the tenants agreed to formally file a restraining order against the ex-boyfriend to ensure that proper law enforcement action would be taken if he entered the premises.  They also agreed that the noise and disturbance caused by their daughter’s friends would no longer be an issue for the other tenants.  In return, the owner agreed to ensure that other tenants lock the door for further protection.