Scenario: Occupied apartment for 10 years. Previous building owner sold (Family friend) the building to daughter and son in law several years ago. Building was illegally converted from single family dwelling, into three units before we moved in, before the sale to daughter/son. We have no lease, or any kind of agreement at all, with current or previous owner, due to them being "friends", nothing relating at all to any kind of rental agreement, or any rules/requirements, etc have ever been presented to us by either owner, past or present. We just pay the rent that is asked every month.

Daughter is now putting up a fuss about there being an air conditioner in a window in the front facade of our apartment. There was an A/C unit in this window before we rented it, and there has been one installed every season since we took possession of the apartment, without there ever being one word mentioned about it being an issue.

Daughter say our old A/C looked like shit, because there was some rust on it, and she didn't like the way it looked in the front of the house. At a considerable expense, at least considerable to us, we went out and bought a new, smaller unit, so it would be less obtrusive. There is only one window (Actually, three windows, joined together, to make one unit) at this end of the house, so there is no option to place it anywhere else.

At the other end of the house, there are three windows, two of which are not suitable for a window A/C unit. One, the unit would be sticking out into the stairway that grants us our main access to the unit, and would be a hazard, and the other window there is no way to access it from inside, to be able to get at the controls. The third window is in a tiny 10x10 room, and has a A/C unit installed to help keep that end of the apartment cool. There are no windows on any of the side walls of our unit. All has been well for several weeks until yesterday.

Upon communicating with the son in law yesterday, I was told that they were painting the deck below where the A/C is, and it was dripping onto the deck and was a problem. SIL and I talk, and come up with a solution - Move the A/C over one window, and put a clear plastic drain hose on the unit, and run the hose off to the side of the building, problem solved. Did that, and an hour later, the daughter complains about it "looking like shit" again. SIL and I talk again, and this time he suggests that I cut the hose, put a rod inside the the hose so it will stick straight out about a foot & 1/2, thus making the drips miss the building and deck entirely. Did that this morning (I paid for all the materials myself) and thought all was well finally.

Daughter calls up later this morning, swearing at me, saying it looks like shit, they can't paint the deck, blah blah blah. I started to tell her that I did exactly what her husband had asked me to do TWICE to fix the issue, nothing was dripping on the building at all, but was rude and would not let me get a word in. When she was done ranting, she hung up on me.

I have respiratory and cardiac health issues, and have been told by my regular doctor, and my cardiologist, that I need to stay indoors with the A/C running when it is warm and humid out, making the A/C units a medically required device. I have no written order, because it was never an issue before, but I am sure that I can get my Docs to write me up something stating that it is a medical necessity for me to have an A/C unit in my apartment.

If I present them with medical documentation, stating that the A/C is a required medical device, what are my rights as a tenant at will? Obviously, with no lease, they hold the upper hand I assume? Even if I give them the documents, they can just come up with some other lame excuse to toss us out, I assume? There word against mine kinda thing? They can say that they want to remodel, or that we are noisy, or what ever the hell the want? Do they even need to give us a reason to vacate the apartment?

I have been asking them for 5 years to repair or replace our main entry way staircase. I am unable to climb the stairs without using a handrail, and the whole thing is falling apart - broken/loose boards, nails sticking up all over the steps and landings, rotten, splinter filled railings, and the whole damn thing sways when you walk up or down it. I have neuropathy in my feet and legs from diabetes, and just walking around on flat ground sucks, never mind steps like that. It's a miracle I have not tumbled down two flights of stairs yet! They say it's too expensive.....

They managed to find the money to build a pool with a fountain and a deck on it for their yard (Did I mention that they live in the main unit of the building?) and new deck and porch on their side, remodel their kitchen and baths, and do a complete re-landscape of their side of the property, with trees, bushes, new sod, granite benches, and fresh bark mulch twice a season. All of this, along with buying three new vehicles, were done in the last two years... My guess is that the stairs being replaced or repaired would have cost a hell of a lot less than the pool...

On our side, its been a few years since the mulch has been done, there are weeds growing everywhere because they wont weed-whack our side when they mow ( I used to mow before I got sick, they only do it because I stopped) and they pile up all the dead lawn debris on our side. The kids bikes, tools, trash and junk all gets thrown around on our side as well. They also like to park their trucks, trailers, and tractor on our side of the lawn as well. It looks like we live in a trailer park, on our half of the property. And they are bitching about an A/C being in a window? Go figure.

We also have to pay to have the shoveling and plowing done in the winter, because they wont, even though as a landlord they are required to do so! We don't want to move, even though they almost doubled our rent when they took possession of the house, it is still a good $400/$600 less than anything else comparable around here, which there is no way in hell we can afford, we scrape by each month already.

So, any advice from someone who may be familiar with the law, relating to this issue, who could shed some light on things, I would be most appreciative!

GL - If there were a lease things would be easier to deal with. That being said they need to provide you with some means of having AC.

I don't want to fight with them, and if they hand us a 14 day notice to quit, we're screwed... Not only do we not have the money for deposits and such, we would have to hire help to move, as I can't do it anymore, and getting the money and arrangements done in 14 days (I think that is the time frame they give on a month-to-month in this state) is basically impossible without some kind of miracle, to say the least.

But I can't do with out the A/C either... I'm already breathing funny and having chest pains (She told me to turn it off, the painters is coming, although I have yet to see him. It's a friend of theirs, and I am guessing that he is at his regular job today... He's a plasterer) anytime I leave the tiny 10x10 "Dungeon" at the other end of the house, basically leaving me a prisoner in my apartment.

WTF can I do?

My guess is any complaints on your part to the city, county, etc., will get you tossed out on your butt by those greedy, self-centered A-holes?
Even though it might be difficult.....I'd start looking for a new place to live.....NOW!

Steve

My guess is any complaints on your part to the city, county, etc., will get you tossed out on your butt by those greedy, self-centered A-holes?
Even though it might be difficult.....I'd start looking for a new place to live.....NOW!

Steve

My wife, who by the way is the friend of the family, not exactly me, has being asking to move for some time... I keep looking, but there is nothing available in our price range, at least not anything that she would be willing to live in.

We may be able to find something in one of the local larger cities, like Lowell or Lawrence, but it would be small, smelly, roach filled, and we would probably have a B&E every few months, as well as wondering if our cars were going to be in the driveway (Assuming we are fortunate enough to have off street parking) when we woke up. Don't even get me started on the type of neighbors we would have... I've lived in these places before, and know the drill. No way my wife would last more than a few weeks like that. Me, I'm able to be happy just about anywhere, although I would definitely prefer to stay where we are for now, until something better appears.

Never do business with friends or family.
With that out of the way it sounds like she is going to be hard to please.
Sounds like the husband just nods his head and mutters 'yes dear'.
We did month to month and got caught in the same trap as you.
It would be in your best interest to look at other living arrangements.
Have you considered a free standing AC unit ?
Best of luck to you.

It sounds like you need to get the son and daughter together and ask them what they want while you are all face-to-face. Then you will know what that is and daughter will be in a position to either agree with son or they will have to fight it out. If you tell them both that you are trying to be a good tenant and neighbor as you have always been but being put in a position of having to answer to both of them when their directions conflict is not working very well for anyone, especially you.

I do think you are correct that the last thing that you want to do in this situation is to escalate the tension between you and daughter. Solve that and everything else will fall into place. It may take some patience, time, some sweet talking and a lot of self control to keep from knocking her out!

Here is another thought, it is not very difficult or expensive to have an average handyman or remodeler permanently mount your AC unit through a new opening in the wall. Of course that process is a lot easier if you do not have a brick exterior but even then it is not very difficult. Offer to give the AC unit to the landlord if they will pay for or at least help with the expense of having the work done. Naturally locating it somewhere it will be effective and efficient as well as within a reasonable distance of AC power will have to be a consideration - of course the daughters aesthetic concerns come first! Seriously, you might want to discuss it with the son before bringing the subject up in front of daughter. It sounds like she is the type that would not even consider such a solution even if she did understand how well it could work for everyone.

Good luck. I wish you well.

Never do business with friends or family.
With that out of the way it sounds like she is going to be hard to please.
Sounds like the husband just nods his head and mutters 'yes dear'.
We did month to month and got caught in the same trap as you.
It would be in your best interest to look at other living arrangements.
Have you considered a free standing AC unit ?
Best of luck to you.

Yes, I looked into them, and they are just to expensive... The $160 for the A/C we bought to replace the perfectly good one with a couple of rusty scratches on it was a huge dent in our pockets, I know it doesn't sound like much money, but it's a lot to us. The Free standers are way out of our price range...

Without a lease I think you are screwed. Bite the bullet and move ASAP.

Never do business with friends or family.
With that out of the way it sounds like she is going to be hard to please.
Sounds like the husband just nods his head and mutters 'yes dear'.
We did month to month and got caught in the same trap as you.
It would be in your best interest to look at other living arrangements.
Have you considered a free standing AC unit ?
Best of luck to you.

Look on CL and the other classifieds and see if you can find a "roll around" AC unit for cheap. You would still have to find a place for it's drain hose (if it has one) and hot-air discharge though.

As far as legal advice, start reading up on tenant's rights in your state if you can't afford a lawyer. Hell, make them write up a lease and get a doctor's note about the a/c requirement.

Wow, between a rock and a hard place. Wish I had an easy answer for you.

I agree with Ultra-Hog. Sounds like you need to arrange a face-to-face (perhaps on neutral ground??) between all concerned parties and try to come to a mutually-satisfactory agreement, hard as it may be.

A lease may be nice, but that really depends on what's written into it. Sounds like the provisions would likely be left up to the daughter, and that may not be in your best interests overall. At least though, you'd theoretically know where you stand.

I am not a lawyer, and to the best of my knowledge, no one else here is, either. Therefore, this is not legal advice.

http://www.mvlegal.org/

I would recommend you call them and explain the situation. Consultations are usually free in any case.

Given your financial situation, you may qualify for free legal assistance. See this link for more details:

http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/faq_freehelp.cfm#fedguides

I would suggest that the other comments are essentially correct - you face an unwinnable situation. Once you begin legal proceedings, you're sure to be kicked out.

However, depending on how you approach it and how your new landlords feel about being sued, having it publicized, and so on, you may find that they will actually help you move - it may be in the their best interest.

An ADA lawsuit can be a bitch. If your health is such that you are considered to be covered under the ADA, and they injure you by making you do without air conditioning that you need - and air conditioning is a 'reasonable accommodation', they could be staring at a long, expensive, lawsuit with a whole bunch of federal lawyers climbing right up their six with microscopes and search warrants.

Call an attorney. Explain your situation - all of it - including the part about your income and your disability. Let them guide you.

That's my advice - ask an expert.

Good luck to you, sorry you're going through this.

Here is another thought, it is not very difficult or expensive to have an average handyman or remodeler permanently mount your AC unit through a new opening in the wall.

That is not a possibility... Anywhere on the front of the house would look just as bad as it does in a window, plus the deck and stairs to the unit below us runs most of the way along that wall. No way they would find that acceptable, plus who would pay for the work?

There used to be a window in an exterior side wall of the front room, but that had to be torn out, and replaced by a door, and a new stairway on the side of the house. There was never any second egress provided for our apartment, and they would not have ever done that, except for the fact that they had difficulty obtaining financing, since it is illegal to have a single entry way. To place a wall mounted unit in that wall, would require that a dormer or something similar be built, due to the roof style. It's like a round barn roof, and the actual roof part comes down level with our floor, so again, expensive. Also, there is a set of stairs that run the length of that wall now, so we get into the whole "You are dripping on the stairs" thing again.

The third exterior wall in the room, has a funny roof line... There is the original rounded barn roof design, which now mates up with a new roof on their side of the house, halfway up our side of the roof. Their side of the house was a ranch style house, but a few years ago they raised it and made a second story. No place to put an A/C anywhere on that wall, the entire length of our apartment.

It's hard to explain... The house started life as a good old ranch style house. Later, a garage was added on the right side of the house, a very large garage. It held four full-size electricians vans with racks on them. Then, a second story was added on to the garage. When it changed hands, the new owner made two illegal apartments out of the garage, no permits, etc. When it changed hands yet again, a second story was added onto the ranch, kind of making it look like a center entrance colonial.

So, if you are looking at the front, there is the former ranch part on the left, which appears to be mated to an old barn looking structure, the doors of the barn would have been facing front. Currently looks like a center entrance colonial, that some idiot grafted onto the side of a two-story barn...

It sounds like you need to get the son and daughter together and ask them what they want while you are all face-to-face. Then you will know what that is and daughter will be in a position to either agree with son or they will have to fight it out. .....I believe I'd do this also.....

You know if you are crafty enough you can build your own venting system for any standard window AC. I own a 1940's vintage trailer and run a site devoted to the restoration of these trailers. A lot of owners have retrofitted AC units built under benches or into cabinets and built hidden ductwork to vent the hot air. Just a thought.

Thanks guys!

I know that I'm gonna lose if I start a fight, which is why I'm venting, and asking for help here. No lease means they can boot you out at will. Even if there was a lease, they would just not renew it when it was up.

I have done all I could to be accommodating to their wishes, but there is no other option for the placement of the A/C.

I solved any issue about potential water damage to the property, as well as the safety aspect of it dripping on the stairs, by moving it and installing the drain hose... There are no alternatives available to do anything else about it.

Suing them would still end up getting us the boot. Besides, unless they are really stupid, they will just evict us for some other reason, and we won't have any case. All they would have to do is say that it is a coincidence that they are asking us to vacate, after 10 years, right when the A/C fuss started...

So, if I can't get them to accept that the A/C has to stay, and stay where it is, looks like I may be looking for new digs...

I'm closing this thread, but with the hope of actually helping the OP.

There's few things worse than bad legal advice, and an online audio forum is almost guaranteed to generate just that, as one amateur after another makes a wild guess. When something as crucial as one's home is at stake, amateur advice is the last thing you want.

A request:

If there are any lawyers from MA (or nearby who are familiar with MA law) and who would be willing to help, please PM the OP. Birddog, AK's hearts go out to you, and we wish you the very best luck in getting through this.