Boston Municipal Code ch. 10-2 § 10-2.11

(A) Terms defined . All terms used herein shall have the meanings defined in Section 1 of Chapter 34 of the Ordinances of 1984, as amended, except that as used herein, the term HOUSING ACCOMMODATION as contained in Subsection 10-2.1 shall not include: “mobile homes, trailers or trailer or mobile lots or lodging, room or boarding house units”.
(B) Removal of housing accommodations regulated . Except as provided in this Subsection, it shall be unlawful for any owner or other person to remove any housing accommodation unless the Board, after hearing, grants a removal permit. The Board may issue such orders and promulgate such regulations as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Subsection, and prescribe, consistent with this Subsection, the procedure for applications, notice, hearings and the grant and review of removal permits. Provided, however that the requirements of this Subsection shall not apply to any building or structure containing no more than two dwelling units or containing no more than three dwelling units, one of which is occupied by the owner thereof as his or her permanent residence consistent with the requirements of Subsection 10-2.1 under the definition of “housing accommodation”.
(C) Eviction . Eviction of tenants from controlled or decontrolled housing accommodations is governed by Subsection 10-2.9 as modified by Subsections 10-2.10 and 10-2.11. Issuance of a removal permit does not relieve any person of compliance with the eviction procedures contained in this Section.
(D) Exceptions . Except as otherwise required by this Section including, but not limited to, the requirements contained in Subsection 10-2.12 relating to lodging and rooming houses, no removal permit shall be required for the removal of any housing accommodation for which, on or before May 4, 1988, a master condominium deed or articles of organization for the building in which the housing accommodation is located has been duly recorded pursuant to the provisions of M.G.L. Chapters 183A, 156B, 157 or 157B. Such recording shall be prima facie evidence of this exception notwithstanding any error or omission in regard thereto, and the Board shall have no authority to issue, and shall not issue, any certificate with regard to this exception: sale or transfer after removal. Once a removal permit has been issued, no additional removal permit is required for subsequent transfers of ownership; provided, however, that all subsequent owners shall be subject to the terms of this Section and to the effective terms and conditions of any previously issued removal permit.
(E) Removal procedure.
(1) Generally. A separate removal permit shall be issued for each qualifying housing accommodation. Copies thereof shall be kept on file at the Board and certified copies shall be available upon payment of a reasonable fee.
(2) Criteria. In reviewing an application for a removal permit the Board shall consider relevant factors including, without limitation, the aggravation of the shortage of safe, decent and affordable housing accommodations in the city and its neighborhoods which may result from the removal, especially for tenants of low and moderate income, and handicapped or elderly tenants. In making such determination the Board shall review and make findings as to all relevant factors including, without limitation, the following:
(a) The benefits and detriments to the persons whom this Section and this Subsection seek to protect;
(b) The hardships imposed on the tenant(s) residing in the housing accommodation proposed to be removed;
(c) Circumstances demonstrating hardship and inequity to the applicant seeking a removal permit;
(d) The rate of vacancy in the city at the time the applicant applies for a removal permit; and
(e) Substantiated evidence demonstrating the occurrence at the site of the housing accommodation of arson or a suspicious fire, as defined in Subsection 10-2.15.
(3) Mandatory granting of removal permit.
(a) The Board shall grant a removal permit where the applicant demonstrates to the Board by sufficient evidence:
1. That the applicant is in compliance with all the requirements of this Section; and
2. That tenants who occupy a majority of all of the units in a building or project and who have resided in the building or project for one year or longer prior to the filing of the removal permit application:
a. Have unequivocably agreed to purchase such building and convert it to a limited equity cooperative pursuant to M.G.L. Chapters 156B, 157 and 157B; or
b. Have unequivocably agreed to purchase their rental units when they are converted to a condominium or cooperative unit and have represented that a they are intending in good faith to occupy such units as their principal and permanent residences.
(b) For purposes of determining a “majority” under division (E)(3)(a) above, all occupied units in a building or project shall be included and voting shall be done by rental unit with all of the tenants residing in a rental unit treated as a single tenant. All units in a building or project shall be offered for sale to the residing tenants at the same time, at the same or comparable price.
(4) Conditions to be imposed on removal permits. The Board shall impose the following conditions, if applicable, when it grants a removal permit. Nothing in this Section shall restrict an owner from conveying his or her interest in any building or property or portion thereof; provided that the property shall remain subject to the provisions of this Section and to the conditions and terms of the last issued removal permit. Once issued, a removal permit shall not be revoked; however, the Board may subsequently modify the terms of a removal permit in accordance with the procedures set forth in divisions (E)(5)(a) through (E)(5)(c) below, and may take such action as is necessary to enforce the terms of the removal permit, as provided in division (F) below.
(a) Right of first refusal to purchase.
1. Any tenant who lives in a housing accommodation for which a removal permit has been granted shall, within 60 days of the date of the grant of the permit or such other time period as shall be established by the Board, be given the right of first refusal to purchase the housing accommodation he/she occupies for substantially the same or more favorable terms and conditions as are being or would be offered to prospective arms length purchasers.
2. Such tenant may exercise a right of first refusal to purchase such housing accommodation by executing a purchase and sales agreement prior to the expiration of 90 days after the date of receiving a copy of the purchase and sales agreement properly executed by the person offering the housing accommodation for sale. Each time the housing is subsequently offered for sale, the tenant then occupying the housing accommodation shall be offered the right of first refusal to purchase as described above in this Section.
(b) Code compliance. At the time that a removal permit is granted the building must be in, and thereafter, remain in, full compliance with Chapter II of the commonwealth’s Sanitary Code, being 105 CMR 410, the commonwealth’s Building Code, being 780 CMR, the Boston Fire Prevention Code and any other applicable municipal code, ordinance or commonwealth law, regulating the conditions or occupancy of housing accommodations. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if, for good cause, the building is not currently in compliance with any of the above codes, ordinances or laws, the removal permit must be conditioned upon the applicant’s agreement to bring the building and/or unit into such compliance within a specific time period determined reasonable by the applicable enforcement agency.
(c) Maintenance and repairs. Whenever the housing accommodation is used for rental housing purposes, the owner must designate a person or persons within 25 miles of the building to be responsible for maintenance and repairs. The tenant in each unit shall be informed by the owner or his or her Agent in writing as to who is responsible for maintenance and repairs, both as to common and individual unit areas, and such notice shall be updated whenever there is a change in tenants or a change in who is responsible for such maintenance.
(d) Rent and eviction protections. The granting of a removal permit under this Subsection shall not by itself operate to change the classification of the housing accommodation of controlled or vacancy decontrolled and the provisions of this Section as the decontrol under paragraph e. of the definition of “housing accommodation” in Subsection 10-2.1 shall continue to be in full force and effect. Nothing herein, however, shall extinguish the right of a landlord after the granting of a removal permit to seek decontrol status of a housing accommodation which is voluntarily vacated within the meaning of said paragraph e. of the definition of “housing accommodation” in Subsection 10-2.1.
(5) Procedures.
(a) The Board shall consider an application for a removal permit for a controlled or decontrolled housing accommodation, or an application to modify the terms of a removal permit previously issued, upon receipt of an application filed by the landlord, owner or other authorized person. Such application shall be made on a form approved by the Administrator. The Board shall notify the applicant and tenant of the receipt of an application and of the right of either party to request a hearing in writing within 15 calendar days of the date of such notice. At any time, the Board may, on its own initiative, order a hearing on any application. If a hearing is timely requested by either party, or if the action is undertaken on the initiative of the Board, notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be furnished to the applicant and tenant and the hearing shall be conducted before a designee of the Board. Hearings, final decision and notification of the final decision to the applicant relative to permits shall occur within 60 days of the filing of the request unless the parties otherwise agree. The Board may consolidate applications relating to housing accommodations in the same building or development. The Board may conduct a single hearing on all such consolidated applications. The Administrator may designate a person or persons to participate in a removal proceeding, where appropriate, in order to further the provisions and purposes of this Section and to serve the public interest.
(b) Removal permit hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 11 except that requirements (7) and (8) of such Section 11 shall not apply to such hearings.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, if a decision regarding a removal permit has been made with regard to such controlled or decontrolled housing accommodation within the preceding 12 months, the Board may, without holding a hearing, refuse to grant a removal permit for that housing accommodation or may dismiss any such application. In addition, if the application is not in conformance with the filing requirement of this Section or applicable regulations, the Administrator may administratively dismiss such application without holding a hearing.
(F) Enforcement . All of the remedies provided in Subsections 10-2.16 through 10-2.19 shall be available to the Board for purposes of enforcing Subsection 10-2.11.
(CBC 1985 10-2.11; Ord. 1988 c. 9 § 8)
Penalty, see Subsection 10-2.17
Cross-reference:
Fire Prevention Code, see § 11-5
Editor’s note:
Refer to Subsection 10-2.1.