My landlord is insane. I have lived in the apartment for two years now with various people and there has never been any sort of lease whatsoever. I was told when I moved in that it was a month-to-month, tenant at will situation. The girl I moved in with had the rental application for me and said all I had to do was fill it out and send it to the landlord with my money. I did and never heard a word from him. No approval or denial of my application, nothing. I just kept sending my rent check every month and that was that. When that first girl moved out, she gave thirty days notice. I found a new roommate, now she has moved out and moved upstairs to an empty unit with a friend of hers and I have found a new new roommate. All of a sudden my landlord has been talking about a lease.

Last night the landlord came over and when he pulled out the lease, my new roommate asked why he was having us sign a lease when there never was a lease before. He said there had always been a lease. At this point I stepped in and said that I had never had a lease. He said I had, I said I had not. This went on back and forth for a couple of minutes with me restraining myself from altogether flipping out. Finally he said he would fax me a copy of the alleged document at work today. I eagerly handed him my fax number and said "please do". Do you think I received a fax today? Anyone? Three guesses... the answer of course, is no. Because the lease never existed in the first place! And part of me wants to call and say, "you said you'd be faxing the lease I signed today?" just to see what he'd say. But I also know that he would have some excuse "I'll send it tomorrow instead" or "I can't find it" or who knows what but I'll never see it and I would like to hear him admit that there never was one to begin with but that will never happen.

He claims that when I moved in the first girl I moved in with had a lease already in place. Supposedly I signed that one. He also insists that roommate number two and I signed a lease when she moved in. He tried to tell me I must've just not realized that's what I was signing. That's right, because I'm just stupid enough to sign something without reading it first - I don't think so!

I don't even mind signing a lease - he wanted a year but we negotiated for six months. If he's changing the way he's doing things and wants to implement the use of leases, hey, it's his choice. But there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that pisses me off more than someone telling me I am wrong when I know to the point that I would swear on a bible or a loved one or anything important, that I am right. And I don't take the act of swearing on important things lightly. Does he think if he just keeps insisting I signed a lease that I'll finally back down and admit I did? Does he think he can just push me around? I have been a good tenant for two years. I have brought him not one, but three total new tenants. And he has been nothing but a jerk.

He never fixes things unless we call him 87 times. Remember last year when we had to call every day just to get a key to the mailbox? Last night he said he would drop by between 6:30 and 7. He showed up at 9. Didn't call to say he'd be late or anything. He is the most inconsiderate, manipulative person that I have ever had to deal with. Yeah, I know his modus operandi. He thinks people don't know their tenant rights so he can say whatever he wants. My new roommate said, "what happens if we decide not to sign this lease?" and he replied, "If you want to look for a new place to live, that's fine with me." But I happen to know that we could refuse to sign the lease and in fact, stop paying rent entirely and it would take almost a year of legal battles in order for us to be officially evicted. I wish I knew someone who was an attorney to mediate for me. I wish I could tell the landlord off in no uncertain terms. But I need him as a reference should I ever decide to move out which sooner or later I will - preferably sooner. If anyone knows anyone who is knowledgeable about Massachusetts rental law, please let me know and help me show the mean landlords of the world (or at least this one) that they can't treat good tenants like crap and get away with it!
  ¶ 5:11 PM