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UpToCode: Get repairs

UpToCode is a free online tool that helps tenants in Massachusetts get repairs and enforce their rights.

It is available in English and Spanish.

UpToCode uses the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code and other laws to help tenants understand their rights and get repairs. You can take photos of problems and link them to specific rooms in your home and tell the landlord the specific law that requires their repair.

The kind of help you can get ranges from a gentle reminder to your landlord, to calling in the city for an official record and order to repair, to asking a judge for an emergency order or to sue your landlord for money.

You decide what action to take. UpToCode will give you information about your options.

The tasks you can do with UpToCode include:

• Make a list of problems in your home
• Write a letter to your landlord
• Ask the city for an inspection
• Ask a judge to order your landlord to fix the problem
• Get a report from a housing inspector
• Get a demand letter to send to your landlord
• Get a verified complaint and motion to file in court
• Get a contempt complaint and motion to file in court
• Get a checklist of housing code violations
• Get a list of common housing problems

More information:

• UpToCode

Can I use this interview?

Any tenant in Massachusetts can use UpToCode to get repairs and enforce their rights.

A landlord can use UpToCode to better understand their legal obligations and to document the current condition of their apartment.

Before you start

UpToCode can help you best if you are physically in the apartment or building you are having problems with.

It will help you walk through the apartment, room by room, and identify problems that need repair.

Start interview