my aunt was the life tenant of her prperty in massachusetts of which she had leased out a first floor apart,ment. She died and ny ssisters a...

Question

my aunt was the life tenant of her prperty in massachusetts of which she had leased out a first floor apart,ment. She died and ny ssisters and I (remaindermen ) wish to sell the house. Did the lease she had terminate when she died or do we have to honor the lease through its termination next year

Answer

The Tenant, assuming she or he was not aware of the limited rights of your Aunt, will probably seek to enforce the lease.

Alternative is to sell the property with the Tenant in it or to make a deal with the Tenant to terminate the lease sooner than next year. You indicate there is a legal apartment in the home, which leads me to believe this is a two-family home. It is not uncommon for two-family homes to be sold with one unit leased.

If you do not think you can sell it with the current tenant, then you need to make a deal for them to leave.

You can try to terminate the lease early, but it is likely to be an expensive exercise and there is no guarantee of success.

Answer

I'm sorry to hear that you have lost your aunt.

Although it is somewhat murky, the law would seem to indicate that the death of the landlord terminates a tenancy by operation of law. You will want to be very careful how you go about this, and I strongly recommend that you have tenant-landlord counsel in place as well as real estate and probate administration. Before too much can happen, somebody will need to be appointed personal representative of your aunt's estate.

First steps would be to send tenants a letter informing them of the death and letting them know that you would like their cooperation in finding a new place to live. Once you have your ducks in a row, you can go ahead and file for eviction in court. It is possible that, with some incentive and cooperation given on your part, your tenants will agree to move voluntarily.

We have represented clients in your exact situation, and our attorneys are skilled at both tenant-landlord law as well as estate administration here in Massachusetts. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you if you wish to set up a consultaiton.