Bill > H968

This bill aims to promote homelessness prevention in Massachusetts by establishing a right to counsel for occupants in residential eviction cases. The key provisions include: 1. Granting occupants the right to counsel upon receiving a notice to quit, and requiring landlords to inform occupants of this right. If the occupant is indigent, counsel will be appointed under the state's public defender program. 2. Extending the right to counsel to occupants in cases where a landlord seeks to void a lease and recover possession of the property. 3. Authorizing the state's public defender committee to establish a system for appointing counsel and providing legal services to indigent individuals facing eviction. 4. Establishing a public task force to develop an implementation plan for the right to counsel, including rules and regulations, recruiting counsel, training requirements, and cost estimates. 5. Requiring the public defender committee to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the right to counsel within one year of the task force report. 6. Specifying that the right to counsel in eviction proceedings shall be fully implemented within two years of the bill's passage.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H968