Evicting but Accommodating Problem Tenant

[Robert P.]

Situation: Current tenant says board of health was called because department of child services was called from ex boyfriend who said my apartment is not safe for a child to live in.

Results: I received a list in the mail of things that needed to get fixed. Items include: loose door hinges, toilet handle loose, toilet bowl loose, one burner on oven was not working, small hole in hardwood in corner of floor behind fridge, bath tub drainage issue (slow clog, just needs to be snaked) water stain on ceiling with cracking plaster on ceiling. 

What we did: We got the letter on Friday afternoon and everything was fixed by Tuesday night. Replaced the stove with a new one, fixed the toilet issues, re sheet-rocked the entire walk-in closet ceiling (and painted), patched small hole in floor, tightened door hinges, and had plumber come in and instead of snaking, had him replace the pipe that was getting clogged. 

Questions: 

1. Tenant has been consistently late on rent. Still has not paid May rent (and now says she was advised not to pay rent until everything was fixed, even though she was late before board of health even did inspection). June rent is due the 6th, but she said she won't have May rent until June 10th. We want to evict based on this, but worried about the 6 month rule after board of health inspection (in Massachusetts) that may be considered retaliation unless we can prove we would be evicting even if we didn't receive notice. If she has not paid May and June by June 6th, does this give us enough grounds to prove we are evicting based on late rent and not "retaliation"?

2. They were out of a shower/tub for approx 2 days, even though they are giving us a hard time, would it be smart to give them a $50 credit on rent (yes the late rent) for the "inconvenience"? 

3. They have kids, predicting they will be late for June as well. Will eviction be harder since they have 4 kids? Is there any type of trouble I could get in for them living in a 2 BR with 4 kids?

There is a lot going on here, I do have a lawyer, just trying to get feedback from people who may have been in a situation like this before. (problem tenant with board of health inspection in place and wanting to evict based on 2 months late rent)

[Alexander Felice]

1. I don't know the laws regarding this, but my guess would be you could still evict. The tenant is sure to give you a hassle about it

2. you want to give them a credit for rent, 

which is late

for a tub you had to replace because a hassle they caused

because you inconvenienced them?

no, no, so many times, no

3. I don't think or see why any of that would be an issue. 

What the underlying issue here is, they have you rattled. It's obvious in your post that you're scared of the ringer they may drag you through, which is fine, except you can't let it affect your decisions like this. You just have to accept that they are a PITA and move forward like you normally would. Giving them a rent credit and tip-toeing around issues like this will only make things worse for you and create more resentment. Decide to evict, get your house in order and move forward! 

I don't think it'll be that bad honestly. Keep us posted friend