Article by Kenneth Krems for New England Affordable Housing Management Association publication

You are sitting at your favorite restaurant celebrating. It was a long, hard battle, but after several months you finally had your summary process trial. Yesterday, the judge's decision arrived. You won! It was a great victory. Now you were certain that this horrible, problem tenant would be gone in a few days.

The you get a call from your office. A notice was just delivered saying that your tenant, never one to give up easily, had appealed the decision. What did this mean? How long would the tenant be allowed to stay?

Since most eviction cases are settled prior to trial, and only some of those which go to trial are appealed, many managers don't have a good idea of what happens if a case is appealed. The specific appeal procedures vary from state to state, but the rules in Massachusetts are illustrative of the issues involved in appeals in any state in New England.

Read the full article.