A calm, plain-English response to a no-fault eviction notice.

A short letter you can fill in and mail to your landlord when they serve a 14-day notice to quit, a Notice to Quit for cause, or a no-fault eviction notice. It acknowledges the notice, asks for the specific grounds on it, requests any rental-assistance or relocation information that applies, and closes with a brief reference to state tenant protections — without legal advice.

Read this before you mail.

Send within the answer window printed on the notice. A 14-day notice typically gives you 14 days from the date it was served, but check the date on the front of your copy first.

Send by certified mail with return receipt requested, and keep the post office receipt stapled to a copy of the letter. The postmark and the signed receipt are what a housing court reads if the date is ever disputed.

Keep the envelope too. Postal-date-stamping on the envelope is the backup record if the postmark on the receipt looks wrong.

Do not use this letter as a substitute for legal advice. For advice on your specific case, see masslegalhelp.org or walk in to the Housing Court Self-Help Center.

If you have an active housing-court docket, file a copy of this letter with the clerk's office so it sits next to the docket sheet.

No-fault eviction — response letter

A calm response to a 14-day no-fault notice.

Fill in the three lines at the top, sign at the bottom, and send by certified mail with return receipt requested. Keep the post office receipt stapled to a copy — the date stamp is what a housing court reads if the date on the notice is ever disputed.

Date:

To:

Re: Unit at

I am writing in response to the notice I received on asking me to vacate the unit listed above. I am sending this letter within the answer window printed on the front of that notice, and I am keeping a copy on file with the postage, the envelope, and the date it was postmarked.

Could you please share the specific grounds stated in the notice and any documentation that supports them? I would like to understand, in plain language, what reason is being given for the request that I vacate, and I would like to review the supporting paperwork before any next step is taken. A copy of any inspection report, code-enforcement record, or other document that is referenced in the notice would help me respond fully.

If any rental-assistance program or relocation information is required from me as part of this process, please let me know what is needed and by when, and please point me to the relevant Mass.gov resource. The Massachusetts Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program and HomeBASE each have an application process, and the Housing Consumer Education Center publishes a updated list of local programs. I am happy to complete and return whatever paperwork is needed, and I would like to do so promptly.

For reference, Massachusetts tenant-protection statutes — including M.G.L. c. 186 (tenancies at will and for years) and M.G.L. c. 239 (summary process and the eviction docket) — describe the notice, answer, and answer-window requirements that apply to a no-fault notice to quit. This letter is not legal advice. For advice on your specific case, Massachusetts Legal Assistance for Reform and MassLegalHelp publish plain-language guides at masslegalhelp.org, and the Housing Court Self-Help Center is open to walk-in questions.

Thank you for your attention. I will follow up in writing if I do not hear back within fourteen days. I am sending this letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so we both have a record of the date it was sent and the date it was received.

Sincerely,

Printed name:

Unit / date:

Recommended: send by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep the post office receipt stapled to a copy of this letter with the envelope it was mailed in. If there is an active housing-court docket, file a copy of this letter with the clerk's office so it sits next to the docket sheet.