What to know about a federal judge’s ruling on whether landlord tenants can sue in Harvard Law School

A federal judge has ruled that landlords can sue tenants for rent-stabilized housing in the school. 

According to the ruling from Judge John A. Bowers, The Supreme Court in January upheld a lower court ruling that said tenants cannot sue landlords for damages when they have been displaced from their homes and are forced to leave the area. 

However, Bowers said that a ruling by the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which hears disputes between the states and federal government, would not alter the protections afforded rental rights in Massachusetts. 

The decision, which was issued Friday, could potentially be a boon for landlords who are seeking to evict tenants because of the threat of foreclosure, Bowers said in an email. 

“As long as the Federal Circuit has upheld the doctrine of tenant tenure, landlords have been able to assert tenant claims against tenants who have left their homes, but the Federal Circuit has not recognized the right of a landlord to evict a tenant for a cause of eviction that is the subject of a federal statute, such as tenant tenure,” Bowers wrote. 

A landlord would still need to show that a tenant was in the home at the time of the eviction. 

Bower’s ruling is a victory for tenants, but it could have implications for landlords seeking to pursue eviction.

Tenants have been fighting to keep their apartments in Harvard since a 2012 ruling by a Massachusetts court that said the school is a public university that should be treated as a public institution. 

In Harvard Law School v.

Tenant, the court ruled that the school was not a private school and thus a private employer could not evict tenants. 

Tenants and their advocates said the ruling is likely to prompt landlords to consider evicting tenants who are forced out of their homes because of their inability to pay rent. 

Harvey Schwartz, the executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Tenants, said in a statement that Bowers’ ruling “should send a clear message that landlords are not welcome in Harvard University and that the federal government should no longer allow the school to be used as a tool to intimidate tenants.” 

The Massachusetts legislature has been working to change the state’s eviction laws. 

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Democrat, introduced legislation in 2015 that would have allowed landlords to evict tenants, but the bill was killed in the House. 

DeLeo said in January that he is planning to introduce legislation to overturn the court’s ruling.