After AG's Guidance, Confusion Lingers For Landlords, Tenants

ANDOVER, MA -- Lat week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued guidance for landlords and tenants whose apartments were left without gas service after the September 13 gas explosions in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence. In the simplest terms, Healey said tenants should not pay rent for apartments that did not have heat and hot water, and landlords should file claims for reimbursement with Columbia Gas of Massachusetts for lost rent. If tenants had paid rent after Sept. 13, they should file separate claims with the utility.

But that advice conflicted with what many residents ahd been told by their adjusters, and with what they continued to be told after Healey issued her guidance. The information, according to interviews with tenants, landlords and posts on social media, seemed to vary from adjuster to adjuster.

On Tuesday, Patch reached out to a Columbia Gas spokesperson hoping to get some clarification on the issue. "They are working on articulating the policy and I will get it to you as soon as possible," we were told at 1:18 pm. At 3:42 pm we were sent an email with a link -- and no comment -- to a page on Columbia's Website outlining that policy.

"If you are a tenant with no heat or hot water, please ask your landlord to file a lost rent claim with Columbia Gas as soon as possible. If you paid rent to your landlord while your unit was without heat or hot water and do not receive a refund from your landlord, please call the Attorney General’s Merrimack Valley Hotline at 617-573-5370 and please also advise your Columbia Gas adjuster," the Columbia Gas policy said.

The policy also references Healey's guidance from last week and essentially articulates the advice the attorney general offered. But it's not clear why Columbia Gas waited more than a week to clarify its position, or why its adjusters seem to have been giving conflicting advice to residents in the week since Healey tried to clarify the situation.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).