Beware the “Massachusetts Landlords” Facebook Group

A Facebook group is operating with branding similar to MassLandlords, causing confusion among members and the general public. As the group has grown, the confusion has grown, prompting us to write this advisory.

Careful! The Facebook group Massachusetts Landlords is not a MassLandlords service.

MassLandlords operates the group “MassLandlords Members Only.” The group in question is “Massachusetts Landlords.” The group was set up during the pandemic. It uses a Pixabay image that we had previously used on our social media profiles as a header image. The use of the same image, and the use of the capitalized phrase “Massachusetts Landlords,” both seem to be a deliberate attempt to cause confusion.

Unlike the MassLandlords members-only group, which is private, “Massachusetts Landlords” is public. When people post there, information is visible to renters, city and court officials, legal services attorneys and more. The motivation to set up and administer such a group is unclear.

The group has some cross-pollination with the MassLandlords membership. When we asked around, many were unaware that it was unaffiliated with us.

Serious Legal Liability Possible

The group is causing significant confusion and may be exposing participants to legal liability both as questioner and answerer.

One landlord, Gina (not a MassLandlords member) posted using her full legal name on the group. We have redacted her last name in this article. She said she was not compliant with the lead paint law. “This is the first time I have a tenant that is pregnant. What is our obligation as a landlord around lead? Status of lead is unknown.”

On a private message board with well-educated landlords, this would become a learning opportunity that would direct Gina to prompt correction of her problem. Instead, group member Bruce (who also used his full name; who also is not a MassLandlords member), gave Gina unlawful advice. “If you know what has lead paint try and remedy it yourself. It will be a lot cheaper. Once you get it lead inspected you will have to get a lead certified contractor to do the work and that can get very expensive.” It is considered unauthorized deleading to try to remedy the situation yourself without a licensed inspection. And then if you want to do any work yourself, you must become trained as a moderate risk deleader. Bruce’s suggestion is unlawful. Another poster, Esmerelda, advised waiting until the renters went on vacation. This too is unlawful as the deleading is already overdue.

This exchange increased the chances of unauthorized deleading and lead poisoning.

Political Liability Exists as Well

There is also political liability to posting publicly on this group. “Boston Squatters” posted to Massachusetts Landlords on Feb. 20, 2025, the following: “With this housing crises , [sic] the state desperately need [sic] our units , but they are not supporting us landlords in Housing court. This is the perfect time to come together in solidarity and get a Massachusetts Landlord ‘s [sic] March together at the state house. This is an opportunity for our voices to be heard and help change these laws. Looking to set up a 20 thousand landlords March to be effective and make a direct impact.”

This is a strange post for a landlord to write. “Solidarity” is a political term used primarily by labor (not capital). Was the post even written by a landlord? Probably, but we don’t know. Twenty-one different group members did in fact respond to the post. Their response shared their first and last name with the general public. It took us only a matter of minutes to identify a real property owned by one of the “likers.”

We live in an age when organizations like City Life/Vida Urbana and the Worcester Anti-foreclosure Task Force routinely obstruct justice by protesting evictions or organizing renters. So is it strategically worthwhile to have landlords engaged in a public forum like this? It seems likely to cause the most politically motivated to be targeted for being driven out of the business first.

We reached out to group admin “Jay Brown” to ask them to clarify in their group title that they have no affiliation with MassLandlords. We aren’t sure that’s even a real person. One month later and we still have no response.

Do you know who is administering this group and why? Email us at hello@masslandlords.net.