Brockton, Mass., Code of Ordinances ch. 16, art. I (2025) § 16-2

For the purposes of this article, the following words shall unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
City shall mean City of Brockton.
Days shall mean consecutive calendar days.
Entity shall mean a business organization, or any other kind of organization, including without limitation, a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability corporation, limited liability partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or any other category of organization, and any employee, agent, servant or other representative of such entity.
Eviction shall mean any action, without limitation, by a foreclosure sale purchaser of residential property which is intended to compel an occupant to vacate or to be constructively evicted from such residential property.
Fair market rent shall mean an amount equal to that established by the most recent publication in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding fair market rents in the city for units of comparable size.
Foreclosing owner shall mean an entity that both: (1)
Held or owned a mortgage loan in the residential property at any point prior to the foreclosure of the residential property or is the subsidiary, parent, or agent of, or otherwise is related to any entity which held or owned the mortgage in the residential property at any time prior to the foreclosure of the residential property; and
(2) Holds title or held title to the residential property that it acquired at a foreclosure sale or by any other method of foreclosure, and held a security interest in three (3) or more mortgage loans at the time of the foreclosure.
For purpose of this definition, the phrase "holds title" shall include an entity which holds title in any capacity, directly or indirectly, without limitation, whether in its own name, as trustee, or as beneficiary.
Foreclosure sale shall mean the foreclosure of a mortgage of a residential property pursuant to a power of sale in a mortgage and as described in M.G.L. ch. 244.
Foreclosure sale purchaser shall mean a foreclosing owner as defined herein, or a person or entity that purchases a residential property from a foreclosing owner.
Just cause shall mean at least one (1) of the following: (1)
The occupant has failed to timely pay last established rent prior to the foreclosure sale; and if no rent has been established, reasonable use and occupancy charges shall be established by fair market rent, but only if the foreclosure sale purchaser notified the occupant in writing on or about the time of the recording of the foreclosure deed or a reasonable time thereafter, of the amount of rent or use and occupancy that was to be paid and to whom it was to be paid;
(2) The occupant has violated an obligation or covenant of the occupancy other than the obligation to surrender possession upon proper notice and has failed to cure such violation within a reasonable time after having received written notice thereof from the foreclosure sale purchaser;
(3) The occupant is committing or permitting to exist a nuisance in, or is causing substantial damage to, the residential property, or is creating a substantial interference with the quiet enjoyment of other occupants;
(4) The occupant is convicted of using or permitting the unit to be used for any illegal purpose;
(5) The occupant has refused to provide reasonable access to the residential property to the foreclosure sale purchaser for the purpose of making necessary repairs or improvement required by the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth or any subdivision thereof, or for the purpose of inspection as permitted or required by agreement or by law or for the purpose of showing the rental housing unit to a prospective purchaser.
Mortgage loan shall mean a loan, in the form of a promissory note, to one (1) or more natural persons, or to a nominee trust or residential trust on behalf of one (1) or more natural persons, made for non-commercial purposes and secured wholly or partially by a mortgage on residential property in the city which is the principal residence of one (1) or more borrowers of the loan or their family members, or in the case of a nominee trust, one (1) or more of the beneficiaries of the trust.
Occupant shall mean any person or group of persons, including the mortgagor, who occupied residential property prior to a foreclosure sale.
Residential property shall mean real property located in the city that is either a single-family dwelling or a structure containing not more than four (4) residential units, and shall also include a residential condominium unit or a residential co-op unit.