We all know how hard it can be to find an affordable place to live in Massachusetts.
But what if someone just decides not to pay rent?
Once the landlord pursues an eviction, the tenants delay the legal process as long as possible with last-second motions and other tactics.
When they finally get kicked out, the cycle simply repeats for a new unsuspecting property owner.
Meet the people known as “professional tenants.” It is a term used in housing circles for those who have figured out how to game a system in Massachusetts, a state with a national reputation for being pro-tenant.
“The reason they are called professional tenants is because they can earn a living by scamming landlords,” said Doug Quattochi, executive director of Mass Landlords, a nonprofit advocacy organization. “You can delay evictions for a very long time if you intend to abuse the system.”
An NBC10 Investigation uncovered a husband and wife who might be the poster children for how to pull off the rent-free scheme with no serious consequences other than the inconvenience of frequently updating their mailing address.
Across Worcester County, small landlords have regretted renting their properties to a couple named Russell and Linda Callahan.
People told us the Callahans made a positive first impression, seemed like an “all-American” couple, and showed up with a stack of paperwork to bolster their rental application.
The paperwork, which included pay stubs, a background check and a credit report, was intended to give landlords peace of mind.
“They said they were looking at a bunch of houses, so they had the paperwork ready to go,” one landlord recalled. “I thought they were being proactive.”
However, after signing a lease and handing over the keys, there was always a problem: the first rental check bounced.
The timing of the payment was always close to the couple’s move-in date. By the time the bank notified landlords the checks didn’t clear, the Callahans were already in the homes.
Landlords told us a string of excuses followed about why the funds were not available. The Callahans blamed a problem with the IRS, a slow transfer of 401k funds, or a family member in the hospital getting surgery.
Eventually, the landlords all came to the realization they feared: It was all a scam.
“I realized this was not some isolated thing,” a landlord told us. “There are people who actually live like this.”
The property owners were then forced to begin the eviction process, a legal maze in housing court that turned out to be much longer and more expensive than they ever imagined. In some cases, landlords had to also foot the bill for thousands of dollars in moving and storage expenses following evictions, as state law requires.
Over the past two decades in Massachusetts, the NBC10 Investigators found the Callahans have been evicted at least 16 times with judgments for unpaid rent surpassing well over $100,000. The losses soar even higher when you take into account legal fees, moving expenses, and repairs for damage to the properties.
Worcester attorney Henry Raphaelson has more than 40 years of housing court experience and told us he has personally been involved in at least six eviction cases with the Callahans. We asked him what comes to mind when he hears their names.
“People that under no circumstances should you rent to them,” he replied. “Because it ends up badly every single time.”
Landlords and neighbors said it seemed like the couple planned to stay at the properties for a long time. They showed up with enough possessions to fill every room in the homes and immediately adorned yards with elaborate seasonal decorations.
We asked Raphaelson why he thinks the Callahans continue the pattern, especially with a growing list of people chasing them for money.
“Because they are living in very, very nice places,” Raphaelson said. “At least for the time being, until they end up being ordered out by a court of law.”
Over the past two decades, the only gap in housing court cases we found in Massachusetts was a four-year stint the Callahans spent in Florida. That’s where we found eight different evictions in that short time span.
One of the landlords rented his Jacksonville home to the Callahans just before leaving on a deployment with the Navy. He then dealt with the stress of losing $10,000 while navigating the eviction process overseas.
“I’m thinking that I have this house and I’m in another country. ‘What am I going to do?’” the landlord recalled. “I realized I made a huge mistake.”
Despite a long court paper trail, the Callahans have almost no digital footprint. The only images we found of Linda Callahan were some mug shots after arrests for writing bad checks while living in Florida. Russell Callahan’s lone image was a driver’s license photo that was included with one of his rental applications.
Linda Callahan’s criminal record shows more than 50 charges over the years, the majority larceny by check and uttering false records. According to police reports, she bounced checks on purchases for everything from flowers to furniture to jewelry.
A handful of those resulted in convictions, leading to several short jail stints or probation sentences.
However, it appears the Callahans have avoided any serious consequences for the rent-free scheme they’ve pulled off for the past 20 years.
“Those people have been evicted over and over again,” one landlord told us. “The system knows them. And nothing has been done.”
The Callahans have not responded to phone calls or emails from the NBC10 Investigators. Many of the phone numbers landlords used to communicate with them have been disconnected and are no longer in service.
Meantime, no new address has surfaced since their most recent eviction last December. It might be only a matter of time before a different landlord realizes there are professional tenants living at the property.
“The Callahans certainly owe the most money of anyone I’ve seen in Worcester County,” Raphaelson said. “I guess we’re all just waiting. History has told us there’s another case around the corner.”
IN OUR NEXT REPORT: We take a closer look at the legal system and some of the surprising reasons why the professional tenants have skirted criminal accountability
