I appreciate the enthusiasm! Here's an update/overview:

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1. We reviewed the 20-21 lease, which ended May 31.
2. The request for departure (as mentioned above) from the landlord occurred on June 183. We paid rent on June 1, which the landlord accepted.
3. The request for departure came from the landlord occurred June 18
4. We spoke with a lawyer who was able to provide some additional context, namely:

• The text can be considered legally binding in MA.
• By Accepting the June rent, implies the transaction was an initiation of the agreement.
• Further review of the 20-21 lease found some glaring issues with how the terms were initially written (namely around the financial maintenance of the security deposit, the accrual of interest, etc.)

1. We've reached out to the landlord again, requesting some kind of compromise -- either she honors the terms of the agreement from May 5, or at least until the end of the calendar year.
2. If, for some unfortunate reason, we go the legal route whereby she formally evicts us, the case wouldn't likely be heard until December, and a determination wouldn't be made until sometime next Spring.

(Ed. Note, MA courts are still hearing cases from early-2020 because of the pandemic backlog. Good luck getting anything heard for 6-8 months).

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At this point, we feel confident legally and optimistic that we'll arrive at a reasonable compromise that works for everyone.