Filings Month Ending 2021 September 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2021-09-01 Search Period End: 2021-09-30 Earliest Case: 2021-09-01 Latest Case: 2021-09-30 Total Cases: 1857 Total Transfers: 47 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 35.5% Of those, percentage pro se: 53.0% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: West Hyannisport Least stable with 10+ filings: Fall River Least stable with 100+ filings: Worcester Least stable county: Bristol Cases per day: 64 Housing crisis baseline max cases per day (UCL): 130 Housing crisis baseline min cases per day (LCL): 44 The number of filings this period is not statistically different from the pre-pandemic housing crisis baseline. -- Courts (n) Count Percent northeast 368 19.8% central 353 19.0% southeast 296 15.9% western 266 14.3% eastern 196 10.6% metro_south 159 8.6% quincy district 22 1.2% lynn district 17 0.9% fall river district 13 0.7% chelsea district 11 0.6% malden district 11 0.6% northern berkshire district 10 0.5% pittsfield district 9 0.5% attleboro district 8 0.4% bmc west roxbury 8 0.4% framingham district 7 0.4% lawrence district 7 0.4% barnstable district 6 0.3% bmc east boston 6 0.3% plymouth district 6 0.3% somerville district 6 0.3% waltham district 6 0.3% woburn district 6 0.3% cambridge district 5 0.3% haverhill district 5 0.3% ayer district 4 0.2% lowell district 4 0.2% new bedford district 4 0.2% orleans district 3 0.2% brockton district 2 0.1% dedham district 2 0.1% edgartown district 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% milford district 2 0.1% nantucket district 2 0.1% newburyport district 2 0.1% wareham district 2 0.1% wrentham district 2 0.1% bmc brighton 1 0.1% bmc central 1 0.1% concord district 1 0.1% eastern hampshire district 1 0.1% fallmouth district 1 0.1% gloucester district 1 0.1% greenfield district 1 0.1% newton district 1 0.1% orange district 1 0.1% palmer district 1 0.1% peabody district 1 0.1% salem district 1 0.1% southern berkshire district 1 0.1% taunton district 1 0.1% uxbridge district 1 0.1% westfield district 1 0.1% worcester district 1 0.1% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 1197 3 Natural Person 660 1854 Total 1857 1857 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 64.5% 0.2% Natural Person 35.5% 99.8% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1160 37 1197 Optional 310 350 660 Total 1470 387 1857 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 62.5% 2.0% 64.5% Optional 16.7% 18.8% 35.5% Total 79.2% 20.8% 100.0% Defendant Representation Important: Defendants will not have an attorney known to the plaintiff at time of filing unless this is an ongoing matter. 100% pro se is to be expected in all filing reports except to the extent time passes between filing and staff review. See outcomes report for final assessment. (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1 2 3 Optional 31 1823 1854 Total 32 1825 1857 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% Optional 1.7% 98.2% 99.8% Total 1.7% 98.3% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 131 7.1% 1 1264 68.1% 2 369 19.9% 3 63 3.4% 4 22 1.2% 5 6 0.3% 7 1 0.1% 8 1 0.1% Total 1857 100.0% Note: Households may appear with zero adults due to clerical delay entering known defendants, identity protection obscuring known defendants (e.g., 42 USC Sections 13701 through 1404 Violence Against Women Act), or no adult defendants (e.g., abandonment of minors). Initiating Action Count Percent Non-payment 1024 55.1% No Fault 420 22.6% Cause 396 21.3% Foreclosure 15 0.8% Unknown/Other 2 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count West Hyannisport 555 1 Fall River 111 99 Gardner 98 20 Chestnut Hill 94 2 Norwood 94 27 New Bedford 93 89 West Dennis 91 2 East Falmouth 86 5 Marion 81 4 Worcester 81 148 Lunenburg 79 8 West Yarmouth 75 4 Lowell 73 78 Lawrence 72 55 Southbridge 71 12 Athol 69 8 Marlborough 67 26 Hardwick 66 2 Whately 66 1 North Brookfield 64 3 East Taunton 62 4 Phillipston 59 1 Randolph 59 19 Stoughton 59 16 South Easton 58 6 East Sandwich 57 2 Fitchburg 57 23 Whitinsville 57 4 Bondsville 53 1 Oakham 52 1 North Truro 49 1 Adams 47 4 West Townsend 47 1 Framingham 46 32 Quincy 45 42 Oak Bluffs 44 2 South Grafton 44 2 Townsend 44 4 Marstons Mills 41 2 Shirley 41 3 Ayer 40 3 Dorchester 39 36 Newtonville 38 2 Millbury 37 5 Chelsea 36 13 Lynn 36 33 North Adams 36 5 Hyannis 35 5 North Andover 35 10 Tyngsborough 35 4 Berlin 34 1 Revere 34 18 Mattapoisett 33 2 Hyde Park 32 11 Dennis Port 31 1 Haverhill 31 19 Marshfield 31 8 Braintree 30 11 Cotuit 30 1 Foxborough 29 5 Nahant 29 1 Nantucket 29 3 Uxbridge 29 4 Milford 28 8 Rockland 28 5 Mattapan 27 10 Methuen 27 13 Roslindale 27 8 Bridgewater 26 7 Brockton 26 25 Pepperell 26 3 Newton Center 25 1 Spencer 25 3 Taunton 25 14 Andover 24 8 Georgetown 24 2 Jamaica Plain 24 9 Leominster 24 10 Plymouth 24 14 Sherborn 24 1 Everett 23 10 Malden 23 14 Centerville 22 3 Forestdale 22 1 Mansfield 21 5 Swampscott 21 3 Allston 20 6 Eastham 20 1 Paxton 20 1 Pittsfield 20 9 Southborough 20 2 Woburn 20 8 Dorchester Center 19 18 Lenox 19 1 Maynard 19 2 Warren 19 1 Westport 19 3 Winchendon 19 2 Attleborough 18 8 North Billerica 18 2 Somerville 18 14 Wrentham 18 2 Carver 17 2 Middleborough 17 4 North Attleborough 17 5 Webster 17 3 Chatham 16 1 Shrewsbury 16 6 Bedford 15 2 Charlton 15 2 Hudson 15 3 North Easton 15 2 Peabody 15 8 Billerica 14 6 Clinton 14 2 Dighton 14 1 East Boston 14 6 East Bridgewater 14 2 Salem 14 6 Seekonk 14 2 Hingham 13 3 Roxbury 13 8 Wareham 13 3 West Roxbury 13 4 Wilmington 13 3 Amesbury 12 2 Ashland 12 2 Belmont 12 3 Fairhaven 12 2 Falmouth 12 4 Franklin 12 4 Lancaster 12 1 Millis 12 1 North Grafton 12 1 Northbridge 12 2 Salisbury 12 1 Templeton 12 1 Williamstown 12 1 Blackstone 11 1 Charlestown 11 2 Danvers 11 3 Littleton 11 1 Pembroke 11 2 Sharon 11 2 South Boston 11 4 Brewster 10 1 Dracut 10 3 Fayville 10 1 North Chelmsford 10 1 Norton 10 2 Sturbridge 10 1 Ware 10 1 Westborough 10 2 Brighton 9 4 E. Boston 9 4 Groton 9 1 Hanson 9 1 Lakeville 9 1 Leicester 9 1 Waltham 9 6 Westford 9 2 Dudley 8 1 Reading 8 2 South Yarmouth 8 1 Wakefield 8 2 Walpole 8 2 Beverly 7 3 Cambridge 7 8 East Weymouth 7 4 Mashpee 7 1 Medway 7 1 Oxford 7 1 Raynham 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Abington 6 1 Auburn 6 1 Bellingham 6 1 Hopkinton 6 1 Swansea 6 1 Whitman 6 1 Boston 5 33 Grafton 5 1 Holden 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Medford 5 3 Newburyport 5 1 Somerset 5 1 South Weymouth 5 3 Weymouth 5 3 Winthrop 5 1 Acton 4 1 Arlington 4 2 Canton 4 1 East Wareham 4 1 Ludlow 4 1 North Dartmouth 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 East Walpole 3 1 Gloucester 3 1 Lexington 3 1 Melrose 3 1 Milton 3 1 Natick 3 1 Needham Heights 3 1 Saugus 3 1 Tewksbury 3 1 Watertown 3 1 Wellesley 3 1 Chelmsford 2 1 Dartmouth 2 1 Holyoke 2 1 South Dartmouth 2 1 E. Weymouth 1 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 Springfield 1 3 (not given) 0 368 span 0 1 Rate per 100,000 residents based on 2010 census. Municipalities do not appear if no evictions filed. Where neighborhoods are commonly recognized as municipalities, data appears under the neighborhood rather than the legal entity (e.g., "Roxbury" is separate from "Boston".) Where municipalities have alternate spellings (e.g., Marlboro for Marlborough), totals appear under the long form. Efforts are made to correct clerical errors in the court database, but clerical errors may appear. Rate per 100,000 County Renter Households Count Bristol 301 248 Worcester 267 298 Plymouth 199 86 Barnstable 196 38 Norfolk 177 151 Essex 155 171 Berkshire 123 20 Middlesex 114 267 Suffolk 98 195 Nantucket 85 3 Dukes 48 2 Franklin 9 1 Hampden 9 7 Hampshire 5 1 Rate per 100,000 renter households based on 2019 ACS. Counties appear even if no evictions filed. -- Data Sources (report errors to hello@masslandlords.net): County Data Households Percent Renters Barnstable 96,509 20.0% Berkshire 53,792 30.0% Bristol 220,528 37.3% Dukes 18,146 22.6% Essex 297,898 36.9% Franklin 30,927 34.1% Hampden 179,970 39.5% Hampshire 60,002 30.7% Middlesex 612,366 38.1% Nantucket 11,399 30.8% Norfolk 269,717 31.6% Plymouth 191,041 22.6% Suffolk 309,945 63.7% Worcester 316,162 35.2% County Households: 2019 ACS TableID S1101 County Households and Renters, Dukes and Nantucket: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/dukescountymassachusetts County Households and Renters, Large Counties: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S11&g=0400000US25.050000&d=ACS%201-Year%20Estimates%20Subject%20Tables&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1101&hidePreview=true Dukes County Renters: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/dukescountymassachusetts Nantucket County Renters: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/nantucketcountymassachusetts -- Methodology Publicly available records at MassCourts.org are read fully manually at two intervals: 1.) For a filings report, once within approximately one week of filing; 2.) For an outcomes report, once again approximately 12 to 18 months after filing. Cases are searched by 'case type' = 'summary process', party type = 'plaintiff' within date ranges, typically weekly. MassCourts.org displays matches, not cases. X plaintiffs on a single case result in X separate matches. Cases are manually de-duplicated. Where the number of matches exceeds the number displayed (e.g., 'Displaying 100 of 257 total matches.'), date ranges are reduced until all cases may be viewed. If the date range cannot be reduced (i.e., is one day) but matches still exceed the display limit of 100, then two additional passes are taken. First, municipalities are filtered in stages. Second, to capture cases with no municipality entered, the search switches from 'case type' to 'case number', guessing the missing numbers assuming serialized entry. This method results in 'matches' reconciled to case counts. This effort costs more than 1 FTE. Summary spreadsheets are produced by copying exactly what is read. The spreadsheets are processed using proprietary software. Repeated analyses of local spreadsheets does not burden the MassCourts servers. The software is developed using best practices for revision control and regression testing. Limitations: Data are snapshots. As such, we cannot track individual cases over time or produce real-time reports. MassLandlords does not have access to court databases beyond what is published in human readable form at MassCourts.org. As of this report, MassLandlords staff were not considering information available to attorneys (e.g., the contents of notices, discovery, evidence, etc.) but not available to the general public. All data presented here are readily verifiable at MassCourts.org without special permission. Information is not independently verified outside of the court record. For instance, clerical errors in address, omissions of a defendant, etc. are not readily verifiable. As this process matures, reporting algorithms may change. Transfers are counted as new cases. Clerical differences between original case and transfer (e.g., middle initial included then dropped; defendant dropped on transfer; street address spelling changed) as well as the potential for indefinite circular transferring (e.g., foreclosure cases moving between housing, land, and/or superior courts) make it very difficult to programmatically identify continuing matters. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.