Filings Month Ending 2022 July 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-07-01 Search Period End: 2022-07-31 Earliest Case: 2022-07-01 Latest Case: 2022-07-29 Total Cases: 2496 Total Transfers: 79 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 31.7% Of those, percentage pro se: 53.2% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: North Truro Least stable with 10+ filings: Bellingham Least stable with 100+ filings: New Bedford Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 83 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 437 17.5% central 382 15.3% western 374 15.0% southeast 365 14.6% eastern 355 14.2% metro_south 264 10.6% malden district 28 1.1% quincy district 22 0.9% brockton district 18 0.7% lynn district 17 0.7% fall river district 15 0.6% lowell district 15 0.6% attleboro district 12 0.5% cambridge district 12 0.5% salem district 12 0.5% wrentham district 12 0.5% framingham district 11 0.4% haverhill district 11 0.4% bmc east boston 10 0.4% chelsea district 10 0.4% pittsfield district 9 0.4% springfield district 9 0.4% bmc west roxbury 8 0.3% somerville district 8 0.3% orleans district 7 0.3% waltham district 7 0.3% woburn district 6 0.2% new bedford district 5 0.2% northern berkshire district 5 0.2% westfield district 4 0.2% barnstable district 3 0.1% dedham district 3 0.1% milford district 3 0.1% newburyport district 3 0.1% stoughton district 3 0.1% bmc brighton 2 0.1% brookline district 2 0.1% chicopee district 2 0.1% clinton district 2 0.1% concord district 2 0.1% fallmouth district 2 0.1% nantucket district 2 0.1% natick district 2 0.1% palmer district 2 0.1% wareham district 2 0.1% worcester district 2 0.1% ayer district 1 0.0% eastern hampshire district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% gardner district court 1 0.0% hingham district 1 0.0% newton district 1 0.0% northampton district 1 0.0% taunton district 1 0.0% uxbridge district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 1705 6 Natural Person 791 2490 Total 2496 2496 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 68.3% 0.2% Natural Person 31.7% 99.8% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1652 53 1705 Optional 370 421 791 Total 2022 474 2496 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 66.2% 2.1% 68.3% Optional 14.8% 16.9% 31.7% Total 81.0% 19.0% 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 0 6 6 Optional 46 2444 2490 Total 46 2450 2496 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Optional 1.8% 97.9% 99.8% Total 1.8% 98.2% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 191 7.7% 1 1804 72.3% 2 410 16.4% 3 66 2.6% 4 14 0.6% 5 9 0.4% 6 1 0.0% 9 1 0.0% Total 2496 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 1427 57.2% Cause 563 22.6% No Fault 477 19.1% Foreclosure 27 1.1% Unknown/Other 2 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count North Truro 249 5 Fiskdale 194 6 Bellingham 134 22 New Bedford 120 115 Fitchburg 104 42 Pocasset 103 3 Westborough 93 17 Fall River 90 80 Framingham 90 62 West Warren 88 1 Buzzards Bay 87 3 Athol 86 10 South Dennis 81 3 Gardner 79 16 Royalston 79 1 Worcester 77 140 Lunenburg 69 7 Quincy 69 64 Hull 68 7 Randolph 68 22 Brockton 67 63 Lakeville 66 7 Southbridge 65 11 Dennis Port 63 2 East Taunton 62 4 Foxborough 59 10 Braintree 58 21 East Sandwich 57 2 Harwich Port 57 1 Rockland 57 10 West Brookfield 54 2 Bridgewater 52 14 Vineyard Haven 52 1 East Falmouth 51 3 Brewster 50 5 Weymouth 50 27 Plainville 48 4 South Easton 48 5 Whitman 48 7 Middleborough 47 11 West Wareham 46 1 Forestdale 45 2 Norwood 45 13 West Dennis 45 1 Clinton 44 6 Taunton 44 25 North Brookfield 42 2 Attleborough 41 18 Eastham 40 2 East Dennis 38 1 Everett 38 16 Millbury 37 5 North Falmouth 37 1 Seekonk 36 5 Berlin 34 1 Spencer 34 4 Mattapoisett 33 2 North Dartmouth 33 8 Stoughton 33 9 Chatham 32 2 Sheffield 30 1 Brookfield 29 1 North Adams 29 4 Franklin 28 9 Hyannis 28 4 Osterville 28 1 Whitinsville 28 2 Holbrook 27 3 Westwood 27 4 Marlborough 25 10 North Grafton 25 2 Lancaster 24 2 Leominster 24 10 North Attleborough 24 7 Salem 24 10 Adams 23 2 North Dighton 23 1 Webster 23 4 Avon 22 1 Blackstone 22 2 Pembroke 22 4 Uxbridge 22 3 Wareham 22 5 Winthrop 22 4 Milford 21 6 Norton 21 4 Hyde Park 20 7 Malden 20 12 Pittsfield 20 9 Haverhill 19 12 Indian Orchard 19 2 Marshfield 19 5 Nantucket 19 2 Rochester 19 1 Winchendon 19 2 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Abington 18 3 Auburn 18 3 Barre 18 1 Leicester 18 2 Lynn 18 17 South Barre 18 1 Wrentham 18 2 E. Boston 17 7 Mansfield 17 4 Mendon 17 1 Plymouth 17 10 Revere 17 9 Harwich 16 2 Hopedale 16 1 Kingston 15 2 Merrimac 15 1 Chelsea 14 5 Dalton 14 1 Dighton 14 1 East Bridgewater 14 2 Lowell 14 15 Mashpee 14 2 Northborough 14 2 West Bridgewater 14 1 Dorchester 13 12 Hingham 13 3 Onset 13 3 Shirley 13 1 Upton 13 1 Ashland 12 2 Dedham 12 3 Fairhaven 12 2 Rutland 12 1 Arlington 11 5 Monson 11 1 Auburndale 10 1 Roslindale 10 3 Southborough 10 1 Southwick 10 1 East Boston 9 4 Falmouth 9 3 Natick 9 3 Rochdale 9 1 West Roxbury 9 3 Belmont 8 2 Carver 8 1 Norfolk 8 1 South Yarmouth 8 1 Walpole 8 2 Cambridge 7 8 Centerville 7 1 East Weymouth 7 4 Hanover 7 1 Holliston 7 1 Medford 7 4 North Easton 7 1 Oxford 7 1 Raynham 7 1 South Weymouth 7 4 West Springfield 7 2 Woburn 7 3 Amesbury 6 1 Needham 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Somerville 6 5 Watertown 6 2 Westport 6 1 Beverly 5 2 Dorchester Center 5 5 Greenfield 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Mattapan 5 2 Somerset 5 1 Springfield 5 8 Acton 4 1 Brighton 4 2 Burlington 4 1 Canton 4 1 East Wareham 4 1 Ludlow 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Waltham 4 3 Westfield 4 2 Winchester 4 1 Brookline 3 2 Chicopee 3 2 Dracut 3 1 Gloucester 3 1 Lexington 3 1 Milton 3 1 Saugus 3 1 Wellesley 3 1 Billerica 2 1 Shrewsbury 2 1 South Dartmouth 2 1 Lawrence 1 1 Newton 1 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 Peabody 1 1 (not given) 0 1122 Boston 0 1 Providence 0 1 span 0 2 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 Plymouth 379 164 Bristol 345 284 Worcester 290 323 Norfolk 272 232 Barnstable 269 52 Berkshire 105 17 Middlesex 70 164 Nantucket 56 2 Essex 43 48 Suffolk 32 64 Hampden 26 19 Dukes 24 1 Franklin 9 1 Hampshire 0 0 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. Methodology changes: 2022-03: Where docket history shows judgment and/or execution, but case has not been disposed, infer judgment and/or execution. 2022-05: Correct counting error in 'By prevailing party' section where agreement for judgment renders prevailing party unknown. Rows now sum to total. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.