Filings Month Ending 2022 September 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-09-01 Search Period End: 2022-09-30 Earliest Case: 2022-09-01 Latest Case: 2022-09-30 Total Cases: 3126 Total Transfers: 57 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 29.0% Of those, percentage pro se: 56.4% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: South Yarmouth Least stable with 10+ filings: South Yarmouth Least stable with 100+ filings: Fall River Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 107 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 573 18.3% western 477 15.3% central 447 14.3% eastern 426 13.6% southeast 423 13.5% metro_south 312 10.0% quincy district 41 1.3% lynn district 40 1.3% cambridge district 26 0.8% fall river district 23 0.7% lowell district 21 0.7% bmc east boston 20 0.6% pittsfield district 19 0.6% brockton district 18 0.6% haverhill district 18 0.6% wrentham district 18 0.6% chelsea district 17 0.5% malden district 17 0.5% waltham district 17 0.5% somerville district 16 0.5% attleboro district 14 0.4% barnstable district 12 0.4% lawrence district 10 0.3% dedham district 9 0.3% salem district 9 0.3% springfield district 9 0.3% milford district 8 0.3% chicopee district 7 0.2% peabody district 7 0.2% fallmouth district 6 0.2% new bedford district 6 0.2% northern berkshire district 6 0.2% ayer district 4 0.1% framingham district 4 0.1% gloucester district 4 0.1% plymouth district 4 0.1% woburn district 4 0.1% orleans district 3 0.1% taunton district 3 0.1% bmc brighton 2 0.1% bmc dorchester 2 0.1% concord district 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% holyoke district 2 0.1% newburyport district 2 0.1% newton district 2 0.1% stoughton district 2 0.1% bmc central 1 0.0% bmc roxbury 1 0.0% brookline district 1 0.0% clinton district 1 0.0% fitchburg district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% palmer district 1 0.0% uxbridge district 1 0.0% wareham district 1 0.0% westfield district 1 0.0% worcester district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2221 11 Natural Person 905 3115 Total 3126 3126 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 71.0% 0.4% Natural Person 29.0% 99.6% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2137 84 2221 Optional 395 510 905 Total 2532 594 3126 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 68.4% 2.7% 71.0% Optional 12.6% 16.3% 29.0% 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 11 11 Optional 29 3086 3115 Total 29 3097 3126 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% Optional 0.9% 98.7% 99.6% Total 0.9% 99.1% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 272 8.7% 1 2231 71.4% 2 506 16.2% 3 89 2.8% 4 22 0.7% 5 5 0.2% 8 1 0.0% Total 3126 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 1939 62.0% Cause 632 20.2% No Fault 524 16.8% Foreclosure 31 1.0% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count South Yarmouth 189 22 Gilbertville 173 2 Fall River 149 133 Florida 132 1 Hyannis 127 18 Randolph 127 41 Gardner 113 23 Plainville 108 9 Norwood 97 28 South Easton 97 10 Worcester 97 177 Middleborough 95 22 Fitchburg 94 38 New Bedford 91 87 Quincy 84 78 Rockland 80 14 Royalston 79 1 Winchendon 77 8 Brockton 75 71 West Yarmouth 75 4 Wrentham 73 8 Whitinsville 72 5 Southbridge 71 12 Webster 71 12 Bridgewater 67 18 Clinton 66 9 Cohasset 66 5 Hardwick 66 2 Athol 60 7 Framingham 60 41 Taunton 59 33 Harwich Port 57 1 North Attleborough 55 16 South Dennis 54 2 West Brookfield 54 2 Attleborough 52 23 East Weymouth 52 28 Vineyard Haven 52 1 East Falmouth 51 3 Stoughton 51 14 Winthrop 51 9 Hopedale 50 3 Edgartown 49 2 Hingham 49 11 Westborough 49 9 East Taunton 46 3 Leominster 44 18 Sturbridge 43 4 Spencer 42 5 Milford 39 11 Charlton 38 5 Millis 38 3 Abington 37 6 Pittsfield 37 17 Rutland 37 3 Dedham 36 9 East Wareham 36 8 Foxborough 35 6 Lynn 35 32 Chelsea 34 12 Braintree 33 12 Provincetown 33 1 Bellingham 30 5 Cotuit 30 1 E. Boston 29 12 Haverhill 29 18 Hull 29 3 Nahant 29 1 North Adams 29 4 Raynham 29 4 Uxbridge 29 4 East Sandwich 28 1 Marlborough 28 11 Mashpee 28 4 Revere 28 15 Canton 27 6 Whitman 27 4 Ayer 26 2 Hudson 26 5 Tyngsborough 26 3 Upton 26 2 Fairhaven 25 4 Franklin 25 8 Mansfield 25 6 Milton 25 7 Newton Center 25 1 Shrewsbury 25 9 Natick 24 8 Weymouth 24 13 Douglas 23 2 Kingston 23 3 Avon 22 1 Cambridge 22 24 Millbury 22 3 Sharon 22 4 Everett 21 9 North Brookfield 21 1 Norton 21 4 Raynham Center 21 1 Swampscott 21 3 Bolton 20 1 Hanson 19 2 Nantucket 19 2 Newtonville 19 1 Warren 19 1 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Andover 18 6 Cherry Valley 18 2 Holbrook 18 2 Lakeville 18 2 Carver 17 2 Dorchester 17 16 Dorchester Center 17 16 Gloucester 17 5 Mendon 17 1 Rehoboth 17 2 Mattapan 16 6 Mattapoisett 16 1 Newton Upper Falls 16 1 Sudbury 16 3 Waltham 16 10 Marblehead 15 3 Somerville 15 12 Centerville 14 2 Chicopee 14 8 South Weymouth 14 8 Halifax 13 1 Lowell 13 14 Malden 13 8 West Boylston 13 1 Westminster 13 1 Westwood 13 2 Auburn 12 2 Lancaster 12 1 Salem 12 5 South Attleboro 12 1 Swansea 12 2 Watertown 12 4 Westport 12 2 Adams 11 1 Blackstone 11 1 Newburyport 11 2 Peabody 11 6 Roxbury 11 7 Sutton 11 1 Allston 10 3 Auburndale 10 1 Beverly 10 4 Brewster 10 1 Medford 10 6 Plymouth 10 6 Acushnet 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Onset 9 2 Wareham 9 2 Belmont 8 2 Chelmsford 8 3 Dudley 8 1 Groton 8 1 Harwich 8 1 Hyde Park 8 3 Pepperell 8 1 Walpole 8 2 Hanover 7 1 North Easton 7 1 Oxford 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Woburn 7 3 Duxbury 6 1 Falmouth 6 2 Lexington 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Bourne 5 1 Charlestown 5 1 Somerset 5 1 Springfield 5 9 Methuen 4 2 North Dartmouth 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Danvers 3 1 Dracut 3 1 Needham Heights 3 1 North Andover 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Saugus 3 1 West Roxbury 3 1 Arlington 2 1 East Boston 2 1 Holyoke 2 1 Jamaica Plain 2 1 Lawrence 2 2 South Boston 2 1 Westfield 2 1 (not given) 0 1424 Boston 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 419 181 Bristol 407 335 Norfolk 355 303 Worcester 352 392 Barnstable 336 65 Berkshire 142 23 Essex 83 92 Middlesex 76 179 Dukes 73 3 Nantucket 56 2 Suffolk 53 105 Hampden 28 20 Franklin 0 0 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/.