Filings Week Ending 2022 October 22

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-10-16 Search Period End: 2022-10-22 Earliest Case: 2022-10-17 Latest Case: 2022-10-21 Total Cases: 767 Total Transfers: 20 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 26.7% Of those, percentage pro se: 53.2% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Cummaquid Least stable with 10+ filings: Stoughton Least stable with 100+ filings: (not given) Least stable county: Bristol Cases per day: 127 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 central 135 17.6% northeast 122 15.9% eastern 121 15.8% western 118 15.4% southeast 106 13.8% metro_south 91 11.9% fall river district 9 1.2% chelsea district 6 0.8% malden district 6 0.8% quincy district 6 0.8% northern berkshire district 4 0.5% fallmouth district 3 0.4% lynn district 3 0.4% new bedford district 3 0.4% newburyport district 3 0.4% wareham district 3 0.4% woburn district 3 0.4% attleboro district 2 0.3% waltham district 2 0.3% wrentham district 2 0.3% ayer district 1 0.1% bmc dorchester 1 0.1% bmc east boston 1 0.1% bmc west roxbury 1 0.1% brookline district 1 0.1% concord district 1 0.1% dedham district 1 0.1% eastern hampshire district 1 0.1% framingham district 1 0.1% haverhill district 1 0.1% lowell district 1 0.1% milford district 1 0.1% newton district 1 0.1% orleans district 1 0.1% peabody district 1 0.1% somerville district 1 0.1% springfield district 1 0.1% stoughton district 1 0.1% worcester district 1 0.1% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 562 1 Natural Person 205 766 Total 767 767 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 73.3% 0.1% Natural Person 26.7% 99.9% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 544 18 562 Optional 96 109 205 Total 640 127 767 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 70.9% 2.3% 73.3% Optional 12.5% 14.2% 26.7% Total 83.4% 16.6% 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 0 1 Optional 7 759 766 Total 8 759 767 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% Optional 0.9% 99.0% 99.9% Total 1.0% 99.0% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 58 7.6% 1 545 71.1% 2 138 18.0% 3 20 2.6% 4 6 0.8% Total 767 100.0% 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 502 65.4% Cause 133 17.3% No Fault 129 16.8% Foreclosure 3 0.4% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Cummaquid 182 1 Buzzards Bay 116 4 South Chatham 97 1 Athol 60 7 Clarksburg 58 1 Stoughton 51 14 New Bedford 50 48 Cohasset 39 3 Fitchburg 37 15 Wellfleet 36 1 Charlestown 35 6 Rockland 34 6 Worcester 32 59 Norwood 31 9 Cheshire 30 1 Quincy 29 27 Whitinsville 28 2 Newton Centre 26 1 Fall River 25 23 Revere 25 13 Turners Falls 24 1 Foxborough 23 4 Webster 23 4 Braintree 22 8 South Grafton 22 1 Uxbridge 22 3 Jamaica Plain 21 8 Whitman 20 3 Chelsea 19 7 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Amesbury 18 3 Auburn 18 3 Barre 18 1 Bridgewater 18 5 Cherry Valley 18 2 Holbrook 18 2 West Yarmouth 18 1 East Falmouth 17 1 Southbridge 17 3 Ashburnham 16 1 Dorchester 16 15 Lincoln 15 1 Marlborough 15 6 Millbury 15 2 Randolph 15 5 Clinton 14 2 Hyannis 14 2 North Adams 14 2 Shrewsbury 14 5 Canton 13 3 East Wareham 13 3 Framingham 13 9 Hingham 13 3 Plainville 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Sterling 12 1 Attleborough 11 5 Pembroke 11 2 Roxbury 11 7 Auburndale 10 1 Mattapan 10 4 Taunton 10 6 Everett 9 4 Gardner 9 2 Hull 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Wareham 9 2 Winchendon 9 1 Mansfield 8 2 Pepperell 8 1 South Yarmouth 8 1 Spencer 8 1 Wakefield 8 2 Brockton 7 7 Dennis 7 1 East Boston 7 3 Leominster 7 3 Mashpee 7 1 Medford 7 4 Abington 6 1 Allston 6 2 Brighton 6 3 Franklin 6 2 Swansea 6 1 Westport 6 1 Westwood 6 1 Grafton 5 1 Hudson 5 1 Scituate 5 1 South Dartmouth 5 2 South Hadley 5 1 Westborough 5 1 Woburn 5 2 Dorchester Center 4 4 Middleborough 4 1 Reading 4 1 Walpole 4 1 Danvers 3 1 Dracut 3 1 Lynn 3 3 Milton 3 1 North Attleborough 3 1 Plymouth 3 2 Somerville 3 3 South Weymouth 3 2 Watertown 3 1 Arlington 2 1 Beverly 2 1 Cambridge 2 3 E. Boston 2 1 Salem 2 1 Brookline 1 1 Haverhill 1 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 Peabody 1 1 Waltham 1 1 Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 279 Boston 0 4 Lowell 0 1 Springfield 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 108 89 Worcester 108 121 Norfolk 99 85 Plymouth 88 38 Barnstable 77 15 Suffolk 39 77 Berkshire 24 4 Middlesex 19 45 Essex 10 11 Franklin 9 1 Hampshire 5 1 Hampden 1 1 Dukes 0 0 Nantucket 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/.