Filings Month Ending 2022 November 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-11-01 Search Period End: 2022-11-30 Earliest Case: 2022-11-01 Latest Case: 2022-11-30 Total Cases: 3202 Total Transfers: 59 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 24.5% Of those, percentage pro se: 58.1% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Nahant Least stable with 10+ filings: Fall River Least stable with 100+ filings: Fall River Least stable county: Bristol Cases per day: 110 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 621 19.4% eastern 569 17.8% western 480 15.0% central 444 13.9% southeast 360 11.2% metro_south 311 9.7% quincy district 42 1.3% fall river district 33 1.0% malden district 30 0.9% lynn district 29 0.9% lowell district 26 0.8% chelsea district 21 0.7% woburn district 15 0.5% cambridge district 14 0.4% haverhill district 14 0.4% northern berkshire district 13 0.4% brockton district 12 0.4% framingham district 12 0.4% pittsfield district 12 0.4% somerville district 11 0.3% peabody district 10 0.3% salem district 10 0.3% attleboro district 9 0.3% new bedford district 8 0.2% waltham district 8 0.2% bmc east boston 7 0.2% fallmouth district 7 0.2% westfield district 7 0.2% wrentham district 7 0.2% barnstable district 6 0.2% springfield district 6 0.2% bmc roxbury 4 0.1% bmc west roxbury 4 0.1% dedham district 4 0.1% worcester district 4 0.1% ayer district 3 0.1% gloucester district 3 0.1% lawrence district 3 0.1% brookline district 2 0.1% chicopee district 2 0.1% concord district 2 0.1% fitchburg district 2 0.1% milford district 2 0.1% newton district 2 0.1% taunton district 2 0.1% bmc brighton 1 0.0% bmc central 1 0.0% hingham district 1 0.0% northampton district 1 0.0% palmer district 1 0.0% plymouth district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% stoughton district 1 0.0% wareham district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2417 8 Natural Person 785 3194 Total 3202 3202 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 75.5% 0.2% Natural Person 24.5% 99.8% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2297 120 2417 Optional 329 456 785 Total 2626 576 3202 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 71.7% 3.7% 75.5% Optional 10.3% 14.2% 24.5% Total 82.0% 18.0% 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 8 8 Optional 31 3163 3194 Total 31 3171 3202 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Optional 1.0% 98.8% 99.8% Total 1.0% 99.0% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 254 7.9% 1 2362 73.8% 2 478 14.9% 3 75 2.3% 4 27 0.8% 5 4 0.1% 6 1 0.0% 8 1 0.0% Total 3202 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 2200 68.7% Cause 530 16.6% No Fault 441 13.8% Foreclosure 31 1.0% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Nahant 205 7 Fall River 133 119 Norwood 125 36 East Falmouth 121 7 New Bedford 118 113 Sandisfield 109 1 Worcester 107 195 Bellingham 104 17 Fitchburg 94 38 Stoughton 92 25 Buzzards Bay 87 3 Gardner 84 17 Southbridge 83 14 North Adams 80 11 Rockland 74 13 Bridgewater 71 19 Brockton 69 65 Quincy 68 63 Framingham 64 44 North Brookfield 64 3 Randolph 59 19 Webster 59 10 Clarksburg 58 1 Hyannis 56 8 Marlborough 54 21 South Dennis 54 2 West Brookfield 54 2 Leominster 53 22 Hinsdale 49 1 Hanson 48 5 Winchendon 48 5 Mansfield 43 10 South Yarmouth 43 5 Whitinsville 43 3 Taunton 42 24 Foxborough 41 7 Whitman 41 6 Eastham 40 2 Andover 39 13 East Weymouth 39 21 Weymouth 39 21 Millis 38 3 Canton 37 8 Dudley 35 4 Mashpee 35 5 West Barnstable 35 1 Athol 34 4 Berlin 34 1 Pocasset 34 1 Revere 34 18 Winthrop 34 6 Attleborough 32 14 Berkley 31 2 Dennis Port 31 1 Everett 31 13 Hudson 31 6 Cheshire 30 1 Millbury 30 4 South Easton 29 3 Northborough 28 4 Osterville 28 1 East Wareham 27 6 Haverhill 27 17 Holbrook 27 3 Sagamore Beach 27 1 Braintree 25 9 Middleborough 25 6 Newton Center 25 1 North Dartmouth 25 6 Tisbury 25 1 Charlton 23 3 Kingston 23 3 Malden 23 14 North Dighton 23 1 Raynham 22 3 South Grafton 22 1 South Weymouth 22 12 Lowell 21 23 Lynn 21 19 Westborough 21 4 Hopkinton 20 3 Hyde Park 20 7 Pittsfield 20 9 Woburn 20 8 Falmouth 19 6 Hull 19 2 Lenox 19 1 Shrewsbury 19 7 Warren 19 1 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Abington 18 3 Fairhaven 18 3 Lawrence 18 14 Stoneham 18 4 West Yarmouth 18 1 Agawam 17 5 Chelsea 17 6 Medford 17 10 Mendon 17 1 Milford 17 5 Peabody 17 9 Plymouth 17 10 Spencer 17 2 Ashburnham 16 1 Hopedale 16 1 Medfield 16 2 Pembroke 16 3 Somerset 16 3 Beverly 15 6 Franklin 15 5 Marblehead 15 3 Norton 15 3 Clinton 14 2 Dorchester 14 13 East Bridgewater 14 2 Holliston 14 2 Uxbridge 14 2 West Bridgewater 14 1 Acton 13 3 Ayer 13 1 North Attleborough 13 4 Roslindale 13 4 Wareham 13 3 West Boylston 13 1 Westminster 13 1 Amesbury 12 2 Ashland 12 2 Auburn 12 2 Cambridge 12 13 Georgetown 12 1 Northbridge 12 2 Plainville 12 1 Walpole 12 3 Adams 11 1 Danvers 11 3 Douglas 11 1 Sharon 11 2 Sutton 11 1 Gloucester 10 3 Needham 10 3 Sturbridge 10 1 Tewksbury 10 3 Cherry Valley 9 1 E. Boston 9 4 East Boston 9 4 Lakeville 9 1 Leicester 9 1 Lunenburg 9 1 Natick 9 3 Onset 9 2 Watertown 9 3 Westford 9 2 Belmont 8 2 Carver 8 1 Chelmsford 8 3 Dedham 8 2 Dorchester Center 8 8 Harwich 8 1 Reading 8 2 Wakefield 8 2 Waltham 8 5 East Walpole 7 2 Hanover 7 1 Marshfield 7 2 Milton 7 2 North Andover 7 2 Saugus 7 2 Somerville 7 6 West Newton 7 1 Duxbury 6 1 Methuen 6 3 North Reading 6 1 Swansea 6 1 Westport 6 1 Westwood 6 1 Bourne 5 1 Chicopee 5 3 Grafton 5 1 Mattapan 5 2 Scituate 5 1 Sudbury 5 1 Billerica 4 2 Easton 4 1 Hingham 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 Westfield 4 2 Allston 3 1 Dracut 3 1 Needham Heights 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Roxbury 3 2 Springfield 3 6 Wellesley 3 1 Wellesley Hills 3 1 West Roxbury 3 1 Arlington 2 1 Jamaica Plain 2 1 Salem 2 1 South Dartmouth 2 1 Brookline 1 1 Newton 1 1 (not given) 0 1603 Boston 0 3 span 0 5 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 379 312 Plymouth 363 157 Worcester 331 369 Norfolk 320 273 Barnstable 248 48 Berkshire 161 26 Essex 95 105 Middlesex 88 207 Suffolk 40 80 Dukes 24 1 Hampden 22 16 Franklin 0 0 Hampshire 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/.