Filings Week Ending 2022 December 17

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-12-11 Search Period End: 2022-12-17 Earliest Case: 2022-12-12 Latest Case: 2022-12-16 Total Cases: 956 Total Transfers: 12 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 23.8% Of those, percentage pro se: 49.1% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Oxford Least stable with 10+ filings: Oxford Least stable with 100+ filings: (not given) Least stable county: Bristol Cases per day: 159 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 statistically significantly above the pre-pandemic housing crisis baseline. -- Courts (n) Count Percent eastern 177 18.5% western 162 16.9% central 147 15.4% southeast 140 14.6% northeast 132 13.8% metro_south 78 8.2% cambridge district 12 1.3% lowell district 9 0.9% chelsea district 7 0.7% malden district 7 0.7% pittsfield district 7 0.7% quincy district 7 0.7% fall river district 6 0.6% attleboro district 5 0.5% lawrence district 5 0.5% brockton district 4 0.4% chicopee district 4 0.4% lynn district 4 0.4% northern berkshire district 4 0.4% concord district 3 0.3% haverhill district 3 0.3% salem district 3 0.3% somerville district 3 0.3% waltham district 3 0.3% bmc dorchester 2 0.2% framingham district 2 0.2% new bedford district 2 0.2% orleans district 2 0.2% woburn district 2 0.2% wrentham district 2 0.2% barnstable district 1 0.1% bmc east boston 1 0.1% bmc roxbury 1 0.1% dedham district 1 0.1% fallmouth district 1 0.1% gloucester district 1 0.1% milford district 1 0.1% newton district 1 0.1% palmer district 1 0.1% peabody district 1 0.1% plymouth district 1 0.1% taunton district 1 0.1% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 728 4 Natural Person 228 952 Total 956 956 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 76.2% 0.4% Natural Person 23.8% 99.6% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 701 27 728 Optional 116 112 228 Total 817 139 956 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 73.3% 2.8% 76.2% Optional 12.1% 11.7% 23.8% Total 85.5% 14.5% 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 4 4 Optional 5 947 952 Total 5 951 956 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% Optional 0.5% 99.1% 99.6% Total 0.5% 99.5% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 61 6.4% 1 711 74.4% 2 140 14.6% 3 28 2.9% 4 12 1.3% 5 2 0.2% 9 2 0.2% Total 956 100.0% 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 656 68.6% Cause 147 15.4% No Fault 138 14.4% Foreclosure 14 1.5% Unknown/Other 1 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Oxford 131 18 Plainville 96 8 New Bedford 49 47 Fall River 46 41 West Wareham 46 1 West Dennis 45 1 Whitinsville 43 3 Worcester 43 78 Brockton 42 40 Hyannis 42 6 Mansfield 34 8 Middleborough 34 8 Fiskdale 32 1 Dennis Port 31 1 Beverly 30 12 Brookfield 29 1 North Adams 29 4 Taunton 28 16 West Bridgewater 28 2 South Dennis 27 1 Athol 25 3 Gardner 24 5 Southbridge 23 4 North Brookfield 21 1 Everett 19 8 Maynard 19 2 Rochester 19 1 South Barre 18 1 West Yarmouth 18 1 East Falmouth 17 1 Gloucester 17 5 Webster 17 3 Lincoln 15 1 Pittsfield 15 7 Rockport 14 1 Cohasset 13 1 East Wareham 13 3 North Attleborough 13 4 Quincy 13 12 Revere 13 7 Wilmington 13 3 Auburn 12 2 Bellingham 12 2 Fitchburg 12 5 Millis 12 1 Natick 12 4 Westport 12 2 Braintree 11 4 Foxborough 11 2 Framingham 11 8 Rockland 11 2 Cambridge 10 11 Ware 10 1 Attleborough 9 4 Canton 9 2 East Weymouth 9 5 Hanson 9 1 Leominster 9 4 Lunenburg 9 1 Lynn 9 9 Nantucket 9 1 Carver 8 1 Chelsea 8 3 Medfield 8 1 Wakefield 8 2 Chicopee 7 4 Clinton 7 1 East Bridgewater 7 1 Mashpee 7 1 North Andover 7 2 Northborough 7 1 Stoughton 7 2 Swampscott 7 1 Dracut 6 2 Fairhaven 6 1 Franklin 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Norwood 6 2 Waltham 6 4 Hudson 5 1 Lawrence 5 4 Lowell 5 6 Malden 5 3 Sharon 5 1 Dedham 4 1 Dorchester 4 4 Haverhill 4 3 Hingham 4 1 Reading 4 1 Salem 4 2 Walpole 4 1 Bridgewater 3 1 Danvers 3 1 Marshfield 3 1 Medford 3 2 Melrose 3 1 Milford 3 1 Peabody 3 2 Plymouth 3 2 Randolph 3 1 Saugus 3 1 Watertown 3 1 West Roxbury 3 1 Arlington 2 1 Billerica 2 1 Chelmsford 2 1 E. Boston 2 1 Marlborough 2 1 Shrewsbury 2 1 Somerville 2 2 South Dartmouth 2 1 Woburn 2 1 Dorchester Center 1 1 Newton Lower Falls 1 1 Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 426 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 150 124 Plymouth 150 65 Worcester 121 135 Berkshire 68 11 Barnstable 62 12 Norfolk 57 49 Essex 39 43 Middlesex 29 68 Nantucket 28 1 Suffolk 8 17 Hampden 5 4 Hampshire 5 1 Dukes 0 0 Franklin 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/.