Filings Month Ending 2022 December 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-12-01 Search Period End: 2022-12-31 Earliest Case: 2022-12-01 Latest Case: 2022-12-30 Total Cases: 3532 Total Transfers: 68 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 23.8% Of those, percentage pro se: 51.8% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Buzzards Bay Least stable with 10+ filings: Oxford Least stable with 100+ filings: Fall River Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 117 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 666 18.9% western 566 16.0% eastern 544 15.4% central 541 15.3% southeast 419 11.9% metro_south 332 9.4% malden district 45 1.3% lynn district 35 1.0% quincy district 25 0.7% pittsfield district 24 0.7% lowell district 23 0.7% somerville district 23 0.7% lawrence district 21 0.6% northern berkshire district 20 0.6% fall river district 19 0.5% attleboro district 17 0.5% chelsea district 17 0.5% cambridge district 16 0.5% haverhill district 15 0.4% bmc west roxbury 13 0.4% brockton district 11 0.3% salem district 11 0.3% waltham district 10 0.3% chicopee district 9 0.3% fallmouth district 9 0.3% barnstable district 8 0.2% peabody district 8 0.2% gloucester district 7 0.2% woburn district 7 0.2% framingham district 6 0.2% new bedford district 6 0.2% wrentham district 5 0.1% concord district 4 0.1% orleans district 4 0.1% springfield district 4 0.1% bmc dorchester 3 0.1% bmc east boston 3 0.1% newburyport district 3 0.1% palmer district 3 0.1% plymouth district 3 0.1% stoughton district 3 0.1% bmc brighton 2 0.1% bmc central 2 0.1% bmc roxbury 2 0.1% milford district 2 0.1% nantucket district 2 0.1% newton district 2 0.1% taunton district 2 0.1% ayer district 1 0.0% bmc charlestown 1 0.0% dedham district 1 0.0% eastern hampshire district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% greenfield district 1 0.0% holyoke district 1 0.0% ipswich district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% westfield district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2693 14 Natural Person 839 3518 Total 3532 3532 (%) 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 2604 89 2693 Optional 404 435 839 Total 3008 524 3532 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 73.7% 2.5% 76.2% Optional 11.4% 12.3% 23.8% Total 85.2% 14.8% 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 14 14 Optional 30 3488 3518 Total 30 3502 3532 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% Optional 0.8% 98.8% 99.6% Total 0.8% 99.2% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 223 6.3% 1 2651 75.1% 2 530 15.0% 3 85 2.4% 4 33 0.9% 5 5 0.1% 6 2 0.1% 7 1 0.0% 9 2 0.1% Total 3532 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 2528 71.6% Cause 516 14.6% No Fault 453 12.8% Foreclosure 34 1.0% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Buzzards Bay 233 8 Oxford 211 29 North Truro 199 4 Southbridge 173 29 Hinsdale 147 3 North Adams 138 19 West Wareham 138 3 Fall River 126 112 Worcester 124 225 Webster 113 19 New Bedford 108 103 Marlborough 103 40 Whitinsville 100 7 Hyannis 99 14 Middleborough 99 23 Truro 99 2 Norwood 97 28 Plainville 96 8 Dennis Port 94 3 Randolph 93 30 Fitchburg 89 36 West Bridgewater 86 6 East Wareham 82 18 Stoughton 81 22 Everett 79 33 Taunton 76 43 Westborough 76 14 Brockton 75 71 Marshfield 75 19 Quincy 75 70 East Falmouth 69 4 Framingham 65 45 Cheshire 61 2 Brookfield 58 2 Teaticket 58 1 Bridgewater 56 15 Franklin 56 18 Mansfield 56 13 West Yarmouth 56 3 Gardner 54 11 West Brookfield 54 2 Baldwinville 52 1 Oakham 52 1 Vineyard Haven 52 1 Newton Center 51 2 Pittsfield 51 23 Rockland 51 9 Millis 50 4 Lynn 48 44 Foxborough 47 8 West Townsend 47 1 Canton 46 10 East Taunton 46 3 Avon 45 2 West Dennis 45 1 Beverly 43 17 Seekonk 43 6 Bellingham 42 7 Malden 42 25 Roslindale 41 12 Braintree 39 14 South Easton 39 4 Leominster 36 15 Milford 35 10 Athol 34 4 Berlin 34 1 Chelsea 34 12 Gloucester 34 10 Pocasset 34 1 South Yarmouth 34 4 Hopedale 33 2 Medfield 33 4 Attleborough 32 14 Fiskdale 32 1 Hull 29 3 Nantucket 29 3 Weymouth 29 16 Dedham 28 7 East Sandwich 28 1 Jefferson 28 1 Lakeville 28 3 Pembroke 28 5 Rockport 28 2 Revere 27 14 Sagamore Beach 27 1 South Dennis 27 1 Spencer 25 3 Natick 24 8 Salisbury 24 2 Turners Falls 24 1 Adams 23 2 Bedford 22 3 Clinton 22 3 Haverhill 22 14 Holliston 22 3 Wilmington 22 5 East Bridgewater 21 3 Mashpee 21 3 North Brookfield 21 1 Northborough 21 3 Norton 21 4 Bolton 20 1 Hudson 20 4 Marion 20 1 Maynard 19 2 Peabody 19 10 Rochester 19 1 Warren 19 1 Westport 19 3 Winchendon 19 2 Abington 18 3 Auburn 18 3 Chicopee 18 10 Hingham 18 4 Holbrook 18 2 South Barre 18 1 Carver 17 2 Dover 17 1 Mendon 17 1 North Attleborough 17 5 Rowley 17 1 Lee 16 1 Wakefield 16 4 Waltham 16 10 Cambridge 15 16 Danvers 15 4 Groveland 15 1 Lincoln 15 1 Somerville 15 12 Dorchester 14 13 East Weymouth 14 8 Great Barrington 14 1 Medford 14 8 North Andover 14 4 Plymouth 14 8 Salem 14 6 Cohasset 13 1 Lawrence 13 10 Lowell 13 14 Upton 13 1 West Boylston 13 1 Fairhaven 12 2 North Grafton 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Watertown 12 4 Melrose 11 3 Saugus 11 3 Scituate 11 2 Somerset 11 2 South Dartmouth 11 4 Sutton 11 1 Allston 10 3 Methuen 10 5 Ware 10 1 Woburn 10 4 Andover 9 3 Hanson 9 1 Indian Orchard 9 1 Leicester 9 1 Lunenburg 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Rochdale 9 1 South Weymouth 9 5 Wareham 9 2 Wrentham 9 1 Dudley 8 1 Hyde Park 8 3 North Dartmouth 8 2 Shrewsbury 8 3 Tyngsborough 8 1 Walpole 8 2 Charlton 7 1 Dorchester Center 7 7 Ipswich 7 1 Millbury 7 1 North Easton 7 1 Swampscott 7 1 Ashland 6 1 Dracut 6 2 Duxbury 6 1 Needham 6 2 Needham Heights 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Tewksbury 6 2 Westwood 6 1 Whitman 6 1 Charlestown 5 1 Chelmsford 5 2 Holden 5 1 Sharon 5 1 South Hadley 5 1 Sudbury 5 1 Winthrop 5 1 Billerica 4 2 E. Boston 4 2 East Boston 4 2 Reading 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Agawam 3 1 Milton 3 1 Springfield 3 5 West Roxbury 3 1 Arlington 2 1 Holyoke 2 1 Mattapan 2 1 Westfield 2 1 Newton Lower Falls 1 1 (not given) 0 1683 span 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 Plymouth 474 205 Worcester 399 445 Bristol 390 321 Norfolk 322 275 Berkshire 316 51 Barnstable 269 52 Essex 125 138 Middlesex 112 263 Nantucket 85 3 Suffolk 36 72 Hampden 26 19 Dukes 24 1 Hampshire 10 2 Franklin 9 1 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/.