Filings Month Ending 2024 February 29

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2024-02-01 Search Period End: 2024-02-29 Earliest Case: 2024-02-01 Latest Case: 2024-02-29 Total Cases: 3050 Total Transfers: 75 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 21.4% Of those, percentage pro se: 55.7% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Florence Least stable with 100+ filings: Dorchester Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 108 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 eastern 602 19.7% northeast 512 16.8% western 436 14.3% central 382 12.5% southeast 372 12.2% metro_south 285 9.3% malden district 57 1.9% lynn district 42 1.4% lawrence district 32 1.0% springfield district 29 1.0% brockton district 23 0.8% lowell district 21 0.7% quincy district 21 0.7% fall river district 18 0.6% pittsfield district 18 0.6% chelsea district 17 0.6% waltham district 17 0.6% northern berkshire district 13 0.4% bmc east boston 12 0.4% somerville district 12 0.4% bmc roxbury 10 0.3% attleboro district 8 0.3% bmc dorchester 7 0.2% cambridge district 7 0.2% peabody district 7 0.2% westfield district 7 0.2% wrentham district 7 0.2% framingham district 5 0.2% haverhill district 5 0.2% bmc brighton 4 0.1% brookline district 4 0.1% chicopee district 4 0.1% orleans district 4 0.1% bmc central 3 0.1% bmc west roxbury 3 0.1% greenfield district 3 0.1% salem district 3 0.1% worcester district 3 0.1% ayer district 2 0.1% barnstable district 2 0.1% dedham district 2 0.1% eastern hampshire district 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% holyoke district 2 0.1% newburyport district 2 0.1% northampton district 2 0.1% plymouth district 2 0.1% taunton district 2 0.1% woburn district 2 0.1% clinton district 1 0.0% concord district 1 0.0% fallmouth district 1 0.0% fitchburg district 1 0.0% gloucester district 1 0.0% ipswich district 1 0.0% milford district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% newton district 1 0.0% palmer district 1 0.0% stoughton district 1 0.0% wareham district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2397 12 Natural Person 653 3038 Total 3050 3050 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 78.6% 0.4% Natural Person 21.4% 99.6% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2350 47 2397 Optional 289 364 653 Total 2639 411 3050 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 77.0% 1.5% 78.6% Optional 9.5% 11.9% 21.4% Total 86.5% 13.5% 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 12 12 Optional 34 3004 3038 Total 34 3016 3050 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% Optional 1.1% 98.5% 99.6% Total 1.1% 98.9% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 94 3.1% 1 2230 73.1% 2 585 19.2% 3 100 3.3% 4 25 0.8% 5 10 0.3% 6 2 0.1% 7 2 0.1% 8 1 0.0% 11 1 0.0% Total 3050 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 2265 74.3% Cause 457 15.0% No Fault 300 9.8% Foreclosure 25 0.8% Unknown/Other 3 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 1054 10 North Chatham 142 1 Florida 132 1 Warwick 128 1 Cheshire 123 4 Dorchester 120 111 Kingston 110 14 Mattapan 106 39 Fitchburg 104 42 Fall River 95 85 Southbridge 95 16 Chestnut Hill 94 2 Springfield 91 140 Norwood 87 25 Whitinsville 86 6 Brockton 85 80 Everett 81 34 South Dennis 81 3 Rockland 80 14 Framingham 76 52 Braintree 75 27 Mansfield 73 17 Pittsfield 73 33 Roxbury 73 44 Cherry Valley 72 8 North Adams 72 10 Charlestown 71 12 Randolph 71 23 Plympton 70 2 Woburn 70 27 Worcester 70 127 Middleborough 69 16 New Bedford 69 66 Chelsea 68 24 Hull 68 7 Holyoke 67 27 Lawrence 66 51 Westborough 65 12 North Brookfield 64 3 Dennis Port 63 2 Stoughton 63 17 East Boston 61 25 Lowell 61 66 Revere 61 32 Plainville 60 5 Attleborough 59 26 Indian Orchard 59 6 Lynn 59 54 Seekonk 58 8 South Easton 58 6 Palmer 57 7 Shelburne Falls 56 1 Gardner 54 11 West Falmouth 54 1 Leominster 53 22 Bridgewater 52 14 Vineyard Haven 52 1 Canton 51 11 Marlborough 51 20 Spencer 51 6 Stockbridge 51 1 Taunton 51 29 Malden 50 30 Northampton 49 14 Truro 49 1 Belchertown 47 7 Webster 47 8 Greenfield 45 8 Salem 45 19 Clinton 44 6 Fairhaven 44 7 North Oxford 44 1 Quincy 44 41 North Chelmsford 43 4 Cambridge 41 44 Roxbury Crossing 41 25 Ware 40 4 Chicopee 39 22 Lenox 39 2 Maynard 39 4 Hadley 38 2 Jamaica Plain 37 14 North Billerica 37 4 North Falmouth 37 1 Wellfleet 36 1 Wrentham 36 4 Hyannis 35 5 Hyde Park 35 12 Marshfield 35 9 Berlin 34 1 East Falmouth 34 2 Pocasset 34 1 Roslindale 34 10 Tewksbury 34 10 Provincetown 33 1 Somerville 33 25 Granby 32 2 South Boston 32 11 Easthampton 31 5 North Attleborough 31 9 West Springfield 31 9 Buzzards Bay 29 1 East Weymouth 29 16 Foxborough 29 5 Westfield 29 12 Franklin 28 9 Hanover 28 4 Jefferson 28 1 Osterville 28 1 Winthrop 28 5 Sagamore 27 1 Westford 27 6 Whitman 27 4 Dudley 26 3 Medford 26 15 Saugus 26 7 West Roxbury 26 8 Dedham 24 6 Edgartown 24 1 Turners Falls 24 1 Waltham 24 15 Adams 23 2 Arlington 23 10 Avon 22 1 E. Boston 22 9 Ipswich 22 3 Plymouth 21 12 Allston 20 6 Brewster 20 2 Brighton 20 9 Dorchester Center 20 19 Eastham 20 1 Acushnet 19 2 Hanson 19 2 Lunenburg 19 2 Newtonville 19 1 Peabody 19 10 Shrewsbury 19 7 Warren 19 1 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Acton 18 4 Auburn 18 3 Holbrook 18 2 South Weymouth 18 10 West Yarmouth 18 1 Athol 17 2 Beverly 17 7 Chelmsford 17 6 Gloucester 17 5 Lynnfield 17 2 Milford 17 5 Sharon 17 3 Hopedale 16 1 North Dartmouth 16 4 Orleans 16 1 Walpole 16 4 Weymouth 16 9 Bedford 15 2 Berkley 15 1 Charlton 15 2 Danvers 15 4 Hudson 15 3 Lincoln 15 1 Marblehead 15 3 Merrimac 15 1 Millbury 15 2 Natick 15 5 North Easton 15 2 Great Barrington 14 1 Melrose 14 4 Oxford 14 2 Rockport 14 1 West Bridgewater 14 1 West Newton 14 2 Ayer 13 1 Cohasset 13 1 East Wareham 13 3 Haverhill 13 8 Shirley 13 1 Wareham 13 3 West Boylston 13 1 Westminster 13 1 Newton Highlands 12 11 Salisbury 12 1 Wakefield 12 3 Blackstone 11 1 Douglas 11 1 Littleton 11 1 Somerset 11 2 South Hadley 11 2 Norton 10 2 Southwick 10 1 Sturbridge 10 1 Wellesley 10 3 Andover 9 3 Boston 9 57 Falmouth 9 3 Lakeville 9 1 Ludlow 9 2 Nantucket 9 1 Winchendon 9 1 Winchester 9 2 Belmont 8 2 Burlington 8 2 Carver 8 1 Feeding Hills 8 1 Harwich 8 1 Medfield 8 1 Methuen 8 4 Pepperell 8 1 South Yarmouth 8 1 Tyngsborough 8 1 Agawam 7 2 Billerica 7 3 Centerville 7 1 Dennis 7 1 Medway 7 1 North Andover 7 2 Northborough 7 1 Raynham 7 1 Wayland 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Abington 6 1 Amesbury 6 1 Ashland 6 1 Bellingham 6 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Hopkinton 6 1 Longmeadow 6 1 Northbridge 6 1 Swansea 6 1 Watertown 6 2 Brookline 5 3 Holden 5 1 Newburyport 5 1 Pembroke 5 1 South Dartmouth 5 2 Easton 4 1 Hingham 4 1 Reading 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Wilmington 4 1 Dracut 3 1 East Walpole 3 1 Wellesley Hills 3 1 Amherst 2 1 Barnstable 2 1 Newton 1 1 North Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 567 span 0 6 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 440 190 Berkshire 334 54 Bristol 329 271 Hampden 326 232 Worcester 277 309 Norfolk 273 233 Hampshire 255 47 Suffolk 239 472 Barnstable 186 36 Middlesex 185 432 Essex 170 187 Franklin 104 11 Dukes 48 2 Nantucket 28 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. 2023-01: We now report dispositions on the basis of the last disposition found in a docket. Previously we were using a prioritized keyword match, which produced inaccurate results for complex cases. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.