Filings Month Ending 2024 September 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2024-09-01 Search Period End: 2024-09-30 Earliest Case: 2024-09-02 Latest Case: 2024-09-30 Total Cases: 3504 Total Transfers: 77 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 24.5% Of those, percentage pro se: 51.4% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Mount Washington Least stable with 10+ filings: Randolph Least stable with 100+ filings: New Bedford Least stable county: Berkshire Cases per day: 120 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 706 20.1% northeast 580 16.6% central 500 14.3% western 461 13.2% southeast 394 11.2% metro_south 319 9.1% lawrence district 50 1.4% malden district 47 1.3% quincy district 46 1.3% lynn district 43 1.2% cambridge district 35 1.0% fall river district 27 0.8% springfield district 22 0.6% waltham district 21 0.6% lowell district 19 0.5% chelsea district 18 0.5% haverhill district 17 0.5% brockton district 16 0.5% attleboro district 12 0.3% worcester district 11 0.3% northern berkshire district 10 0.3% bmc west roxbury 9 0.3% bmc east boston 8 0.2% somerville district 8 0.2% woburn district 8 0.2% barnstable district 7 0.2% newton district 7 0.2% plymouth district 7 0.2% salem district 7 0.2% bmc dorchester 6 0.2% framingham district 6 0.2% peabody district 6 0.2% bmc central 5 0.1% orleans district 5 0.1% stoughton district 5 0.1% westfield district 5 0.1% bmc brighton 4 0.1% holyoke district 4 0.1% pittsfield district 4 0.1% wareham district 4 0.1% bmc roxbury 3 0.1% concord district 3 0.1% dedham district 3 0.1% fallmouth district 3 0.1% gloucester district 3 0.1% newburyport district 3 0.1% palmer district 3 0.1% chicopee district 2 0.1% milford district 2 0.1% taunton district 2 0.1% ayer district 1 0.0% eastern hampshire district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% hingham district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% northampton district 1 0.0% wrentham district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2646 7 Natural Person 858 3497 Total 3504 3504 (%) 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 2604 42 2646 Optional 417 441 858 Total 3021 483 3504 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 74.3% 1.2% 75.5% Optional 11.9% 12.6% 24.5% Total 86.2% 13.8% 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 7 7 Optional 28 3469 3497 Total 28 3476 3504 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Optional 0.8% 99.0% 99.8% Total 0.8% 99.2% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 125 3.6% 1 2481 70.8% 2 751 21.4% 3 105 3.0% 4 25 0.7% 5 10 0.3% 6 1 0.0% 7 2 0.1% 8 2 0.1% 9 2 0.1% Total 3504 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 2506 71.5% Cause 516 14.7% No Fault 456 13.0% Foreclosure 26 0.7% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Mount Washington 598 1 Chestnut Hill 282 6 Randolph 196 63 Mattapan 158 58 Berlin 139 4 New Bedford 138 132 North Adams 131 18 Southbridge 131 22 Chelsea 119 42 Teaticket 117 2 Springfield 116 179 Holyoke 115 46 Malden 114 68 Lawrence 112 86 Pittsfield 109 49 Roxbury 109 65 Charlestown 107 18 Framingham 106 73 Florence 105 1 Lynn 105 95 Vineyard Haven 105 2 Gardner 103 21 Lowell 102 109 Dorchester 101 93 Hinsdale 98 2 Marlborough 96 37 Revere 94 49 Fall River 93 83 Maynard 89 9 Haydenville 88 1 Kingston 87 11 Worcester 86 156 Canton 83 18 Chicopee 83 46 Hyde Park 83 28 Norwood 83 24 South Dennis 81 3 Fitchburg 79 32 Cambridge 78 83 Hyannis 78 11 Salem 77 32 Webster 77 13 Greenfield 74 13 Quincy 73 68 Adams 70 6 Athol 69 8 East Falmouth 69 4 Pocasset 69 2 Feeding Hills 68 8 Hardwick 66 2 Whately 66 1 West Boylston 65 5 Leominster 63 26 West Springfield 63 18 Braintree 61 22 Tyngsborough 61 7 Haverhill 60 37 Middleborough 60 14 Brockton 58 55 Clinton 58 8 Jamaica Plain 58 22 Nahant 58 2 Roslindale 58 17 Warren 58 3 Russell 56 1 Stoughton 55 15 Westfield 55 23 Sagamore 54 2 West Brookfield 54 2 Hopkinton 53 8 Milford 53 15 Buckland 52 1 Everett 52 22 Waltham 52 32 Seekonk 51 7 Taunton 50 28 North Truro 49 1 Bridgewater 48 13 Methuen 48 23 South Deerfield 48 1 West Townsend 47 1 Attleborough 45 20 East Boston 44 18 Somerville 44 34 Tewksbury 44 13 Woburn 44 17 Abington 43 7 North Chelmsford 43 4 Swampscott 43 6 West Bridgewater 43 3 North Andover 42 12 Southwick 42 4 Spencer 42 5 Foxborough 41 7 Marstons Mills 41 2 Rockland 40 7 Wakefield 40 10 Wilmington 40 9 Winthrop 40 7 Lenox 39 2 Lunenburg 39 4 South Easton 39 4 South Hadley 39 7 Yarmouth Port 39 2 Mansfield 38 9 Newtonville 38 2 Orange 38 3 Westborough 38 7 Franklin 37 12 Melrose 37 10 Peabody 37 19 Templeton 37 3 Plainville 36 3 Salisbury 36 3 Wellfleet 36 1 Westford 36 8 Beverly 35 14 Plymouth 35 20 Allston 34 10 Dorchester Center 34 32 Gloucester 34 10 Three Rivers 34 1 Lee 33 2 Provincetown 33 1 Belmont 32 8 Northfield 32 1 Dennis Port 31 1 East Taunton 31 2 Hudson 31 6 Amesbury 30 5 Bedford 30 4 Brewster 30 3 Cheshire 30 1 Ware 30 3 Buzzards Bay 29 1 Hull 29 3 Indian Orchard 29 3 West Hatfield 29 1 Winchendon 29 3 Burlington 28 7 East Bridgewater 28 4 Essex 28 1 Great Barrington 28 2 Lakeville 28 3 Northampton 28 8 Northborough 28 4 Pembroke 28 5 Watertown 28 9 Whitinsville 28 2 Brighton 27 12 Brimfield 27 1 East Wareham 27 6 Holbrook 27 3 Marshfield 27 7 Shirley 27 2 Westminster 27 2 Whitman 27 4 Wrentham 27 3 Ayer 26 2 Dudley 26 3 Shrewsbury 25 9 Williamstown 25 2 Andover 24 8 Billerica 24 10 Easthampton 24 4 Edgartown 24 1 Turners Falls 24 1 Arlington 23 10 Falmouth 22 7 Forestdale 22 1 Oak Bluffs 22 1 Raynham 22 3 Saugus 22 6 South Grafton 22 1 South Weymouth 22 12 Townsend 22 2 Mashpee 21 3 North Brookfield 21 1 Roxbury Crossing 21 13 Wilbraham 21 3 Boston 20 124 Dracut 20 6 East Weymouth 20 11 Eastham 20 1 Marblehead 20 4 Marion 20 1 Southborough 20 2 Wenham 20 1 Hadley 19 1 Hanson 19 2 Nantucket 19 2 Danvers 18 5 Fairhaven 18 3 Leicester 18 2 West Yarmouth 18 1 Weymouth 18 10 Carver 17 2 Chelmsford 17 6 Medford 17 10 South Yarmouth 17 2 Southampton 17 1 Granby 16 1 Hopedale 16 1 Mattapoisett 16 1 Palmer 16 2 Sudbury 16 3 West Roxbury 16 5 Amherst 15 6 Groveland 15 1 Ipswich 15 2 Lincoln 15 1 Merrimac 15 1 Millbury 15 2 Newbury 15 1 Norton 15 3 Stow 15 1 Centerville 14 2 Ludlow 14 3 Rockport 14 1 Uxbridge 14 2 Cohasset 13 1 Halifax 13 1 Upton 13 1 Lancaster 12 1 Millis 12 1 North Grafton 12 1 Northbridge 12 2 Westport 12 2 Blackstone 11 1 Manchaug 11 1 Monson 11 1 Agawam 10 3 North Attleborough 10 3 Sturbridge 10 1 Acton 9 2 Cherry Valley 9 1 Hingham 9 2 Lexington 9 3 Natick 9 3 Newton 9 8 North Billerica 9 1 Stoneham 9 2 Dedham 8 2 Harwich 8 1 Medfield 8 1 Rehoboth 8 1 South Boston 8 3 Walpole 8 2 Charlton 7 1 Medway 7 1 Milton 7 2 Oxford 7 1 West Newton 7 1 Ashland 6 1 Auburn 6 1 Bellingham 6 1 Duxbury 6 1 Longmeadow 6 1 Needham 6 2 North Reading 6 1 Swansea 6 1 Wellesley Hills 6 2 Westwood 6 1 Holden 5 1 Scituate 5 1 Somerset 5 1 Easton 4 1 North Dartmouth 4 1 Onset 4 1 Reading 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 Wareham 4 1 Winchester 4 1 Needham Heights 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Wellesley 3 1 Barnstable 2 1 E. Boston 2 1 Brookline 1 1 (not given) 0 137 span 0 3 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 Berkshire 526 85 Hampden 482 343 Plymouth 405 175 Bristol 369 304 Norfolk 349 298 Worcester 344 383 Essex 341 375 Suffolk 312 617 Barnstable 290 56 Middlesex 285 667 Franklin 199 21 Hampshire 184 34 Dukes 97 4 Nantucket 56 2 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/.