Filings Month Ending 2025 March 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2025-03-01 Search Period End: 2025-03-31 Earliest Case: 2025-03-03 Latest Case: 2025-03-31 Total Cases: 3619 Total Transfers: 75 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 20.3% Of those, percentage pro se: 49.7% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Chestnut Hill Least stable with 10+ filings: Norwood Least stable with 100+ filings: Dorchester Least stable county: Plymouth 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 783 21.6% northeast 646 17.9% central 487 13.5% southeast 434 12.0% western 421 11.6% metro_south 370 10.2% lynn district 54 1.5% malden district 32 0.9% chelsea district 28 0.8% lawrence district 26 0.7% quincy district 26 0.7% cambridge district 22 0.6% fall river district 18 0.5% haverhill district 17 0.5% brockton district 15 0.4% northern berkshire district 14 0.4% woburn district 14 0.4% lowell district 13 0.4% somerville district 13 0.4% waltham district 13 0.4% attleboro district 12 0.3% bmc west roxbury 12 0.3% pittsfield district 11 0.3% bmc brighton 10 0.3% springfield district 10 0.3% framingham district 9 0.2% newburyport district 9 0.2% salem district 8 0.2% worcester district 8 0.2% bmc dorchester 7 0.2% milford district 7 0.2% bmc east boston 6 0.2% fallmouth district 5 0.1% bmc roxbury 4 0.1% holyoke district 4 0.1% newton district 4 0.1% westfield district 4 0.1% barnstable district 3 0.1% bmc central 3 0.1% chicopee district 3 0.1% edgartown district 3 0.1% nantucket district 3 0.1% peabody district 3 0.1% plymouth district 3 0.1% wareham district 3 0.1% ayer district 2 0.1% eastern hampshire district 2 0.1% greenfield district 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% southern berkshire district 2 0.1% dedham district 1 0.0% gloucester district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% new bedford district 1 0.0% northampton district 1 0.0% orleans district 1 0.0% stoughton district 1 0.0% uxbridge district 1 0.0% wrentham district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2883 12 Natural Person 736 3607 Total 3619 3619 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 79.7% 0.3% Natural Person 20.3% 99.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2842 41 2883 Optional 370 366 736 Total 3212 407 3619 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 78.5% 1.1% 79.7% Optional 10.2% 10.1% 20.3% Total 88.8% 11.2% 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 20 3587 3607 Total 20 3599 3619 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% Optional 0.6% 99.1% 99.7% Total 0.6% 99.4% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 110 3.0% 1 2532 70.0% 2 783 21.6% 3 135 3.7% 4 38 1.1% 5 9 0.2% 6 6 0.2% 7 4 0.1% 8 1 0.0% 10 1 0.0% Total 3619 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 2704 74.7% Cause 507 14.0% No Fault 385 10.6% Foreclosure 22 0.6% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Chestnut Hill 423 9 Florence 421 4 Millers Falls 233 3 Norwood 192 55 Gilbertville 173 2 North Adams 167 23 Holyoke 155 62 Thorndike 144 1 Dorchester 142 131 Heath 141 1 Salem 133 55 Housatonic 132 1 Mattapan 131 48 Hyannis 127 18 Roxbury 127 76 Chelsea 125 44 Fall River 123 110 East Falmouth 121 7 Fitchburg 119 48 Hyde Park 116 39 Chilmark 115 1 Marlborough 114 44 Charlestown 113 19 Framingham 112 77 Lawrence 112 86 South Dennis 108 4 Southbridge 107 18 Lowell 104 111 Lynn 104 94 Gardner 103 21 Greenfield 103 18 Mansfield 99 23 Springfield 98 150 Warren 97 5 Stoughton 96 26 New Bedford 95 91 Dennis Port 94 3 Brockton 92 87 West Dennis 91 2 Bridgewater 90 24 South Grafton 89 4 West Warren 88 1 Carver 86 10 Malden 85 51 North Billerica 84 9 Worcester 83 151 Blandford 81 1 Everett 81 34 Revere 81 42 West Springfield 81 23 Charlemont 78 1 Cambridge 75 79 Taunton 75 42 Randolph 74 24 Roslindale 72 21 South Egremont 72 1 Pittsfield 67 30 Richmond 67 1 Westborough 65 12 Fiskdale 64 2 Haverhill 64 39 North Brookfield 64 3 Chicopee 63 35 Peabody 62 32 Cheshire 61 2 South Lancaster 61 1 Athol 60 7 Canton 60 13 Plainville 60 5 Ware 60 6 Colrain 59 1 Watertown 59 19 Buzzards Bay 58 2 Clarksburg 58 1 Milford 57 16 Rockland 57 10 Rockport 57 4 Roxbury Crossing 57 34 Somerville 55 42 Allston 54 16 Dracut 54 16 Sunderland 54 2 Burlington 53 13 Leominster 53 22 Quincy 53 49 Danvers 52 14 Andover 51 17 Stockbridge 51 1 Westford 50 11 Edgartown 49 2 Indian Orchard 49 5 Mattapoisett 49 3 Woburn 47 18 Weymouth 46 25 Attleborough 45 20 Avon 45 2 North Attleborough 45 13 Wrentham 45 5 Oak Bluffs 44 2 Tyngsborough 44 5 Abington 43 7 Middleborough 43 10 Dorchester Center 42 39 Methuen 42 20 Stoneham 41 9 Tewksbury 41 12 Whitman 41 6 Jamaica Plain 40 15 Kingston 39 5 Lenox 39 2 Lunenburg 39 4 Medway 39 5 Waltham 39 24 Hull 38 4 Manchester 38 2 North Easton 38 5 Franklin 37 12 Raynham 37 5 West Yarmouth 37 2 Brighton 36 16 Clinton 36 5 Norton 36 7 Adams 35 3 Agawam 35 10 Beverly 35 14 Foxborough 35 6 West Barnstable 35 1 Newburyport 34 6 Pocasset 34 1 South Hadley 34 6 Three Rivers 34 1 Braintree 33 12 Orleans 33 2 Berkley 31 2 Fairhaven 31 5 Merrimac 31 2 Millville 31 1 Amesbury 30 5 Cotuit 30 1 Saugus 30 8 Brookfield 29 1 East Boston 29 12 East Weymouth 29 16 Nahant 29 1 Nantucket 29 3 South Easton 29 3 Swampscott 29 4 East Sandwich 28 1 Great Barrington 28 2 Lakeville 28 3 Northampton 28 8 Northborough 28 4 Winthrop 28 5 Holbrook 27 3 Sagamore Beach 27 1 Ayer 26 2 Cohasset 26 2 Hopkinton 26 4 South Boston 26 9 Arlington 25 11 Feeding Hills 25 3 Rutland 25 2 Ashland 24 4 Bellingham 24 4 Belmont 24 6 Salisbury 24 2 Douglas 23 2 Medford 23 13 Plymouth 23 13 Webster 23 4 West Newbury 23 1 Bedford 22 3 Blackstone 22 2 Hubbardston 22 1 Melrose 22 6 Middleton 22 2 Millbury 22 3 Wareham 22 5 West Roxbury 22 7 North Andover 21 6 Belchertown 20 3 Bolton 20 1 Boston 20 126 Boxborough 20 1 Brewster 20 2 Carlisle 20 1 East Freetown 20 1 Eastham 20 1 Hudson 20 4 Marstons Mills 20 1 Southborough 20 2 Billerica 19 8 Longmeadow 19 3 Northbridge 19 3 Westfield 19 8 Winchendon 19 2 Yarmouth Port 19 1 East Wareham 18 4 Dudley 17 2 Sharon 17 3 Concord 16 3 Lee 16 1 Medfield 16 2 Shrewsbury 16 6 East Taunton 15 1 Marshfield 15 4 Natick 15 5 Dalton 14 1 Ludlow 14 3 North Uxbridge 14 2 Seekonk 14 2 Uxbridge 14 2 Whitinsville 14 1 Amherst 13 5 Halifax 13 1 North Reading 13 2 Shirley 13 1 Wilmington 13 3 Lexington 12 4 Millis 12 1 North Grafton 12 1 South Hamilton 12 1 Swansea 12 2 Templeton 12 1 Walpole 12 3 Assonet 11 1 Monson 11 1 Pembroke 11 2 Auburndale 10 1 Marblehead 10 2 Needham 10 3 North Chelmsford 10 1 Southwick 10 1 Acushnet 9 1 E. Boston 9 4 Hanson 9 1 Hingham 9 2 Leicester 9 1 Maynard 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Chelmsford 8 3 Dedham 8 2 Groton 8 1 Harwich 8 1 Palmer 8 1 South Yarmouth 8 1 Wakefield 8 2 West Harwich 8 1 Weston 8 1 Centerville 7 1 Hanover 7 1 Holliston 7 1 Milton 7 2 North Weymouth 7 4 Oxford 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Brookline 6 4 Duxbury 6 1 Easthampton 6 1 Gloucester 6 2 Westport 6 1 Westwood 6 1 Bourne 5 1 Grafton 5 1 Holden 5 1 South Dartmouth 5 2 South Weymouth 5 3 Sudbury 5 1 North Dartmouth 4 1 Reading 4 1 Winchester 4 1 Needham Heights 3 1 Wellesley 3 1 Wellesley Hills 3 1 Newton Lower Falls 1 1 (not given) 0 102 span 0 10 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 472 204 Hampden 434 309 Berkshire 427 69 Bristol 410 338 Essex 381 419 Norfolk 356 304 Suffolk 356 703 Worcester 331 369 Middlesex 287 670 Barnstable 284 55 Franklin 246 26 Hampshire 179 33 Dukes 121 5 Nantucket 85 3 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/.