Filings Month Ending 2026 June 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2026-06-01 Search Period End: 2026-06-30 Earliest Case: 2026-06-01 Latest Case: 2026-06-26 Total Cases: 2752 Total Transfers: 50 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 21.0% Of those, percentage pro se: 55.1% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Chestnut Hill Least stable with 10+ filings: Holyoke Least stable with 100+ filings: Lowell Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 94 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 598 21.7% northeast 513 18.6% central 463 16.8% southeast 305 11.1% western 300 10.9% metro_south 271 9.8% lawrence district 38 1.4% lynn district 31 1.1% quincy district 18 0.7% brockton district 17 0.6% malden district 17 0.6% chelsea district 16 0.6% lowell district 11 0.4% pittsfield district 11 0.4% fall river district 10 0.4% holyoke district 9 0.3% springfield district 9 0.3% cambridge district 8 0.3% salem district 8 0.3% bmc east boston 7 0.3% haverhill district 7 0.3% worcester district 7 0.3% attleboro district 6 0.2% northern berkshire district 6 0.2% peabody district 6 0.2% woburn district 6 0.2% gloucester district 5 0.2% waltham district 5 0.2% bmc dorchester 4 0.1% somerville district 4 0.1% brookline district 3 0.1% eastern hampshire district 3 0.1% fitchburg district 3 0.1% nantucket district 3 0.1% newton district 3 0.1% bmc roxbury 2 0.1% bmc west roxbury 2 0.1% fallmouth district 2 0.1% framingham district 2 0.1% stoughton district 2 0.1% ayer district 1 0.0% barnstable district 1 0.0% bmc central 1 0.0% concord district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% hingham district 1 0.0% ipswich district 1 0.0% newburyport district 1 0.0% orleans district 1 0.0% plymouth district 1 0.0% wareham district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2173 31 Natural Person 579 2721 Total 2752 2752 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 79.0% 1.1% Natural Person 21.0% 98.9% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2148 25 2173 Optional 260 319 579 Total 2408 344 2752 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 78.1% 0.9% 79.0% Optional 9.4% 11.6% 21.0% Total 87.5% 12.5% 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 1 30 31 Optional 13 2708 2721 Total 14 2738 2752 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 1.1% 1.1% Optional 0.5% 98.4% 98.9% Total 0.5% 99.5% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 74 2.7% 1 1871 68.0% 2 659 23.9% 3 104 3.8% 4 28 1.0% 5 10 0.4% 6 3 0.1% 7 2 0.1% 8 1 0.0% Total 2752 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 2011 73.1% Cause 427 15.5% No Fault 289 10.5% Foreclosure 25 0.9% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Chestnut Hill 329 7 Buzzards Bay 233 8 Seabrook 188 1 Thorndike 144 1 Warwick 128 1 Shelburne Falls 113 2 Holyoke 110 44 Lowell 107 114 South Easton 107 11 Vineyard Haven 105 2 Stockbridge 102 2 Framingham 99 68 Lawrence 99 76 Truro 99 2 Norwood 97 28 Worcester 97 176 Fitchburg 96 39 Dennis Port 94 3 Dorchester 94 87 Ware 91 9 Hyde Park 86 29 Marlborough 85 33 Southbridge 83 14 Mattapan 82 30 Roxbury 82 49 Marion 81 4 Sunderland 81 3 Athol 77 9 New Bedford 76 73 North Chelmsford 76 7 Allston 75 22 Canton 74 16 Fall River 74 66 Springfield 74 114 Berlin 69 2 Three Rivers 68 2 Everett 67 28 Lynn 67 61 Stoughton 66 18 Whately 66 1 Revere 65 34 Westborough 65 12 Haverhill 60 37 Gardner 59 12 Brookfield 58 2 North Adams 58 8 Warren 58 3 Chelsea 56 20 Chicopee 56 31 Randolph 56 18 Salem 55 23 Brockton 54 51 North Grafton 51 4 South Boston 50 17 Pittsfield 49 22 Quincy 49 46 Beverly 48 19 South Deerfield 48 1 Brighton 47 21 Dorchester Center 47 44 Lincoln 47 3 Berkley 46 3 Milford 46 13 Bedford 45 6 West Dennis 45 1 Cambridge 44 47 Taunton 44 25 Woburn 44 17 Rockport 43 3 Malden 42 25 North Brookfield 42 2 Northampton 42 12 Peabody 42 22 Somerville 42 32 Danvers 41 11 Greenfield 40 7 Jamaica Plain 40 15 Roxbury Crossing 40 24 Braintree 39 14 Lunenburg 39 4 Weymouth 39 21 Middleborough 38 9 Millis 38 3 Newtonville 38 2 Orange 38 3 Auburn 37 6 Bridgewater 37 10 North Falmouth 37 1 Attleborough 36 16 Clinton 36 5 East Wareham 36 8 Adams 35 3 Byfield 35 1 Methuen 35 17 Monument Beach 35 1 Webster 35 6 Roslindale 34 10 Mattapoisett 33 2 Fiskdale 32 1 Granby 32 2 West Roxbury 32 10 Abington 31 5 East Weymouth 31 17 Hudson 31 6 Leominster 31 13 Millville 31 1 Watertown 31 10 Bradford 29 4 Nantucket 29 3 North Dartmouth 29 7 Jefferson 28 1 North Billerica 28 3 Osterville 28 1 Wakefield 28 7 Andover 27 9 Gloucester 27 8 Holbrook 27 3 Sagamore Beach 27 1 Shirley 27 2 Westford 27 6 Dudley 26 3 Saugus 26 7 Easton 25 6 Feeding Hills 25 3 Mansfield 25 6 Melrose 25 7 Newton Center 25 1 Bellingham 24 4 East Boston 24 10 Easthampton 24 4 Palmer 24 3 Plainville 24 2 Salisbury 24 2 Templeton 24 2 Turners Falls 24 1 Dracut 23 7 Ludlow 23 5 Medway 23 3 Franklin 22 7 Hubbardston 22 1 Littleton 22 2 South Hadley 22 4 Wareham 22 5 Auburndale 21 2 Hyannis 21 3 Medford 21 12 North Andover 21 6 Northborough 21 3 Norton 21 4 West Springfield 21 6 Westfield 21 9 Burlington 20 5 Hopkinton 20 3 South Weymouth 20 11 Whitman 20 3 Hanson 19 2 Hull 19 2 Indian Orchard 19 2 Lenox 19 1 Marshfield 19 5 Shrewsbury 19 7 Ashland 18 3 Fairhaven 18 3 Stoneham 18 4 Wrentham 18 2 Charlestown 17 3 East Falmouth 17 1 North Attleborough 17 5 Rockland 17 3 South Yarmouth 17 2 Southampton 17 1 Tewksbury 17 5 Arlington 16 7 Dedham 16 4 Newton Upper Falls 16 1 Pembroke 16 3 Groveland 15 1 Ipswich 15 2 Stow 15 1 Agawam 14 4 Dalton 14 1 Mashpee 14 2 Raynham 14 2 Swampscott 14 2 Whitinsville 14 1 Acton 13 3 Boston 13 84 Brookline 13 8 Halifax 13 1 Hingham 13 3 North Reading 13 2 Waltham 13 8 Westwood 13 2 Amesbury 12 2 Billerica 12 5 E. Boston 12 5 East Longmeadow 12 2 East Templeton 12 1 Georgetown 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Concord 11 2 DOUGLAS 11 1 Foxborough 11 2 Holden 11 2 Milton 11 3 Somerset 11 2 Townsend 11 1 Amherst 10 4 Brewster 10 1 Marblehead 10 2 Plymouth 10 6 Acushnet 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Sandwich 9 2 Winchendon 9 1 Carver 8 1 Chelmsford 8 3 Groton 8 1 Reading 8 2 Rehoboth 8 1 South Dartmouth 8 3 Spencer 8 1 Kingston 7 1 Millbury 7 1 Oxford 7 1 Belchertown 6 1 Duxbury 6 1 Lexington 6 2 Natick 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Swansea 6 1 Sharon 5 1 Winthrop 5 1 Belmont 4 1 Newton 4 4 Onset 4 1 Walpole 4 1 Wilmington 4 1 East Walpole 3 1 Falmouth 3 1 Needham 3 1 Needham Heights 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 (not given) 0 91 SPRINGFIELD 0 1 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 Hampden 319 227 Worcester 316 352 Plymouth 294 127 Norfolk 288 246 Essex 287 316 Bristol 285 235 Suffolk 260 515 Berkshire 229 37 Middlesex 219 513 Hampshire 200 37 Franklin 180 19 Barnstable 160 31 Nantucket 85 3 Dukes 48 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/.