Filings Month Ending 2021 October 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2021-10-01 Search Period End: 2021-10-31 Earliest Case: 2021-10-01 Latest Case: 2021-10-29 Total Cases: 1958 Total Transfers: 61 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 36.7% Of those, percentage pro se: 55.7% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Woronoco Least stable with 10+ filings: Ayer Least stable with 100+ filings: Worcester Least stable county: Bristol Cases per day: 65 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 364 18.6% western 334 17.1% central 303 15.5% southeast 279 14.2% metro_south 212 10.8% eastern 201 10.3% pittsfield district 25 1.3% quincy district 21 1.1% malden district 18 0.9% lynn district 17 0.9% waltham district 14 0.7% attleboro district 12 0.6% brockton district 11 0.6% chelsea district 11 0.6% barnstable district 9 0.5% lawrence district 9 0.5% fallmouth district 8 0.4% peabody district 8 0.4% woburn district 8 0.4% fall river district 7 0.4% cambridge district 6 0.3% lowell district 6 0.3% northern berkshire district 6 0.3% wrentham district 5 0.3% bmc west roxbury 4 0.2% somerville district 4 0.2% bmc east boston 3 0.2% framingham district 3 0.2% milford district 3 0.2% nantucket district 3 0.2% orleans district 3 0.2% springfield district 3 0.2% stoughton district 3 0.2% westfield district 3 0.2% concord district 2 0.1% eastern hampshire district 2 0.1% edgartown district 2 0.1% greenfield district 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% new bedford district 2 0.1% newburyport district 2 0.1% newton district 2 0.1% palmer district 2 0.1% salem district 2 0.1% wareham district 2 0.1% worcester district 2 0.1% ayer district 1 0.1% bmc central 1 0.1% chicopee district 1 0.1% clinton district 1 0.1% dedham district 1 0.1% haverhill district 1 0.1% taunton district 1 0.1% uxbridge district 1 0.1% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 1240 6 Natural Person 718 1952 Total 1958 1958 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 63.3% 0.3% Natural Person 36.7% 99.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1187 53 1240 Optional 318 400 718 Total 1505 453 1958 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 60.6% 2.7% 63.3% Optional 16.2% 20.4% 36.7% Total 76.9% 23.1% 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 6 6 Optional 34 1918 1952 Total 34 1924 1958 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% Optional 1.7% 98.0% 99.7% Total 1.7% 98.3% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 163 8.3% 1 1372 70.1% 2 347 17.7% 3 57 2.9% 4 16 0.8% 5 1 0.1% 6 1 0.1% 13 1 0.1% Total 1958 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 1047 53.5% No Fault 463 23.6% Cause 435 22.2% Foreclosure 9 0.5% Unknown/Other 4 0.2% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Woronoco 900 1 Ayer 201 15 Vineyard Haven 105 2 Provincetown 101 3 Dennis Port 94 3 Fall River 94 84 Hyannis 85 12 New Bedford 83 79 Lawrence 81 62 Clinton 80 11 Athol 77 9 Brockton 76 72 Gardner 69 14 Norwood 69 20 Pocasset 69 2 Whately 66 1 Fitchburg 64 26 Worcester 62 114 Pittsfield 60 27 Ware 60 6 Foxborough 59 10 Adams 58 5 Buzzards Bay 58 2 Jefferson 57 2 Sagamore 54 2 South Dennis 54 2 Taunton 53 30 Baldwinville 52 1 Lowell 52 56 Canton 51 11 East Falmouth 51 3 Orange 51 4 Stockbridge 51 1 Hinsdale 49 1 Plainville 48 4 Revere 48 25 Chestnut Hill 47 1 Quincy 47 44 Webster 47 8 Marlborough 46 18 North Billerica 46 5 Huntington 45 1 North Oxford 44 1 Dorchester 42 39 Springfield 42 65 Framingham 40 28 Methuen 40 19 Chelsea 39 14 Upton 39 3 Yarmouth Port 39 2 Hadley 38 2 Middleborough 38 9 Holbrook 37 4 West Yarmouth 37 2 Braintree 36 13 Chicopee 36 20 Leominster 36 15 North Adams 36 5 Plympton 35 1 Southbridge 35 6 Greenfield 34 6 Rehoboth 34 4 Three Rivers 34 1 Jamaica Plain 32 12 Randolph 31 10 Bridgewater 30 8 Hatfield 30 1 Roxbury 30 18 Attleborough 29 13 Haverhill 29 18 Nantucket 29 3 Princeton 29 1 South Easton 29 3 Winchendon 29 3 Milford 28 8 Sharon 28 5 Whitinsville 28 2 Cherry Valley 27 3 Somerset 27 5 Sunderland 27 1 Cohasset 26 2 Hudson 26 5 West Boylston 26 2 Amesbury 24 4 Bellingham 24 4 East Boston 24 10 East Templeton 24 2 Mattapan 24 9 Salisbury 24 2 Turners Falls 24 1 Lynn 23 21 West Newbury 23 1 Avon 22 1 Blackstone 22 2 Franklin 22 7 Hubbardston 22 1 Rockland 22 4 Wareham 22 5 North Andover 21 6 West Springfield 21 6 Belchertown 20 3 Boxborough 20 1 Holyoke 20 8 North Attleborough 20 6 Roslindale 20 6 Weymouth 20 11 Indian Orchard 19 2 Lunenburg 19 2 Newtonville 19 1 Waltham 19 12 Westport 19 3 Andover 18 6 Woburn 18 7 Chelmsford 17 6 Hyde Park 17 6 Mendon 17 1 Peabody 17 9 Rowley 17 1 Spencer 17 2 Tewksbury 17 5 Chatham 16 1 Everett 16 7 Hopedale 16 1 Newton Upper Falls 16 1 Dorchester Center 15 14 East Taunton 15 1 Groveland 15 1 Kingston 15 2 Millbury 15 2 Dennis 14 2 Dighton 14 1 Great Barrington 14 1 Shrewsbury 14 5 Malden 13 8 Shirley 13 1 Westwood 13 2 Whitman 13 2 Belmont 12 3 Dedham 12 3 East Longmeadow 12 2 Easthampton 12 2 Lancaster 12 1 Mansfield 12 3 North Dartmouth 12 3 Northbridge 12 2 Charlestown 11 2 Holden 11 2 Littleton 11 1 Monson 11 1 South Weymouth 11 6 Stoughton 11 3 Sutton 11 1 Winthrop 11 2 Allston 10 3 Brewster 10 1 Cambridge 10 11 Needham 10 3 North Chelmsford 10 1 Plymouth 10 6 Sturbridge 10 1 Billerica 9 4 Falmouth 9 3 Hanson 9 1 Hull 9 1 Lakeville 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Rochdale 9 1 Somerville 9 7 Westfield 9 4 Westford 9 2 Carver 8 1 Feeding Hills 8 1 Pepperell 8 1 South Yarmouth 8 1 Tyngsborough 8 1 Wakefield 8 2 Bedford 7 1 E. Boston 7 3 East Weymouth 7 4 Hanover 7 1 Marshfield 7 2 Mashpee 7 1 Medford 7 4 Northborough 7 1 Raynham 7 1 Salem 7 3 Uxbridge 7 1 Auburn 6 1 Fairhaven 6 1 Lexington 6 2 West Roxbury 6 2 Amherst 5 2 Beverly 5 2 Bourne 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Roxbury Crossing 5 3 Westborough 5 1 Arlington 4 2 East Wareham 4 1 Hingham 4 1 Onset 4 1 Reading 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Walpole 4 1 Wilmington 4 1 Agawam 3 1 Boston 3 23 Dracut 3 1 East Walpole 3 1 Melrose 3 1 Natick 3 1 Saugus 3 1 Brighton 2 1 Newton 2 2 South Boston 2 1 North Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 362 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 Bristol 288 237 Plymouth 277 120 Berkshire 247 40 Worcester 232 259 Barnstable 222 43 Norfolk 200 171 Hampden 157 112 Essex 142 157 Franklin 123 13 Suffolk 97 193 Middlesex 96 226 Hampshire 92 17 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. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.