Filings Month Ending 2022 February 28

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-02-01 Search Period End: 2022-02-28 Earliest Case: 2022-02-01 Latest Case: 2022-02-28 Total Cases: 1894 Total Transfers: 49 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 33.9% Of those, percentage pro se: 51.2% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Chilmark Least stable with 10+ filings: Hyannis Least stable with 100+ filings: Worcester Least stable county: Barnstable Cases per day: 70 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 central 340 18.0% northeast 335 17.7% southeast 304 16.1% western 264 13.9% eastern 208 11.0% metro_south 158 8.3% quincy district 25 1.3% pittsfield district 21 1.1% malden district 20 1.1% attleboro district 16 0.8% fall river district 14 0.7% brockton district 13 0.7% framingham district 12 0.6% chelsea district 11 0.6% bmc east boston 10 0.5% lynn district 10 0.5% chicopee district 9 0.5% northern berkshire district 9 0.5% barnstable district 8 0.4% milford district 8 0.4% fallmouth district 7 0.4% haverhill district 7 0.4% somerville district 7 0.4% edgartown district 6 0.3% new bedford district 6 0.3% woburn district 6 0.3% wrentham district 5 0.3% cambridge district 4 0.2% bmc central 3 0.2% bmc west roxbury 3 0.2% concord district 3 0.2% lowell district 3 0.2% palmer district 3 0.2% peabody district 3 0.2% springfield district 3 0.2% waltham district 3 0.2% wareham district 3 0.2% bmc brighton 2 0.1% bmc roxbury 2 0.1% dedham district 2 0.1% lawrence district 2 0.1% newton district 2 0.1% orleans district 2 0.1% southern berkshire district 2 0.1% bmc south boston 1 0.1% clinton district 1 0.1% greenfield district 1 0.1% hingham district 1 0.1% holyoke district 1 0.1% nantucket district 1 0.1% natick district 1 0.1% newburyport district 1 0.1% orange district 1 0.1% stoughton district 1 0.1% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 1251 10 Natural Person 643 1884 Total 1894 1894 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 66.1% 0.5% Natural Person 33.9% 99.5% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1210 41 1251 Optional 314 329 643 Total 1524 370 1894 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 63.9% 2.2% 66.1% Optional 16.6% 17.4% 33.9% Total 80.5% 19.5% 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 9 10 Optional 18 1866 1884 Total 19 1875 1894 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.1% 0.5% 0.5% Optional 1.0% 98.5% 99.5% Total 1.0% 99.0% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 146 7.7% 1 1280 67.6% 2 384 20.3% 3 54 2.9% 4 20 1.1% 5 9 0.5% 7 1 0.1% Total 1894 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 1095 57.8% Cause 396 20.9% No Fault 360 19.0% Foreclosure 41 2.2% Unknown/Other 2 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Chilmark 115 1 East Falmouth 103 6 Hyannis 99 14 South Chatham 97 1 Fall River 92 82 Gilbertville 86 1 New Bedford 83 79 Rockland 80 14 Worcester 78 143 Framingham 76 52 Edgartown 73 3 South Egremont 72 1 West Tisbury 72 2 Oak Bluffs 66 3 Gardner 59 12 Randolph 59 19 Webster 59 10 Buzzards Bay 58 2 Warren 58 3 East Sandwich 57 2 Revere 57 30 Chelsea 56 20 Leominster 56 23 Whitman 55 8 Brockton 52 49 Lynn 52 47 Malden 52 31 Oakham 52 1 Vineyard Haven 52 1 North Adams 51 7 Everett 50 21 North Truro 49 1 Norwood 48 14 Fitchburg 47 19 Lakeville 47 5 Southbridge 47 8 Pittsfield 46 21 West Wareham 46 1 West Dennis 45 1 Marlborough 44 17 South Yarmouth 43 5 Marstons Mills 41 2 Stoughton 40 11 North Andover 38 11 Barre 37 2 Bedford 37 5 Holbrook 37 4 North Falmouth 37 1 Raynham 37 5 Wellfleet 36 1 Adams 35 3 Beverly 35 14 Lowell 35 38 Mashpee 35 5 Attleborough 34 15 Three Rivers 34 1 Winthrop 34 6 Blackstone 33 3 Provincetown 33 1 Chatham 32 2 East Boston 32 13 East Wareham 32 7 Haverhill 32 20 Milford 32 9 North Chelmsford 32 3 Dennis Port 31 1 Lawrence 31 24 Bridgewater 30 8 Sheffield 30 1 Brookfield 29 1 Dorchester 29 27 Hanson 29 3 Hyde Park 29 10 Oxford 29 4 Pembroke 28 5 Marshfield 27 7 Quincy 27 25 Wrentham 27 3 Cohasset 26 2 Saugus 26 7 Taunton 26 15 Braintree 25 9 Middleborough 25 6 Rutland 25 2 Lancaster 24 2 Salem 24 10 North Easton 23 3 Centerville 22 3 Littleton 22 2 Natick 21 7 North Brookfield 21 1 Brewster 20 2 Burlington 20 5 Marion 20 1 Wakefield 20 5 Hull 19 2 Indian Orchard 19 2 Newtonville 19 1 Peabody 19 10 Winchendon 19 2 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Leicester 18 2 Roxbury 18 11 West Yarmouth 18 1 Athol 17 2 Foxborough 17 3 Mansfield 17 4 Medford 17 10 North Attleborough 17 5 Sharon 17 3 Ashburnham 16 1 Chicopee 16 9 Dorchester Center 16 15 Hopedale 16 1 Methuen 16 8 Orleans 16 1 Shrewsbury 16 6 Berkley 15 1 Cambridge 15 16 Charlton 15 2 East Taunton 15 1 Hudson 15 3 Clinton 14 2 Dennis 14 2 Dighton 14 1 East Bridgewater 14 2 Seekonk 14 2 Swampscott 14 2 Uxbridge 14 2 West Bridgewater 14 1 Whitinsville 14 1 Acton 13 3 Halifax 13 1 Jamaica Plain 13 5 Mattapan 13 5 North Reading 13 2 Roslindale 13 4 Stoneham 13 3 West Boylston 13 1 Falmouth 12 4 Millis 12 1 Northbridge 12 2 Plainville 12 1 Walpole 12 3 Watertown 12 4 Assonet 11 1 East Weymouth 11 6 Holden 11 2 Melrose 11 3 Middleton 11 1 South Dartmouth 11 4 Waltham 11 7 Dracut 10 3 Gloucester 10 3 Norton 10 2 Plymouth 10 6 Sturbridge 10 1 Westborough 10 2 Acushnet 9 1 Andover 9 3 Arlington 9 4 Billerica 9 4 Brighton 9 4 Canton 9 2 Lunenburg 9 1 Maynard 9 1 Nantucket 9 1 Sandwich 9 2 South Easton 9 1 Weymouth 9 5 Belmont 8 2 Carver 8 1 Chelmsford 8 3 Dedham 8 2 Dudley 8 1 Lynnfield 8 1 Medfield 8 1 Reading 8 2 Rehoboth 8 1 South Boston 8 3 Tyngsborough 8 1 Wilmington 8 2 Danvers 7 2 E. Boston 7 3 Hanover 7 1 Ipswich 7 1 Kingston 7 1 Milton 7 2 Northborough 7 1 South Weymouth 7 4 West Newton 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Woburn 7 3 Abington 6 1 Allston 6 2 Amesbury 6 1 Ashland 6 1 Auburn 6 1 Belchertown 6 1 Bellingham 6 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Fairhaven 6 1 Franklin 6 2 Hopkinton 6 1 Needham 6 2 West Roxbury 6 2 Westwood 6 1 Bourne 5 1 Charlestown 5 1 Grafton 5 1 Greenfield 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Scituate 5 1 Hingham 4 1 North Dartmouth 4 1 Wareham 4 1 Winchester 4 1 Brookline 3 2 East Walpole 3 1 Needham Heights 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Roxbury Crossing 3 2 Somerville 3 3 Tewksbury 3 1 Boston 2 16 Holyoke 2 1 Newton Highlands 2 2 Newton 1 1 Springfield 1 2 (not given) 0 381 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 Barnstable 321 62 Plymouth 308 133 Bristol 273 225 Worcester 249 278 Dukes 243 10 Berkshire 204 33 Norfolk 154 132 Essex 151 166 Middlesex 117 274 Suffolk 90 179 Nantucket 28 1 Hampden 23 17 Franklin 9 1 Hampshire 5 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. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.