Filings Month Ending 2022 April 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-04-01 Search Period End: 2022-04-30 Earliest Case: 2022-04-01 Latest Case: 2022-04-29 Total Cases: 2150 Total Transfers: 65 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 35.4% Of those, percentage pro se: 49.3% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: West Wareham Least stable with 10+ filings: New Bedford Least stable with 100+ filings: Worcester Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 74 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 400 18.6% eastern 349 16.2% central 312 14.5% western 306 14.2% southeast 273 12.7% metro_south 187 8.7% quincy district 27 1.3% fall river district 24 1.1% lynn district 22 1.0% pittsfield district 20 0.9% malden district 17 0.8% peabody district 15 0.7% haverhill district 12 0.6% northern berkshire district 12 0.6% waltham district 12 0.6% brockton district 11 0.5% newburyport district 11 0.5% chelsea district 9 0.4% wrentham district 9 0.4% salem district 8 0.4% somerville district 8 0.4% attleboro district 6 0.3% bmc east boston 6 0.3% barnstable district 5 0.2% dedham district 5 0.2% lowell district 5 0.2% milford district 5 0.2% new bedford district 5 0.2% newton district 5 0.2% palmer district 5 0.2% woburn district 5 0.2% bmc west roxbury 4 0.2% fallmouth district 4 0.2% lawrence district 4 0.2% nantucket district 4 0.2% southern berkshire district 4 0.2% brookline district 3 0.1% cambridge district 3 0.1% framingham district 3 0.1% stoughton district 3 0.1% wareham district 3 0.1% westfield district 3 0.1% ayer district 2 0.1% edgartown district 2 0.1% orleans district 2 0.1% plymouth district 2 0.1% uxbridge district 2 0.1% worcester district 2 0.1% bmc central 1 0.0% bmc south boston 1 0.0% holyoke district 1 0.0% orange district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 1388 9 Natural Person 762 2141 Total 2150 2150 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 64.6% 0.4% Natural Person 35.4% 99.6% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1352 36 1388 Optional 386 376 762 Total 1738 412 2150 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 62.9% 1.7% 64.6% Optional 18.0% 17.5% 35.4% Total 80.8% 19.2% 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 9 9 Optional 36 2105 2141 Total 36 2114 2150 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% Optional 1.7% 97.9% 99.6% Total 1.7% 98.3% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 169 7.9% 1 1577 73.3% 2 330 15.3% 3 48 2.2% 4 20 0.9% 5 3 0.1% 6 3 0.1% Total 2150 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 1141 53.1% Cause 505 23.5% No Fault 474 22.0% Foreclosure 29 1.3% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count West Wareham 138 3 Chilmark 115 1 New Bedford 91 87 Fall River 85 76 Rockland 80 14 Webster 77 13 Gardner 74 15 North Falmouth 74 2 Marlborough 72 28 South Egremont 72 1 Nantucket 68 7 Norwood 66 19 Brockton 65 61 North Adams 65 9 Worcester 64 116 Dennis Port 63 2 South Lancaster 61 1 Foxborough 59 10 Phillipston 59 1 Warren 58 3 Braintree 53 19 Southbridge 53 9 Fitchburg 49 20 Hinsdale 49 1 Chelsea 48 17 Roslindale 48 14 West Dennis 45 1 North Oxford 44 1 Pittsfield 44 20 Mattapan 43 16 Randolph 43 14 Dorchester 42 39 Framingham 42 29 Hyannis 42 6 North Brookfield 42 2 Taunton 41 23 Whitman 41 6 Marion 40 2 Bridgewater 37 10 East Boston 37 15 Amesbury 36 6 Revere 36 19 Seekonk 36 5 West Tisbury 36 1 Hyde Park 35 12 Northborough 35 5 Athol 34 4 South Yarmouth 34 4 Three Rivers 34 1 Lee 33 2 Provincetown 33 1 Stoughton 33 9 Lynn 32 29 Quincy 31 29 Millbury 30 4 Clinton 29 4 Hull 29 3 Jamaica Plain 29 11 Princeton 29 1 Whitinsville 28 2 Attleborough 27 12 Peabody 27 14 West Brookfield 27 1 Cambridge 26 28 Carver 26 3 Dudley 26 3 Halifax 26 2 Leominster 26 11 Malden 25 15 Rutland 25 2 Spencer 25 3 Westport 25 4 Williamstown 25 2 Edgartown 24 1 Natick 24 8 Adams 23 2 Allston 23 7 North Dighton 23 1 Beverly 22 9 Forestdale 22 1 Oak Bluffs 22 1 Townsend 22 2 Mashpee 21 3 Swampscott 21 3 Dorchester Center 20 19 Eastham 20 1 Paxton 20 1 Roxbury 20 12 Lenox 19 1 Norwell 19 2 Waltham 19 12 Winchendon 19 2 Abington 18 3 Auburn 18 3 Canton 18 4 Cherry Valley 18 2 Holbrook 18 2 South Weymouth 18 10 West Yarmouth 18 1 Charlestown 17 3 East Falmouth 17 1 North Attleborough 17 5 Sharon 17 3 South Boston 17 6 Tyngsborough 17 2 Winthrop 17 3 Grafton 16 3 Haverhill 16 10 West Roxbury 16 5 Charlton 15 2 Danvers 15 4 East Taunton 15 1 Hudson 15 3 East Weymouth 14 8 Great Barrington 14 1 Hanover 14 2 Medford 14 8 Plymouth 14 8 Salem 14 6 Uxbridge 14 2 West Bridgewater 14 1 West Newton 14 2 Brighton 13 6 Hingham 13 3 Wareham 13 3 Ashland 12 2 Dedham 12 3 Franklin 12 4 Middleborough 12 3 Plainville 12 1 Swansea 12 2 Douglas 11 1 Marshfield 11 3 Milton 11 3 Pembroke 11 2 Somerset 11 2 Somerville 11 9 Sudbury 11 2 Auburndale 10 1 Milford 10 3 North Chelmsford 10 1 Norton 10 2 Sturbridge 10 1 Westborough 10 2 Woburn 10 4 E. Boston 9 4 Lakeville 9 1 Leicester 9 1 South Easton 9 1 Wrentham 9 1 Harwich 8 1 Lynnfield 8 1 Medfield 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Palmer 8 1 Shrewsbury 8 3 Walpole 8 2 Arlington 7 3 Everett 7 3 North Andover 7 2 North Easton 7 1 Raynham 7 1 Weymouth 7 4 Wilbraham 7 1 Bellingham 6 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Fairhaven 6 1 Lowell 6 7 Needham 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Watertown 6 2 Westwood 6 1 Lawrence 5 4 Belmont 4 1 Boston 4 26 Burlington 4 1 East Wareham 4 1 Ludlow 4 1 Mansfield 4 1 Methuen 4 2 Onset 4 1 Wakefield 4 1 Westfield 4 2 Agawam 3 1 Brookline 3 2 Roxbury Crossing 3 2 Saugus 3 1 Barnstable 2 1 Billerica 2 1 Chelmsford 2 1 Holyoke 2 1 Newton 2 2 South Dartmouth 2 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 (not given) 0 791 span 0 4 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 317 137 Bristol 277 228 Berkshire 241 39 Worcester 222 248 Nantucket 199 7 Norfolk 178 152 Barnstable 129 25 Suffolk 119 236 Dukes 97 4 Essex 82 91 Middlesex 76 179 Hampden 12 9 Franklin 0 0 Hampshire 0 0 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. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.