Filings Month Ending 2022 October 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-10-01 Search Period End: 2022-10-31 Earliest Case: 2022-10-03 Latest Case: 2022-10-31 Total Cases: 3649 Total Transfers: 84 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 24.5% Of those, percentage pro se: 54.6% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Cummaquid Least stable with 10+ filings: Fall River Least stable with 100+ filings: Fall River Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 121 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 741 20.3% eastern 576 15.8% central 559 15.3% western 540 14.8% southeast 396 10.9% metro_south 337 9.2% lynn district 43 1.2% quincy district 40 1.1% lowell district 31 0.8% malden district 31 0.8% bmc west roxbury 23 0.6% northern berkshire district 20 0.5% chelsea district 19 0.5% fall river district 19 0.5% brockton district 18 0.5% bmc east boston 17 0.5% cambridge district 17 0.5% haverhill district 15 0.4% attleboro district 14 0.4% pittsfield district 14 0.4% waltham district 14 0.4% somerville district 12 0.3% woburn district 11 0.3% barnstable district 10 0.3% newburyport district 9 0.2% peabody district 9 0.2% springfield district 8 0.2% dedham district 7 0.2% fallmouth district 7 0.2% salem district 6 0.2% hingham district 5 0.1% lawrence district 5 0.1% milford district 5 0.1% new bedford district 5 0.1% eastern hampshire district 4 0.1% nantucket district 4 0.1% orleans district 4 0.1% plymouth district 4 0.1% stoughton district 4 0.1% wareham district 4 0.1% worcester district 4 0.1% wrentham district 4 0.1% ayer district 3 0.1% bmc brighton 3 0.1% brookline district 3 0.1% concord district 3 0.1% southern berkshire district 3 0.1% taunton district 3 0.1% westfield district 3 0.1% clinton district 2 0.1% northampton district 2 0.1% bmc central 1 0.0% bmc dorchester 1 0.0% bmc south boston 1 0.0% chicopee district 1 0.0% framingham district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% newton district 1 0.0% palmer district 1 0.0% uxbridge district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2756 8 Natural Person 893 3641 Total 3649 3649 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 75.5% 0.2% Natural Person 24.5% 99.8% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2634 122 2756 Optional 405 488 893 Total 3039 610 3649 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 72.2% 3.3% 75.5% Optional 11.1% 13.4% 24.5% Total 83.3% 16.7% 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 7 8 Optional 30 3611 3641 Total 31 3618 3649 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Optional 0.8% 99.0% 99.8% Total 0.8% 99.2% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 281 7.7% 1 2688 73.7% 2 563 15.4% 3 85 2.3% 4 25 0.7% 5 5 0.1% 6 1 0.0% 8 1 0.0% Total 3649 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 2452 67.2% Cause 621 17.0% No Fault 542 14.9% Foreclosure 33 0.9% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Cummaquid 182 1 Buzzards Bay 145 5 West Wareham 138 3 Fall River 132 118 Stoughton 126 34 Worcester 125 228 North Adams 124 17 Fitchburg 119 48 Bridgewater 116 31 New Bedford 115 110 Webster 113 19 West Yarmouth 113 6 Norwood 111 32 Southbridge 107 18 Hyannis 106 15 Berlin 104 3 South Chatham 97 1 Westborough 87 16 Marlborough 85 33 Brockton 82 77 Roslindale 79 23 Warren 77 4 Framingham 73 50 Quincy 73 68 Randolph 71 23 Athol 69 8 Lunenburg 69 7 Rockland 68 12 Lakeville 66 7 Revere 65 34 Marshfield 59 15 Spencer 59 7 Clarksburg 58 1 Nantucket 58 6 Whitinsville 57 4 Winthrop 57 10 Abington 56 9 Russell 56 1 Amesbury 55 9 Canton 55 12 Braintree 53 19 Charlestown 53 9 Vineyard Haven 52 1 East Falmouth 51 3 Gardner 49 10 Truro 49 1 Attleborough 48 21 Hull 48 5 Taunton 46 26 West Dennis 45 1 Wrentham 45 5 Lynn 44 40 South Grafton 44 2 Everett 43 18 South Yarmouth 43 5 Natick 42 14 North Brookfield 42 2 Cohasset 39 3 Yarmouth Port 39 2 East Dennis 38 1 Clinton 36 5 Wellfleet 36 1 Dudley 35 4 Foxborough 35 6 Mattapan 35 13 Allston 34 10 Dorchester 34 32 Leominster 34 14 Pocasset 34 1 Orleans 33 2 Pittsfield 33 15 Shrewsbury 33 12 Dedham 32 8 East Wareham 32 7 Fiskdale 32 1 Chelsea 31 11 East Taunton 31 2 Auburn 30 5 Brewster 30 3 Cheshire 30 1 Sheffield 30 1 Hanson 29 3 South Easton 29 3 Uxbridge 29 4 Weymouth 29 16 Dorchester Center 28 26 Jefferson 28 1 Medford 28 16 Milford 28 8 Cherry Valley 27 3 Hingham 27 6 Holbrook 27 3 Wareham 27 6 West Brookfield 27 1 Westwood 27 4 Whitman 27 4 Halifax 26 2 Jamaica Plain 26 10 Newton Centre 26 1 Sterling 25 2 Bellingham 24 4 Edgartown 24 1 North Attleborough 24 7 Turners Falls 24 1 Roxbury 23 14 Blackstone 22 2 Cambridge 22 24 E. Boston 22 9 Haverhill 22 14 Millbury 22 3 Milton 22 6 Scituate 22 4 Lowell 21 23 Peabody 21 11 Bolton 20 1 Hopkinton 20 3 Hudson 20 4 Marion 20 1 Wakefield 20 5 Walpole 20 5 Ware 20 2 Acushnet 19 2 Lenox 19 1 Northbridge 19 3 Westport 19 3 Winchendon 19 2 Barre 18 1 Fairhaven 18 3 East Boston 17 7 Mansfield 17 4 Middleborough 17 4 Sharon 17 3 Tyngsborough 17 2 Ashburnham 16 1 East Weymouth 16 9 Lee 16 1 Malden 16 10 Waltham 16 10 Berkley 15 1 Brighton 15 7 Franklin 15 5 Lincoln 15 1 Plymouth 15 9 Watertown 15 5 Woburn 15 6 Dalton 14 1 Hanover 14 2 Mashpee 14 2 Northborough 14 2 South Weymouth 14 8 North Reading 13 2 Wellesley Hills 13 4 West Boylston 13 1 Ashland 12 2 Beverly 12 5 Plainville 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Swansea 12 2 Adams 11 1 Grafton 11 2 Pembroke 11 2 Somerset 11 2 Sudbury 11 2 Townsend 11 1 Auburndale 10 1 Sturbridge 10 1 Indian Orchard 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Rochdale 9 1 Salem 9 4 Somerville 9 7 Carver 8 1 Palmer 8 1 Pepperell 8 1 South Dartmouth 8 3 Bedford 7 1 Centerville 7 1 Dennis 7 1 East Bridgewater 7 1 North Easton 7 1 Swampscott 7 1 Wayland 7 1 West Springfield 7 2 Brookline 6 4 Dracut 6 2 Lawrence 6 5 Needham Heights 6 2 Tewksbury 6 2 Boston 5 31 Holden 5 1 Hyde Park 5 2 Norton 5 1 South Boston 5 2 South Hadley 5 1 Billerica 4 2 Burlington 4 1 North Dartmouth 4 1 Reading 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Westfield 4 2 Danvers 3 1 East Walpole 3 1 Falmouth 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Springfield 3 6 West Roxbury 3 1 Arlington 2 1 Barnstable 2 1 Chicopee 1 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 Roxbury Crossing 1 1 (not given) 0 1660 span 0 7 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 491 212 Worcester 411 458 Bristol 376 310 Norfolk 336 287 Barnstable 279 54 Berkshire 241 39 Nantucket 170 6 Suffolk 127 252 Middlesex 108 254 Essex 81 90 Dukes 48 2 Hampden 19 14 Hampshire 16 3 Franklin 9 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. 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/.