Filings Month Ending 2023 April 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2023-04-01 Search Period End: 2023-04-30 Earliest Case: 2023-04-03 Latest Case: 2023-04-28 Total Cases: 3032 Total Transfers: 53 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 23.1% Of those, percentage pro se: 49.2% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Framingham Least stable with 100+ filings: Worcester Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 104 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 620 20.4% northeast 589 19.4% central 429 14.1% western 408 13.5% southeast 290 9.6% metro_south 240 7.9% lawrence district 40 1.3% quincy district 38 1.3% malden district 32 1.1% lowell district 27 0.9% lynn district 26 0.9% pittsfield district 21 0.7% fall river district 19 0.6% haverhill district 19 0.6% chelsea district 18 0.6% cambridge district 16 0.5% somerville district 16 0.5% brockton district 13 0.4% northern berkshire district 12 0.4% bmc west roxbury 11 0.4% framingham district 11 0.4% springfield district 10 0.3% attleboro district 8 0.3% newburyport district 8 0.3% barnstable district 7 0.2% woburn district 7 0.2% dedham district 6 0.2% fallmouth district 6 0.2% waltham district 6 0.2% bmc central 5 0.2% bmc dorchester 5 0.2% orleans district 5 0.2% salem district 5 0.2% stoughton district 5 0.2% wareham district 5 0.2% chicopee district 4 0.1% gloucester district 4 0.1% wrentham district 4 0.1% concord district 3 0.1% milford district 3 0.1% natick district 3 0.1% ayer district 2 0.1% bmc brighton 2 0.1% bmc east boston 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% palmer district 2 0.1% peabody district 2 0.1% plymouth district 2 0.1% southern berkshire district 2 0.1% uxbridge district 2 0.1% westfield district 2 0.1% worcester district 2 0.1% bmc roxbury 1 0.0% holyoke district 1 0.0% new bedford district 1 0.0% newton district 1 0.0% northampton district 1 0.0% taunton district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2333 8 Natural Person 699 3024 Total 3032 3032 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 76.9% 0.3% Natural Person 23.1% 99.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2279 54 2333 Optional 355 344 699 Total 2634 398 3032 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 75.2% 1.8% 76.9% Optional 11.7% 11.3% 23.1% Total 86.9% 13.1% 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 8 8 Optional 27 2997 3024 Total 27 3005 3032 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% Optional 0.9% 98.8% 99.7% Total 0.9% 99.1% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 127 4.2% 1 2336 77.0% 2 469 15.5% 3 69 2.3% 4 20 0.7% 5 4 0.1% 6 4 0.1% 7 2 0.1% 8 1 0.0% Total 3032 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 2132 70.3% Cause 482 15.9% No Fault 381 12.6% Foreclosure 36 1.2% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 316 3 Framingham 106 73 New Bedford 99 95 Chestnut Hill 94 2 Revere 94 49 Norwood 90 26 Southbridge 89 15 Marlborough 88 34 West Warren 88 1 East Sandwich 86 3 Worcester 86 156 Ashland 84 14 Adams 82 7 Stoughton 81 22 Fall River 79 71 Braintree 78 28 Hyannis 78 11 West Chatham 78 1 Brockton 73 69 Roxbury 73 44 Pocasset 69 2 Fitchburg 64 26 Cheshire 61 2 Phillipston 59 1 Seekonk 58 8 Ashfield 57 1 Milford 57 16 Whitinsville 57 4 Chelsea 56 20 South Dennis 54 2 West Brookfield 54 2 Quincy 53 49 Stockbridge 51 1 Amesbury 49 8 Gardner 49 10 Hinsdale 49 1 Plainville 48 4 Foxborough 47 8 Mattapan 46 17 Pittsfield 46 21 East Brookfield 45 1 Rockland 45 8 West Dennis 45 1 Hyde Park 44 15 South Yarmouth 43 5 Lynn 42 38 North Brookfield 42 2 Leominster 41 17 Cohasset 39 3 Indian Orchard 39 4 Attleborough 38 17 Dorchester 38 35 Everett 38 16 Hull 38 4 Abington 37 6 Barre 37 2 Fairhaven 37 6 Wellfleet 36 1 Athol 34 4 Berlin 34 1 Dedham 32 8 Palmer 32 4 Haverhill 31 19 Roslindale 31 9 Bridgewater 30 8 Medford 30 17 Ware 30 3 Brookfield 29 1 Buzzards Bay 29 1 Dorchester Center 29 27 East Boston 29 12 Webster 29 5 Cambridge 28 30 Jefferson 28 1 Rockport 28 2 Taunton 28 16 Belchertown 27 4 Cherry Valley 27 3 Chicopee 27 15 Westborough 27 5 Weymouth 27 15 Whitman 27 4 Ayer 26 2 Springfield 26 40 Upton 26 2 Beverly 25 10 Newton Center 25 1 Spencer 25 3 Arlington 23 10 Charlestown 23 4 Chelmsford 23 8 Kingston 23 3 Ludlow 23 5 Marshfield 23 6 Avon 22 1 Centerville 22 3 Clinton 22 3 Millbury 22 3 Raynham 22 3 Middleborough 21 5 Northborough 21 3 Norton 21 4 Randolph 21 7 Salem 21 9 East Freetown 20 1 Malden 20 12 Marion 20 1 Marstons Mills 20 1 North Attleborough 20 6 Acushnet 19 2 Newtonville 19 1 Warren 19 1 Winchendon 19 2 East Wareham 18 4 Franklin 18 6 Leicester 18 2 Natick 18 6 South Barre 18 1 South Weymouth 18 10 Allston 17 5 Dudley 17 2 East Falmouth 17 1 Mendon 17 1 Belmont 16 4 East Weymouth 16 9 Orleans 16 1 West Roxbury 16 5 Berkley 15 1 Charlton 15 2 East Taunton 15 1 Somerville 15 12 Dennis 14 2 East Bridgewater 14 2 Holliston 14 2 Lowell 14 15 Mashpee 14 2 North Adams 14 2 Plymouth 14 8 Swampscott 14 2 West Bridgewater 14 1 Hingham 13 3 Onset 13 3 Shirley 13 1 West Boylston 13 1 Westminster 13 1 Auburn 12 2 Bellingham 12 2 Falmouth 12 4 Georgetown 12 1 Holyoke 12 5 Mansfield 12 3 Millis 12 1 North Grafton 12 1 Northbridge 12 2 Orange 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Templeton 12 1 Wakefield 12 3 Walpole 12 3 Assonet 11 1 Blackstone 11 1 Concord 11 2 Danvers 11 3 Greenfield 11 2 Sharon 11 2 Shrewsbury 11 4 Somerset 11 2 Auburndale 10 1 Brewster 10 1 Gloucester 10 3 North Chelmsford 10 1 Woburn 10 4 Brighton 9 4 Holbrook 9 1 Lakeville 9 1 Maynard 9 1 North Billerica 9 1 Norwell 9 1 Rochdale 9 1 South Easton 9 1 Wareham 9 2 Westfield 9 4 Brookline 8 5 Carver 8 1 Jamaica Plain 8 3 Lynnfield 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Reading 8 2 Tyngsborough 8 1 Milton 7 2 North Andover 7 2 North Easton 7 1 Northampton 7 2 Oxford 7 1 Peabody 7 4 Saugus 7 2 Uxbridge 7 1 Wayland 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Boston 6 43 Duxbury 6 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Hopkinton 6 1 Needham Heights 6 2 Swansea 6 1 Waltham 6 4 Westport 6 1 Bourne 5 1 Holden 5 1 South Dartmouth 5 2 Winthrop 5 1 Acton 4 1 Burlington 4 1 Canton 4 1 Methuen 4 2 Stoneham 4 1 Yarmouth 4 1 Agawam 3 1 Andover 3 1 East Walpole 3 1 Lawrence 3 3 Melrose 3 1 Needham 3 1 Roxbury Crossing 3 2 Tewksbury 3 1 Watertown 3 1 West Springfield 3 1 Amherst 2 1 E. Boston 2 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 North Quincy 1 1 North Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 1237 South Lee 0 1 span 0 2 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 326 141 Bristol 297 245 Worcester 283 316 Norfolk 259 221 Barnstable 227 44 Berkshire 210 34 Suffolk 149 296 Middlesex 123 287 Hampden 113 81 Essex 100 110 Hampshire 70 13 Franklin 37 4 Dukes 0 0 Nantucket 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. 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/.