Filings Month Ending 2023 June 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2023-06-01 Search Period End: 2023-06-30 Earliest Case: 2023-06-01 Latest Case: 2023-06-30 Total Cases: 3014 Total Transfers: 49 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 24.9% Of those, percentage pro se: 53.8% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Holyoke Least stable with 100+ filings: Fall River Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 103 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 536 17.8% eastern 533 17.7% western 469 15.6% central 455 15.1% southeast 326 10.8% metro_south 322 10.7% fall river district 30 1.0% lynn district 27 0.9% malden district 27 0.9% quincy district 25 0.8% pittsfield district 19 0.6% lowell district 17 0.6% attleboro district 16 0.5% framingham district 14 0.5% somerville district 14 0.5% springfield district 14 0.5% waltham district 12 0.4% brockton district 11 0.4% northern berkshire district 11 0.4% bmc dorchester 10 0.3% haverhill district 9 0.3% bmc east boston 8 0.3% new bedford district 8 0.3% chelsea district 7 0.2% milford district 7 0.2% woburn district 7 0.2% cambridge district 6 0.2% hingham district 6 0.2% salem district 6 0.2% lawrence district 5 0.2% peabody district 5 0.2% newburyport district 4 0.1% ayer district 3 0.1% brookline district 3 0.1% newton district 3 0.1% orleans district 3 0.1% palmer district 3 0.1% taunton district 3 0.1% barnstable district 2 0.1% bmc west roxbury 2 0.1% chicopee district 2 0.1% dedham district 2 0.1% gloucester district 2 0.1% plymouth district 2 0.1% uxbridge district 2 0.1% wareham district 2 0.1% wrentham district 2 0.1% bmc brighton 1 0.0% bmc central 1 0.0% bmc south boston 1 0.0% clinton district 1 0.0% concord district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% fallmouth district 1 0.0% greenfield district 1 0.0% leominster district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% westfield district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2263 8 Natural Person 751 3006 Total 3014 3014 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 75.1% 0.3% Natural Person 24.9% 99.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2206 57 2263 Optional 347 404 751 Total 2553 461 3014 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 73.2% 1.9% 75.1% Optional 11.5% 13.4% 24.9% Total 84.7% 15.3% 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 19 2987 3006 Total 20 2994 3014 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.2% 0.3% Optional 0.6% 99.1% 99.7% Total 0.7% 99.3% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 139 4.6% 1 2144 71.1% 2 602 20.0% 3 90 3.0% 4 26 0.9% 5 10 0.3% 7 2 0.1% 9 1 0.0% Total 3014 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 2074 68.8% Cause 531 17.6% No Fault 372 12.3% Foreclosure 35 1.2% Unknown/Other 2 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 210 2 Holyoke 162 65 Fiskdale 161 5 Plainfield 154 1 Indian Orchard 148 15 Fall River 128 114 Randolph 121 39 Nahant 117 4 Southbridge 113 19 Fitchburg 104 42 North Adams 102 14 Marlborough 101 39 Springfield 101 155 Worcester 99 180 Chestnut Hill 94 2 Dorchester 93 86 Lynn 89 81 West Warren 88 1 Gilbertville 86 1 North Billerica 84 9 Braintree 83 30 Framingham 83 57 Blandford 81 1 Brockton 78 74 New Bedford 78 75 Millers Falls 77 1 Lawrence 75 58 Saugus 75 20 West Yarmouth 75 4 Greenfield 74 13 Raynham 74 10 Chelsea 73 26 Foxborough 71 12 Lowell 71 76 Pittsfield 71 32 Adams 70 6 Ware 70 7 East Falmouth 69 4 Hull 68 7 Chicopee 65 36 Tewksbury 65 19 Bridgewater 63 17 Stoughton 63 17 Haverhill 62 38 Malden 62 37 Salem 62 26 South Boston 62 21 Taunton 62 35 Yarmouth Port 59 3 East Sandwich 57 2 Woburn 57 22 Auburn 55 9 Erving 55 1 Norwood 55 16 Whitman 55 8 Wales 54 1 Webster 53 9 Baldwinville 52 1 Bedford 52 7 Peabody 52 27 Newton Center 51 2 Rockland 51 9 Williamstown 51 4 Hyannis 49 7 Mattapan 49 18 Merrimac 47 3 Leominster 46 19 North Attleborough 45 13 Roxbury 45 27 Sharon 45 8 Cambridge 44 47 Gardner 44 9 Brighton 43 19 North Brookfield 42 2 Attleborough 41 18 Canton 41 9 Charlestown 41 7 Dorchester Center 41 38 Gloucester 41 12 Palmer 41 5 Westwood 41 6 Ayer 40 3 East Boston 39 16 Hadley 38 2 Millis 38 3 West Springfield 38 11 Winchendon 38 4 Abington 37 6 Lakeville 37 4 Quincy 37 35 Burlington 36 9 East Wareham 36 8 Wellfleet 36 1 Douglas 35 3 Hyde Park 35 12 Mashpee 35 5 North Andover 35 10 Northborough 35 5 West Barnstable 35 1 Athol 34 4 Franklin 34 11 Rowley 34 2 Three Rivers 34 1 Winthrop 34 6 Dracut 33 10 Everett 33 14 Hopedale 33 2 Littleton 33 3 Provincetown 33 1 Ashburnham 32 2 Milford 32 9 Revere 32 17 Westborough 32 6 Berkley 31 2 Dennis Port 31 1 East Taunton 31 2 Cotuit 30 1 Medford 30 17 Millbury 30 4 Brookfield 29 1 Buzzards Bay 29 1 Nantucket 29 3 North Hatfield 29 1 Princeton 29 1 Great Barrington 28 2 Osterville 28 1 Waltham 28 17 Whitinsville 28 2 Holbrook 27 3 Needham 27 8 Sagamore Beach 27 1 Shirley 27 2 Sunderland 27 1 West Brookfield 27 1 Weymouth 27 15 Cohasset 26 2 Tyngsborough 26 3 West Boylston 26 2 West Roxbury 26 8 Feeding Hills 25 3 Mansfield 25 6 Melrose 25 7 Northbridge 25 4 Spencer 25 3 Andover 24 8 Edgartown 24 1 Salisbury 24 2 Turners Falls 24 1 Walpole 24 6 Chelmsford 23 8 Methuen 23 11 West Newbury 23 1 Avon 22 1 Beverly 22 9 Forestdale 22 1 Oak Bluffs 22 1 Somerville 22 17 South Grafton 22 1 Sutton 22 2 Jamaica Plain 21 8 Belchertown 20 3 Bolton 20 1 East Freetown 20 1 East Weymouth 20 11 Eastham 20 1 Marion 20 1 Reading 20 5 Lenox 19 1 Maynard 19 2 Westfield 19 8 Amesbury 18 3 Brookline 18 11 Easthampton 18 3 Westford 18 4 Agawam 17 5 Allston 17 5 Carver 17 2 Dudley 17 2 Lynnfield 17 2 Pepperell 17 2 South Hadley 17 3 Chatham 16 1 Grafton 16 3 Harwich 16 2 Lee 16 1 Wakefield 16 4 Ipswich 15 2 Marshfield 15 4 Arlington 14 6 Billerica 14 6 Boston 14 88 Centerville 14 2 Clinton 14 2 Dalton 14 1 Dighton 14 1 Hanover 14 2 Oxford 14 2 Wilbraham 14 2 Halifax 13 1 South Weymouth 13 7 Stoneham 13 3 Wilmington 13 3 Belmont 12 3 Fairhaven 12 2 Georgetown 12 1 Natick 12 4 Plainville 12 1 Plymouth 12 7 Rutland 12 1 Swansea 12 2 Watertown 12 4 Assonet 11 1 Blackstone 11 1 Danvers 11 3 Pembroke 11 2 South Dartmouth 11 4 Sudbury 11 2 Townsend 11 1 North Chelmsford 10 1 Northampton 10 3 Norton 10 2 Southborough 10 1 Sturbridge 10 1 Wellesley Hills 10 3 Acton 9 2 E. Boston 9 4 Lexington 9 3 Lunenburg 9 1 South Easton 9 1 Wareham 9 2 Wrentham 9 1 Groton 8 1 Medfield 8 1 Middleborough 8 2 Rehoboth 8 1 South Yarmouth 8 1 Weston 8 1 Amherst 7 3 Charlton 7 1 East Bridgewater 7 1 Kingston 7 1 Medway 7 1 Milton 7 2 North Easton 7 1 Seekonk 7 1 Ashland 6 1 Duxbury 6 1 Falmouth 6 2 Hopkinton 6 1 Longmeadow 6 1 North Reading 6 1 Roxbury Crossing 6 4 Holden 5 1 Hudson 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Shrewsbury 5 2 Dedham 4 1 Hingham 4 1 Ludlow 4 1 North Dartmouth 4 1 Onset 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 Newton 3 3 Roslindale 3 1 E. Weymouth 1 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 (not given) 0 234 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 Hampden 436 310 Berkshire 377 61 Plymouth 372 161 Bristol 356 293 Worcester 334 372 Norfolk 308 263 Essex 294 324 Barnstable 227 44 Middlesex 210 490 Suffolk 208 411 Franklin 161 17 Hampshire 152 28 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. 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/.