Filings Month Ending 2023 October 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2023-10-01 Search Period End: 2023-10-31 Earliest Case: 2023-10-02 Latest Case: 2023-10-31 Total Cases: 3247 Total Transfers: 76 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 24.0% Of those, percentage pro se: 56.0% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Florence Least stable with 100+ filings: Springfield Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 108 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 590 18.2% central 510 15.7% western 500 15.4% northeast 495 15.2% southeast 342 10.5% metro_south 320 9.9% malden district 69 2.1% quincy district 47 1.4% bmc west roxbury 37 1.1% lynn district 27 0.8% lowell district 23 0.7% lawrence district 22 0.7% chelsea district 21 0.6% cambridge district 15 0.5% fall river district 15 0.5% somerville district 14 0.4% waltham district 14 0.4% brockton district 13 0.4% fallmouth district 10 0.3% haverhill district 9 0.3% attleboro district 8 0.2% milford district 8 0.2% peabody district 8 0.2% bmc east boston 7 0.2% chicopee district 7 0.2% dedham district 7 0.2% northern berkshire district 7 0.2% pittsfield district 7 0.2% springfield district 7 0.2% woburn district 7 0.2% ayer district 6 0.2% framingham district 6 0.2% new bedford district 6 0.2% concord district 5 0.2% westfield district 5 0.2% wrentham district 5 0.2% bmc dorchester 4 0.1% salem district 4 0.1% uxbridge district 4 0.1% edgartown district 3 0.1% hingham district 3 0.1% bmc brighton 2 0.1% bmc central 2 0.1% bmc roxbury 2 0.1% eastern hampshire district 2 0.1% gloucester district 2 0.1% holyoke district 2 0.1% newburyport district 2 0.1% newton district 2 0.1% orange district 2 0.1% plymouth district 2 0.1% stoughton district 2 0.1% barnstable district 1 0.0% east brookfield district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% palmer district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% taunton district 1 0.0% wareham district 1 0.0% worcester district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2467 5 Natural Person 780 3242 Total 3247 3247 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 76.0% 0.2% Natural Person 24.0% 99.8% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2417 50 2467 Optional 343 437 780 Total 2760 487 3247 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 74.4% 1.5% 76.0% Optional 10.6% 13.5% 24.0% Total 85.0% 15.0% 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 5 5 Optional 27 3215 3242 Total 27 3220 3247 (%) 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 0 108 3.3% 1 2418 74.5% 2 582 17.9% 3 106 3.3% 4 25 0.8% 5 5 0.2% 6 1 0.0% 7 2 0.1% Total 3247 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 2333 71.9% Cause 518 16.0% No Fault 364 11.2% Foreclosure 30 0.9% Unknown/Other 2 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 1476 14 New Ashford 438 1 Charlemont 394 5 Chestnut Hill 188 4 Randolph 174 56 Holyoke 162 65 Plainfield 154 1 Roslindale 131 38 Hyde Park 125 42 Chicopee 122 68 Springfield 121 186 Turners Falls 121 5 Chilmark 115 1 Fall River 115 103 Cummington 114 1 Webster 113 19 Dorchester 110 102 Westborough 109 20 Gardner 108 22 Fitchburg 104 42 Framingham 102 70 North Adams 102 14 Three Rivers 102 3 Charlton 100 13 Marlborough 96 37 Worcester 94 171 Everett 93 39 New Bedford 93 89 Canton 92 20 Lowell 88 94 West Warren 88 1 Buzzards Bay 87 3 East Falmouth 86 5 Gilbertville 86 1 Southbridge 83 14 Salem 82 34 Revere 81 42 South Dennis 81 3 Malden 79 47 Norwood 76 22 Mattapan 74 27 Brockton 73 69 Charlestown 71 12 Quincy 71 66 Indian Orchard 69 7 Dorchester Center 66 61 Oak Bluffs 66 3 Stoughton 66 18 Chelsea 65 23 Foxborough 65 11 Dennis Port 63 2 Greenfield 63 11 Hyannis 63 9 Orange 63 5 West Springfield 63 18 Cheshire 61 2 Spencer 59 7 Roxbury 58 35 Cambridge 56 59 Lynn 56 51 Mansfield 56 13 Shelburne Falls 56 1 Erving 55 1 Lawrence 54 42 Sunderland 54 2 Wrentham 54 6 Taunton 53 30 North Attleborough 52 15 Vineyard Haven 52 1 Athol 51 6 East Boston 51 21 Feeding Hills 51 6 Acton 50 11 Lee 50 3 Devens 49 1 Plainville 48 4 Braintree 47 17 Brighton 47 21 Bernardston 46 1 Leominster 46 19 West Wareham 46 1 Bedford 45 6 East Brookfield 45 1 Raynham 44 6 Tyngsborough 44 5 Allston 41 12 Bridgewater 41 11 Shirley 41 3 Ayer 40 3 Boxborough 40 2 Hopkinton 40 6 Rockland 40 7 Abington 37 6 Jamaica Plain 37 14 North Falmouth 37 1 Pittsfield 37 17 South Attleboro 36 3 West Roxbury 36 11 Berlin 34 1 Pepperell 34 4 Hardwick 33 1 Somerville 33 25 Dedham 32 8 Waltham 32 20 Dunstable 31 1 East Taunton 31 2 Bellingham 30 5 Marblehead 30 6 Haverhill 29 18 Lunenburg 29 3 Maynard 29 3 Nahant 29 1 South Easton 29 3 Essex 28 1 Franklin 28 9 Sudbury 28 5 Wakefield 28 7 Watertown 28 9 Whitinsville 28 2 Peabody 27 14 Sagamore Beach 27 1 West Brookfield 27 1 Weymouth 27 15 Dudley 26 3 Hudson 26 5 Medford 26 15 Williamstown 25 2 Edgartown 24 1 Natick 24 8 Needham Heights 24 7 Ludlow 23 5 Medway 23 3 North Easton 23 3 Woburn 23 9 Clinton 22 3 Melrose 22 6 Millbury 22 3 Agawam 21 6 Milford 21 6 Northborough 21 3 Oxford 21 3 Seekonk 21 3 Sturbridge 21 2 Belchertown 20 3 Eastham 20 1 Marion 20 1 Marstons Mills 20 1 Ware 20 2 Deerfield 19 1 Hadley 19 1 Hampden 19 1 Methuen 19 9 Westfield 19 8 Andover 18 6 East Wareham 18 4 Easthampton 18 3 Hingham 18 4 North Billerica 18 2 West Yarmouth 18 1 Chelmsford 17 6 Newburyport 17 3 Rowley 17 1 South Boston 17 6 South Yarmouth 17 2 Tewksbury 17 5 Winthrop 17 3 Attleborough 16 7 Chatham 16 1 Concord 16 3 Hopedale 16 1 Pembroke 16 3 Shrewsbury 16 6 Falmouth 15 5 Harvard 15 1 Kingston 15 2 Marshfield 15 4 Norton 15 3 Saugus 15 4 Dalton 14 1 Great Barrington 14 1 Plymouth 14 8 Sandwich 14 3 Uxbridge 14 2 West Bridgewater 14 1 Wilbraham 14 2 Cohasset 13 1 Duxbury 13 2 North Reading 13 2 Stoneham 13 3 Upton 13 1 Wareham 13 3 Wellesley Hills 13 4 West Boylston 13 1 Westford 13 3 Amesbury 12 2 Ashland 12 2 Auburn 12 2 Boston 12 79 E. Boston 12 5 East Templeton 12 1 Fairhaven 12 2 Middleborough 12 3 Northbridge 12 2 Rutland 12 1 Salisbury 12 1 Swansea 12 2 Walpole 12 3 Adams 11 1 Blackstone 11 1 Douglas 11 1 Auburndale 10 1 Beverly 10 4 Gloucester 10 3 Roxbury Crossing 10 6 Wellesley 10 3 Arlington 9 4 Hanson 9 1 Holbrook 9 1 Hull 9 1 Leicester 9 1 Lexington 9 3 Rochdale 9 1 South Weymouth 9 5 Winchendon 9 1 Wollaston 9 1 Belmont 8 2 Burlington 8 2 Carver 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Palmer 8 1 South Dartmouth 8 3 Billerica 7 3 Danvers 7 2 Mashpee 7 1 North Andover 7 2 Wayland 7 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Needham 6 2 Westport 6 1 Westwood 6 1 Whitman 6 1 Brookline 5 3 East Weymouth 5 3 Scituate 5 1 Sharon 5 1 Somerset 5 1 Wilmington 4 1 Dracut 3 1 Newton 3 3 Northampton 3 1 Amherst 2 1 Newton Highlands 2 2 North Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 290 span 0 5 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 530 377 Bristol 353 291 Norfolk 353 301 Worcester 350 390 Plymouth 310 134 Franklin 303 32 Suffolk 283 560 Berkshire 260 42 Middlesex 235 549 Barnstable 202 39 Essex 185 204 Dukes 146 6 Hampshire 146 27 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/.