Filings Month Ending 2023 December 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2023-12-01 Search Period End: 2023-12-31 Earliest Case: 2023-12-01 Latest Case: 2023-12-29 Total Cases: 3250 Total Transfers: 70 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 20.5% Of those, percentage pro se: 53.5% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Holyoke 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 northeast 583 17.9% eastern 533 16.4% western 501 15.4% central 498 15.3% metro_south 357 11.0% southeast 355 10.9% lawrence district 42 1.3% quincy district 32 1.0% malden district 30 0.9% pittsfield district 25 0.8% chelsea district 21 0.6% brockton district 19 0.6% cambridge district 19 0.6% lowell district 18 0.6% lynn district 14 0.4% somerville district 12 0.4% bmc west roxbury 11 0.3% fall river district 11 0.3% haverhill district 10 0.3% holyoke district 9 0.3% northern berkshire district 9 0.3% attleboro district 8 0.2% springfield district 8 0.2% waltham district 8 0.2% woburn district 8 0.2% bmc dorchester 7 0.2% bmc east boston 7 0.2% dedham district 7 0.2% framingham district 7 0.2% newton district 7 0.2% peabody district 6 0.2% salem district 6 0.2% wrentham district 5 0.2% concord district 4 0.1% new bedford district 4 0.1% plymouth district 4 0.1% stoughton district 4 0.1% bmc brighton 3 0.1% bmc central 3 0.1% chicopee district 3 0.1% eastern hampshire district 3 0.1% edgartown district 3 0.1% hingham district 3 0.1% orleans district 3 0.1% ayer district 2 0.1% barnstable district 2 0.1% bmc roxbury 2 0.1% gloucester district 2 0.1% taunton district 2 0.1% wareham district 2 0.1% fallmouth district 1 0.0% fitchburg district 1 0.0% ipswich district 1 0.0% newburyport district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% uxbridge district 1 0.0% westfield district 1 0.0% worcester district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2583 11 Natural Person 667 3239 Total 3250 3250 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 79.5% 0.3% Natural Person 20.5% 99.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2528 55 2583 Optional 310 357 667 Total 2838 412 3250 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 77.8% 1.7% 79.5% Optional 9.5% 11.0% 20.5% Total 87.3% 12.7% 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 0 11 11 Optional 24 3215 3239 Total 24 3226 3250 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% Optional 0.7% 98.9% 99.7% Total 0.7% 99.3% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 108 3.3% 1 2384 73.4% 2 636 19.6% 3 94 2.9% 4 18 0.6% 5 6 0.2% 6 3 0.1% 7 1 0.0% Total 3250 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 2397 73.8% Cause 475 14.6% No Fault 356 11.0% Foreclosure 22 0.7% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 632 6 West Barnstable 248 7 Chestnut Hill 188 4 West Warren 176 2 Thorndike 144 1 Holyoke 137 55 Springfield 124 190 Canton 120 26 Webster 119 20 New Bedford 118 113 Randolph 115 37 Dorchester 110 102 Worcester 110 200 Marlborough 109 42 Chelsea 105 37 Berlin 104 3 Norwood 101 29 Abington 100 16 Framingham 95 65 North Adams 94 13 Pittsfield 91 41 Fall River 86 77 Fitchburg 86 35 Chicopee 84 47 Holland 80 2 Revere 79 41 Royalston 79 1 Charlemont 78 1 Millers Falls 77 1 Milford 75 21 Edgartown 73 3 Turners Falls 73 3 Braintree 72 26 Mattapan 71 26 Adams 70 6 Stoughton 70 19 Quincy 69 64 Greenfield 68 12 Roxbury 68 41 Brockton 66 62 Cohasset 66 5 Foxborough 65 11 Middleborough 64 15 Bridgewater 63 17 Hyannis 63 9 Lawrence 62 48 Cheshire 61 2 Leominster 61 25 Plainville 60 5 Raynham 59 8 Southbridge 59 10 Newtonville 57 3 Palmer 57 7 Blackstone 55 5 Erving 55 1 West Falmouth 54 1 Bondsville 53 1 Franklin 53 17 Buckland 52 1 Lowell 52 56 East Falmouth 51 3 Taunton 50 28 Hinsdale 49 1 Mansfield 47 11 Attleborough 45 20 West Springfield 45 13 Cambridge 44 47 Auburn 43 7 North Chelmsford 43 4 South Yarmouth 43 5 Allston 41 12 East Wareham 41 9 Hyde Park 41 14 Roslindale 41 12 Westfield 41 17 Whitman 41 6 Jamaica Plain 40 15 Gardner 39 8 Kingston 39 5 Sharon 39 7 South Easton 39 4 Warren 38 2 Easthampton 37 6 Northborough 35 5 Weymouth 35 19 Athol 34 4 Feeding Hills 34 4 South Hadley 34 6 Three Rivers 34 1 Woburn 34 13 Dorchester Center 33 31 Auburndale 32 3 Burlington 32 8 Chelmsford 32 11 Fiskdale 32 1 Everett 31 13 Millville 31 1 Somerville 30 23 Hull 29 3 Maynard 29 3 Great Barrington 28 2 Osterville 28 1 Rockland 28 5 Brimfield 27 1 Holbrook 27 3 Marshfield 27 7 Westborough 27 5 Newton Center 25 1 Orange 25 2 Natick 24 8 North Pembroke 24 1 Charlestown 23 4 Douglas 23 2 Monson 23 2 South Grafton 22 1 Winthrop 22 4 Malden 21 13 North Brookfield 21 1 Roxbury Crossing 21 13 Southwick 21 2 Eastham 20 1 South Weymouth 20 11 East Boston 19 8 Hadley 19 1 Indian Orchard 19 2 Plymouth 19 11 Winchendon 19 2 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Acton 18 4 Haverhill 18 11 Ludlow 18 4 Melrose 18 5 West Yarmouth 18 1 Carver 17 2 Spencer 17 2 Dedham 16 4 Granby 16 1 Lee 16 1 Mattapoisett 16 1 Medford 16 9 Orleans 16 1 Scituate 16 3 South Lee 16 1 Sudbury 16 3 Bourne 15 3 Brighton 15 7 East Taunton 15 1 Ipswich 15 2 Norton 15 3 Arlington 14 6 Clinton 14 2 Dalton 14 1 Dighton 14 1 Lynn 14 13 Northampton 14 4 Oxford 14 2 Shrewsbury 14 5 South Boston 14 5 West Newton 14 2 Whitinsville 14 1 Ayer 13 1 Dracut 13 4 Duxbury 13 2 Needham Heights 13 4 Shirley 13 1 Stoneham 13 3 Upton 13 1 West Roxbury 13 4 Westwood 13 2 Ashland 12 2 Bellingham 12 2 Belmont 12 3 E. Boston 12 5 Fairhaven 12 2 Millis 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Walpole 12 3 Westport 12 2 Boston 11 70 Brookline 11 7 Peabody 11 6 Pembroke 11 2 Somerset 11 2 Sutton 11 1 Waltham 11 7 Amherst 10 4 Beverly 10 4 Brewster 10 1 Hudson 10 2 Ware 10 1 Acushnet 9 1 Hingham 9 2 Leicester 9 1 Lexington 9 3 Lunenburg 9 1 North Billerica 9 1 Westford 9 2 Easton 8 2 Harwich 8 1 Lynnfield 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Rehoboth 8 1 Tyngsborough 8 1 Billerica 7 3 East Bridgewater 7 1 Holliston 7 1 Mashpee 7 1 Millbury 7 1 Salem 7 3 Seekonk 7 1 Swampscott 7 1 Uxbridge 7 1 Wayland 7 1 Wellesley 7 2 Wilbraham 7 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Methuen 6 3 North Attleborough 6 2 Tewksbury 6 2 Watertown 6 2 East Weymouth 5 3 Newburyport 5 1 Sandwich 4 1 Wakefield 4 1 Agawam 3 1 Falmouth 3 1 Gloucester 3 1 Milton 3 1 Needham 3 1 North Andover 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Saugus 3 1 E. Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 659 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 Hampden 495 352 Berkshire 421 68 Plymouth 393 170 Norfolk 370 316 Bristol 341 281 Worcester 341 380 Suffolk 228 451 Franklin 199 21 Barnstable 196 38 Middlesex 163 382 Hampshire 157 29 Essex 87 96 Dukes 73 3 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/.