Filings Month Ending 2024 June 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2024-06-01 Search Period End: 2024-06-30 Earliest Case: 2024-06-03 Latest Case: 2024-06-28 Total Cases: 2696 Total Transfers: 63 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 25.6% Of those, percentage pro se: 51.2% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Berlin Least stable with 10+ filings: Spencer Least stable with 100+ filings: Springfield Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 92 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 496 18.4% northeast 444 16.5% central 407 15.1% western 341 12.6% southeast 311 11.5% metro_south 242 9.0% lynn district 44 1.6% quincy district 38 1.4% malden district 36 1.3% lawrence district 27 1.0% fall river district 24 0.9% chelsea district 18 0.7% northern berkshire district 17 0.6% waltham district 15 0.6% lowell district 14 0.5% somerville district 14 0.5% bmc west roxbury 13 0.5% bmc east boston 12 0.4% pittsfield district 12 0.4% bmc dorchester 11 0.4% brockton district 11 0.4% cambridge district 11 0.4% springfield district 10 0.4% woburn district 10 0.4% attleboro district 8 0.3% ayer district 8 0.3% framingham district 8 0.3% salem district 7 0.3% fallmouth district 6 0.2% haverhill district 6 0.2% barnstable district 5 0.2% dedham district 5 0.2% worcester district 5 0.2% concord district 4 0.1% nantucket district 4 0.1% peabody district 4 0.1% plymouth district 4 0.1% wrentham district 4 0.1% gloucester district 3 0.1% milford district 3 0.1% newton district 3 0.1% orleans district 3 0.1% palmer district 3 0.1% westfield district 3 0.1% brookline district 2 0.1% fitchburg district 2 0.1% hingham district 2 0.1% new bedford district 2 0.1% newburyport district 2 0.1% wareham district 2 0.1% bmc central 1 0.0% bmc charlestown 1 0.0% chicopee district 1 0.0% clinton district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% greenfield district 1 0.0% holyoke district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% stoughton district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2007 10 Natural Person 689 2686 Total 2696 2696 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 74.4% 0.4% Natural Person 25.6% 99.6% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 1968 39 2007 Optional 336 353 689 Total 2304 392 2696 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 73.0% 1.4% 74.4% Optional 12.5% 13.1% 25.6% Total 85.5% 14.5% 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 10 10 Optional 14 2672 2686 Total 14 2682 2696 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% Optional 0.5% 99.1% 99.6% Total 0.5% 99.5% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 113 4.2% 1 1975 73.3% 2 493 18.3% 3 82 3.0% 4 20 0.7% 5 11 0.4% 6 2 0.1% Total 2696 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 1876 69.6% Cause 434 16.1% No Fault 356 13.2% Foreclosure 28 1.0% Unknown/Other 2 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Berlin 279 8 Florence 210 2 Buzzards Bay 145 5 Chestnut Hill 141 3 Spencer 136 16 West Yarmouth 132 7 Williamsburg 120 3 Lynn 99 90 Randolph 99 32 Turners Falls 97 4 Fall River 95 85 Mattapan 95 35 Adams 94 8 North Adams 94 13 Auburn 92 15 Gilbertville 86 1 Chelsea 85 30 New Bedford 85 81 Southbridge 83 14 Holyoke 82 33 Salem 82 34 Springfield 82 126 Chicopee 81 45 Petersham 81 1 Ware 81 8 Fitchburg 79 32 Royalston 79 1 Worcester 77 140 Norwood 76 22 Gardner 74 15 Roxbury 73 44 Lowell 72 77 Plainville 72 6 Dorchester 70 65 Hyannis 70 10 East Falmouth 69 4 Indian Orchard 69 7 Maynard 69 7 Three Rivers 68 2 Marlborough 67 26 Quincy 66 61 Taunton 64 36 Framingham 62 43 Westborough 60 11 West Springfield 59 17 Pittsfield 58 26 Brockton 57 54 Rockport 57 4 Hyde Park 56 19 Malden 55 33 Shirley 55 4 Baldwinville 52 1 Danvers 52 14 Vineyard Haven 52 1 Canton 51 11 East Boston 51 21 Feeding Hills 51 6 Roslindale 51 15 Waltham 51 31 Hopedale 50 3 Lunenburg 49 5 Hanscom Afb 48 1 Revere 48 25 Winchendon 48 5 Ludlow 47 10 North Billerica 46 5 West Wareham 46 1 East Wareham 45 10 Bellingham 42 7 North Brookfield 42 2 Northborough 42 6 Webster 41 7 Greenfield 40 7 Stoughton 40 11 Cohasset 39 3 Medford 39 22 Nantucket 39 4 Everett 38 16 Newtonville 38 2 Warren 38 2 Barre 37 2 Lawrence 37 29 Acton 36 8 West Roxbury 36 11 West Tisbury 36 1 Woburn 36 14 Wrentham 36 4 Monson 35 3 Pepperell 34 4 Whitman 34 5 Bridgewater 33 9 Somerville 33 25 Abington 31 5 Agawam 31 9 Dorchester Center 31 29 Kingston 31 4 Millville 31 1 Cheshire 30 1 Ipswich 30 4 Plymouth 30 17 Billerica 29 12 Brighton 29 13 Cambridge 29 31 Charlestown 29 5 Raynham 29 4 South Easton 29 3 Franklin 28 9 Whitinsville 28 2 Braintree 27 10 Holbrook 27 3 Peabody 27 14 Sunderland 27 1 Dudley 26 3 West Boylston 26 2 Attleborough 25 11 Lynnfield 25 3 Milford 25 7 Millis 25 2 Newton Center 25 1 North Grafton 25 2 Orange 25 2 Roxbury Crossing 25 15 Rutland 25 2 Shrewsbury 25 9 South Yarmouth 25 3 Swansea 25 4 Burlington 24 6 Gloucester 24 7 Medway 23 3 Hubbardston 22 1 Melrose 22 6 Rockland 22 4 Saugus 22 6 Sharon 22 4 South Hadley 22 4 Hanover 21 3 Jamaica Plain 21 8 Middleborough 21 5 North Chelmsford 21 2 Oxford 21 3 Sturbridge 21 2 Allston 20 6 Boxborough 20 1 Brewster 20 2 Marion 20 1 Marstons Mills 20 1 Southborough 20 2 Acushnet 19 2 East Longmeadow 19 3 Hampden 19 1 Hull 19 2 Westfield 19 8 Westport 19 3 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Fairhaven 18 3 Lakeville 18 2 Weymouth 18 10 Beverly 17 7 Boston 17 107 Foxborough 17 3 Northampton 17 5 Southampton 17 1 Lee 16 1 Medfield 16 2 Palmer 16 2 Berkley 15 1 Bourne 15 3 Hudson 15 3 Marshfield 15 4 Norton 15 3 Watertown 15 5 Centerville 14 2 Clinton 14 2 Dighton 14 1 Leominster 14 6 Seekonk 14 2 South Boston 14 5 Ayer 13 1 Brookline 13 8 Hopkinton 13 2 North Attleborough 13 4 Stoneham 13 3 Wareham 13 3 Wilmington 13 3 Amesbury 12 2 Ashland 12 2 Dedham 12 3 Georgetown 12 1 Templeton 12 1 Arlington 11 5 Chelmsford 11 4 Douglas 11 1 Milton 11 3 Somerset 11 2 Sudbury 11 2 Sutton 11 1 Winthrop 11 2 Dracut 10 3 North Andover 10 3 Southwick 10 1 Cherry Valley 9 1 Haverhill 9 6 Hingham 9 2 Natick 9 3 South Weymouth 9 5 Athol 8 1 Harwich 8 1 Bedford 7 1 Dennis 7 1 East Bridgewater 7 1 East Weymouth 7 4 Holliston 7 1 Mashpee 7 1 Millbury 7 1 North Easton 7 1 Swampscott 7 1 Wayland 7 1 West Newton 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Easthampton 6 1 Lexington 6 2 Longmeadow 6 1 Methuen 6 3 Needham 6 2 Nonantum 6 1 Tewksbury 6 2 Wellesley Hills 6 2 Amherst 5 2 Concord 5 1 Grafton 5 1 Holden 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Pembroke 5 1 Scituate 5 1 Belmont 4 1 Mansfield 4 1 Newton 4 4 Reading 4 1 Wakefield 4 1 Needham Heights 3 1 Dartmouth 2 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 (not given) 0 215 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 386 275 Plymouth 310 134 Worcester 304 339 Berkshire 303 49 Bristol 301 248 Norfolk 274 234 Suffolk 230 455 Barnstable 212 41 Essex 208 229 Middlesex 184 431 Hampshire 141 26 Franklin 132 14 Nantucket 113 4 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/.