Filings Month Ending 2024 November 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2024-11-01 Search Period End: 2024-11-30 Earliest Case: 2024-11-01 Latest Case: 2024-11-29 Total Cases: 3051 Total Transfers: 72 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 23.5% Of those, percentage pro se: 49.0% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Humarock Least stable with 10+ filings: Framingham Least stable with 100+ filings: Framingham Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 105 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 679 22.3% central 484 15.9% northeast 452 14.8% western 428 14.0% southeast 320 10.5% metro_south 281 9.2% malden district 49 1.6% quincy district 29 1.0% lynn district 27 0.9% bmc west roxbury 22 0.7% fall river district 21 0.7% somerville district 19 0.6% pittsfield district 16 0.5% waltham district 16 0.5% lawrence district 15 0.5% springfield district 14 0.5% cambridge district 12 0.4% lowell district 12 0.4% attleboro district 11 0.4% brockton district 11 0.4% chelsea district 11 0.4% dedham district 11 0.4% northern berkshire district 8 0.3% haverhill district 7 0.2% woburn district 7 0.2% salem district 6 0.2% bmc east boston 5 0.2% framingham district 5 0.2% newton district 5 0.2% peabody district 5 0.2% westfield district 5 0.2% barnstable district 4 0.1% holyoke district 4 0.1% concord district 3 0.1% fallmouth district 3 0.1% gloucester district 3 0.1% hingham district 3 0.1% milford district 3 0.1% palmer district 3 0.1% stoughton district 3 0.1% taunton district 3 0.1% wareham district 3 0.1% worcester district 3 0.1% wrentham district 3 0.1% ayer district 2 0.1% bmc central 2 0.1% bmc dorchester 2 0.1% orange district 2 0.1% bmc brighton 1 0.0% bmc roxbury 1 0.0% bmc south boston 1 0.0% chicopee district 1 0.0% edgartown district 1 0.0% greenfield district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% northampton district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2335 4 Natural Person 716 3047 Total 3051 3051 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 76.5% 0.1% Natural Person 23.5% 99.9% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2311 24 2335 Optional 365 351 716 Total 2676 375 3051 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 75.7% 0.8% 76.5% Optional 12.0% 11.5% 23.5% Total 87.7% 12.3% 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 0 4 4 Optional 23 3024 3047 Total 23 3028 3051 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.1% 0.1% Optional 0.8% 99.1% 99.9% Total 0.8% 99.2% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 91 3.0% 1 2136 70.0% 2 683 22.4% 3 96 3.1% 4 28 0.9% 5 14 0.5% 6 3 0.1% Total 3051 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 2200 72.1% Cause 491 16.1% No Fault 340 11.1% Foreclosure 17 0.6% Unknown/Other 3 0.1% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Humarock 555 1 Chestnut Hill 282 6 Charlemont 236 3 Framingham 210 144 Roxbury 147 88 Randolph 121 39 Dorchester 116 107 Mattapan 115 42 Norwood 111 32 Ware 111 11 Springfield 107 165 Florence 105 1 Vineyard Haven 105 2 Berlin 104 3 Southbridge 101 17 Indian Orchard 99 10 Roslindale 93 27 Lowell 91 97 Marlborough 90 35 Haydenville 88 1 Fall River 87 78 Malden 87 52 Adams 82 7 Lawrence 79 61 Milford 78 22 Holyoke 77 31 Newton Center 77 3 Pocasset 69 2 New Bedford 68 65 Chelsea 65 23 Lynn 65 59 Canton 64 14 Everett 64 27 Worcester 64 116 Hyannis 63 9 Brockton 61 58 Marion 61 3 Bridgewater 60 16 Plainville 60 5 Hull 58 6 Pittsfield 58 26 South Easton 58 6 Ashfield 57 1 Hadley 57 3 Hanover 57 8 Revere 57 30 Abington 56 9 Hyde Park 56 19 Leominster 56 23 Shelburne Falls 56 1 West Springfield 56 16 West Yarmouth 56 3 Barre 55 3 Ayer 53 4 Charlestown 53 9 Jamaica Plain 53 20 Greenfield 51 9 Brewster 50 5 Chicopee 50 28 South Boston 50 17 East Boston 49 20 Fitchburg 49 20 Hinsdale 49 1 Newton Upper Falls 49 3 Westborough 49 9 South Deerfield 48 1 Foxborough 47 8 East Taunton 46 3 West Wareham 46 1 Beverly 45 18 Winthrop 45 8 Clinton 44 6 Gardner 44 9 North Oxford 44 1 Taunton 44 25 Dorchester Center 43 40 Quincy 43 40 Rockport 43 3 Salem 43 18 Somerville 43 33 Whitinsville 43 3 Feeding Hills 42 5 Allston 41 12 Braintree 41 15 Webster 41 7 Cambridge 40 43 Rockland 40 7 Woburn 39 15 Brighton 38 17 Fairhaven 37 6 Haverhill 37 23 North Billerica 37 4 Peabody 37 19 Stoughton 37 10 North Adams 36 5 Norton 36 7 Wellfleet 36 1 East Falmouth 34 2 Middleborough 34 8 Needham 34 10 North Attleborough 34 10 South Hadley 34 6 Three Rivers 34 1 Watertown 34 11 Hardwick 33 1 Ludlow 33 7 Saugus 33 9 Attleborough 32 14 Burlington 32 8 Lanesborough 32 1 Palmer 32 4 Wakefield 32 8 Dennis Port 31 1 Franklin 31 10 Hingham 31 7 Millville 31 1 Swansea 31 5 Waltham 31 19 Westfield 31 13 Bellingham 30 5 Mansfield 30 7 Buzzards Bay 29 1 Hanson 29 3 Lunenburg 29 3 Nahant 29 1 Raynham 29 4 East Sandwich 28 1 Essex 28 1 Osterville 28 1 Sudbury 28 5 Acton 27 6 Dracut 27 8 East Wareham 27 6 Gloucester 27 8 Leicester 27 3 Sagamore Beach 27 1 South Dennis 27 1 South Weymouth 27 15 Cohasset 26 2 Athol 25 3 Methuen 25 12 South Yarmouth 25 3 Agawam 24 7 Charlton 23 3 Douglas 23 2 Medford 23 13 Wayland 23 3 Avon 22 1 Forestdale 22 1 Littleton 22 2 Millbury 22 3 Oak Bluffs 22 1 Sharon 22 4 Weymouth 22 12 Natick 21 7 Oxford 21 3 Southwick 21 2 Swampscott 21 3 Dedham 20 5 Hopkinton 20 3 Marstons Mills 20 1 North Reading 20 3 Tewksbury 20 6 Billerica 19 8 East Harwich 19 1 Maynard 19 2 Newtonville 19 1 Ashland 18 3 Auburn 18 3 Lakeville 18 2 Westford 18 4 Wrentham 18 2 Spencer 17 2 Tyngsborough 17 2 Wilmington 17 4 Ashburnham 16 1 Hopedale 16 1 Lee 16 1 Reading 16 4 Shrewsbury 16 6 West Roxbury 16 5 Amherst 15 6 Andover 15 5 Bedford 15 2 Boston 15 96 Groveland 15 1 Harvard 15 1 Kingston 15 2 Plymouth 15 9 Roxbury Crossing 15 9 Arlington 14 6 Centerville 14 2 Mashpee 14 2 Melrose 14 4 West Bridgewater 14 1 Wareham 13 3 West Boylston 13 1 Belmont 12 3 Georgetown 12 1 Lexington 12 4 Millis 12 1 Northbridge 12 2 Orange 12 1 Salisbury 12 1 South Attleboro 12 1 Sterling 12 1 Waban 12 1 Walpole 12 3 Brookline 11 7 Danvers 11 3 Holden 11 2 Middleton 11 1 Newburyport 11 2 Sutton 11 1 Townsend 11 1 Auburndale 10 1 Bourne 10 2 Southborough 10 1 Sturbridge 10 1 Cherry Valley 9 1 East Weymouth 9 5 Holbrook 9 1 Nantucket 9 1 Winchendon 9 1 Winchester 9 2 Carver 8 1 Dudley 8 1 Harwich 8 1 Medfield 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Pepperell 8 1 Rehoboth 8 1 West Harwich 8 1 East Bridgewater 7 1 Holliston 7 1 Ipswich 7 1 Marshfield 7 2 Medway 7 1 North Andover 7 2 North Easton 7 1 Northampton 7 2 Northborough 7 1 Seekonk 7 1 Uxbridge 7 1 West Newton 7 1 Amesbury 6 1 Belchertown 6 1 Duxbury 6 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Longmeadow 6 1 Westport 6 1 Westwood 6 1 Whitman 6 1 Hudson 5 1 Marblehead 5 1 Scituate 5 1 Somerset 5 1 Barnstable 4 2 Easton 4 1 Onset 4 1 Sandwich 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 Falmouth 3 1 Milton 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Wellesley 3 1 Wellesley Hills 3 1 Chelmsford 2 1 E. Boston 2 1 Newton Lower Falls 1 1 (not given) 0 208 span 0 3 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 409 291 Plymouth 365 158 Norfolk 305 260 Suffolk 298 590 Bristol 290 239 Middlesex 266 621 Worcester 259 289 Berkshire 254 41 Barnstable 238 46 Essex 231 254 Hampshire 168 31 Franklin 151 16 Dukes 73 3 Nantucket 28 1 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/.