Filings Month Ending 2025 July 31

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2025-07-01 Search Period End: 2025-07-31 Earliest Case: 2025-07-01 Latest Case: 2025-07-31 Total Cases: 3138 Total Transfers: 64 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 22.4% Of those, percentage pro se: 58.1% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Holyoke Least stable with 100+ filings: Framingham Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 104 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 633 20.2% northeast 521 16.6% central 472 15.0% western 404 12.9% southeast 355 11.3% metro_south 338 10.8% lawrence district 40 1.3% lynn district 39 1.2% malden district 24 0.8% fall river district 20 0.6% pittsfield district 18 0.6% quincy district 18 0.6% haverhill district 17 0.5% cambridge district 14 0.4% brockton district 12 0.4% lowell district 12 0.4% chelsea district 11 0.4% holyoke district 11 0.4% newburyport district 11 0.4% springfield district 11 0.4% waltham district 11 0.4% attleboro district 10 0.3% bmc dorchester 8 0.3% northern berkshire district 7 0.2% peabody district 7 0.2% salem district 7 0.2% ayer district 6 0.2% bmc roxbury 6 0.2% bmc west roxbury 6 0.2% fallmouth district 6 0.2% framingham district 6 0.2% somerville district 6 0.2% westfield district 6 0.2% bmc central 5 0.2% barnstable district 4 0.1% bmc brighton 4 0.1% hingham district 4 0.1% woburn district 4 0.1% worcester district 4 0.1% chicopee district 3 0.1% dedham district 3 0.1% milford district 3 0.1% newton district 3 0.1% orleans district 3 0.1% southern berkshire district 3 0.1% stoughton district 3 0.1% taunton district 3 0.1% wrentham district 3 0.1% bmc east boston 2 0.1% brookline district 2 0.1% edgartown district 2 0.1% bmc south boston 1 0.0% clinton district 1 0.0% fitchburg district 1 0.0% gloucester district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% natick district 1 0.0% wareham district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2434 5 Natural Person 704 3133 Total 3138 3138 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 77.6% 0.2% Natural Person 22.4% 99.8% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2382 52 2434 Optional 295 409 704 Total 2677 461 3138 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 75.9% 1.7% 77.6% Optional 9.4% 13.0% 22.4% Total 85.3% 14.7% 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 5 5 Optional 27 3106 3133 Total 27 3111 3138 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% Optional 0.9% 99.0% 99.8% Total 0.9% 99.1% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 127 4.0% 1 2216 70.6% 2 648 20.7% 3 103 3.3% 4 32 1.0% 5 8 0.3% 6 3 0.1% 8 1 0.0% Total 3138 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 2281 72.7% Cause 463 14.8% No Fault 371 11.8% Foreclosure 22 0.7% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 210 2 Holyoke 180 72 Framingham 156 107 Buzzards Bay 145 5 Rockport 143 10 Southbridge 137 23 Lawrence 121 93 Fall River 111 99 Springfield 109 168 Lynn 107 97 Hyannis 106 15 Dorchester 101 93 Hyde Park 98 33 Leeds 98 1 Norwood 97 28 Stoughton 96 26 Chestnut Hill 94 2 Quincy 93 86 Chelsea 88 31 Fitchburg 86 35 Lakeville 84 9 Roxbury 83 50 Adams 82 7 Worcester 81 148 Gardner 79 16 New Bedford 79 76 Allston 78 23 Millers Falls 77 1 Everett 74 31 Plainville 72 6 Roslindale 72 21 Brockton 71 67 Webster 71 12 Marlborough 70 27 Pittsfield 69 31 Taunton 69 39 Haverhill 68 42 Amesbury 67 11 Bridgewater 67 18 Lowell 67 72 Gill 66 1 Mansfield 64 15 Dennis Port 63 2 Mattapan 63 23 Revere 63 33 Salem 62 26 Cheshire 61 2 Boxborough 60 3 Dorchester Center 58 54 Shelburne Falls 56 1 Malden 55 33 Brighton 54 24 Leverett 54 1 South Dennis 54 2 Braintree 53 19 Baldwinville 52 1 Buckland 52 1 Methuen 52 25 Feeding Hills 51 6 Lunenburg 49 5 Medfield 49 6 Randolph 49 16 Waltham 49 30 West Springfield 49 14 Winchendon 48 5 Bernardston 46 1 Canton 46 10 East Taunton 46 3 Leominster 46 19 West Wareham 46 1 Cambridge 45 48 East Brookfield 45 1 West Roxbury 45 14 South Grafton 44 2 Athol 43 5 Chicopee 43 24 Westborough 43 8 Whitinsville 43 3 Great Barrington 42 3 Jamaica Plain 42 16 Milford 42 12 Southwick 42 4 Charlestown 41 7 Marstons Mills 41 2 Saugus 41 11 Ayer 40 3 Holland 40 1 Nantucket 39 4 Somerville 39 30 Hadley 38 2 Hull 38 4 Orange 38 3 East Boston 37 15 Holbrook 37 4 East Bridgewater 36 5 Hudson 36 7 West Tisbury 36 1 Woburn 36 14 Foxborough 35 6 East Falmouth 34 2 Middleborough 34 8 Spencer 34 4 Peabody 33 17 Arlington 32 14 Burlington 32 8 Fiskdale 32 1 Lanesborough 32 1 North Chelmsford 32 3 Norton 31 6 Tewksbury 31 9 Wilmington 31 7 Attleborough 29 13 Clinton 29 4 Dalton 29 2 Maynard 29 3 Nahant 29 1 North Adams 29 4 South Easton 29 3 Westfield 29 12 Rockland 28 5 Beverly 27 11 Shirley 27 2 West Brookfield 27 1 Carver 26 3 Medford 26 15 Plymouth 26 15 Milton 25 7 Williamstown 25 2 East Weymouth 24 13 Edgartown 24 1 Lancaster 24 2 Salisbury 24 2 Turners Falls 24 1 Wayland 23 3 Bedford 22 3 Franklin 22 7 Ipswich 22 3 Littleton 22 2 Oak Bluffs 22 1 Sharon 22 4 Wareham 22 5 Winthrop 22 4 North Brookfield 21 1 Roxbury Crossing 21 13 Watertown 21 7 Dedham 20 5 Gloucester 20 6 North Attleborough 20 6 North Reading 20 3 Walpole 20 5 Ware 20 2 Indian Orchard 19 2 Lenox 19 1 Manchester 19 1 Newtonville 19 1 Northbridge 19 3 Rochester 19 1 Warren 19 1 Abington 18 3 Andover 18 6 Barre 18 1 Danvers 18 5 East Wareham 18 4 Hingham 18 4 South Weymouth 18 10 West Yarmouth 18 1 Weymouth 18 10 Chelmsford 17 6 Dudley 17 2 Greenfield 17 3 North Andover 17 5 Northampton 17 5 Pepperell 17 2 Rowley 17 1 South Yarmouth 17 2 Ashburnham 16 1 Belmont 16 4 Chatham 16 1 Dracut 16 5 Harwich 16 2 Newton Upper Falls 16 1 Palmer 16 2 Pembroke 16 3 Scituate 16 3 Sudbury 16 3 Wakefield 16 4 West Harwich 16 2 Groveland 15 1 Kingston 15 2 Marshfield 15 4 Medway 15 2 Merrimac 15 1 Millbury 15 2 Natick 15 5 Newbury 15 1 North Easton 15 2 Boston 14 88 Mashpee 14 2 Raynham 14 2 Sandwich 14 3 Seekonk 14 2 Shrewsbury 14 5 South Boston 14 5 Belchertown 13 2 Cohasset 13 1 Duxbury 13 2 Halifax 13 1 West Boylston 13 1 Westford 13 3 Whitman 13 2 Auburn 12 2 Bellingham 12 2 Georgetown 12 1 Lexington 12 4 Reading 12 3 Swansea 12 2 Templeton 12 1 Westport 12 2 Assonet 11 1 Melrose 11 3 Monson 11 1 Somerset 11 2 South Hadley 11 2 Agawam 10 3 Marblehead 10 2 Acton 9 2 Leicester 9 1 Ludlow 9 2 Rochdale 9 1 Stoneham 9 2 Wrentham 9 1 Brookline 8 5 Lynnfield 8 1 Rehoboth 8 1 Tyngsborough 8 1 Weston 8 1 Bradford 7 1 Hanover 7 1 Oxford 7 1 Uxbridge 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Easthampton 6 1 Fairhaven 6 1 Hopkinton 6 1 Wellesley Hills 6 2 Concord 5 1 Newburyport 5 1 Onset 4 1 Winchester 4 1 East Walpole 3 1 Needham Heights 3 1 Amherst 2 1 Billerica 2 1 Dartmouth 2 1 E. Boston 2 1 South Dartmouth 2 1 Newton 1 1 Newton Highlands 1 1 (not given) 0 155 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 440 313 Plymouth 396 171 Essex 347 382 Bristol 336 277 Norfolk 334 285 Berkshire 328 53 Worcester 297 331 Suffolk 277 548 Middlesex 231 540 Barnstable 212 41 Franklin 123 13 Nantucket 113 4 Hampshire 97 18 Dukes 73 3 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/.