Filings Month Ending 2026 February 28

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2026-02-01 Search Period End: 2026-02-28 Earliest Case: 2026-02-02 Latest Case: 2026-02-27 Total Cases: 2731 Total Transfers: 60 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 20.7% Of those, percentage pro se: 48.2% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Norwood Least stable with 100+ filings: Springfield Least stable county: Hampden Cases per day: 101 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 609 22.3% northeast 443 16.2% western 384 14.1% central 383 14.0% southeast 322 11.8% metro_south 274 10.0% lawrence district 30 1.1% lynn district 23 0.8% lowell district 21 0.8% quincy district 20 0.7% fall river district 15 0.5% malden district 13 0.5% pittsfield district 13 0.5% chelsea district 11 0.4% dedham district 11 0.4% bmc west roxbury 10 0.4% cambridge district 10 0.4% haverhill district 10 0.4% brockton district 9 0.3% springfield district 9 0.3% bmc dorchester 8 0.3% northern berkshire district 8 0.3% ayer district 6 0.2% holyoke district 6 0.2% attleboro district 5 0.2% fallmouth district 5 0.2% barnstable district 4 0.1% bmc brighton 4 0.1% milford district 4 0.1% newton district 4 0.1% plymouth district 4 0.1% salem district 4 0.1% waltham district 4 0.1% woburn district 4 0.1% newburyport district 3 0.1% somerville district 3 0.1% westfield district 3 0.1% worcester district 3 0.1% wrentham district 3 0.1% chicopee district 2 0.1% concord district 2 0.1% eastern hampshire district 2 0.1% framingham district 2 0.1% gloucester district 2 0.1% orleans district 2 0.1% palmer district 2 0.1% peabody district 2 0.1% stoughton district 2 0.1% bmc east boston 1 0.0% bmc roxbury 1 0.0% brookline district 1 0.0% fitchburg district 1 0.0% nantucket district 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% taunton district 1 0.0% uxbridge district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 2167 8 Natural Person 564 2723 Total 2731 2731 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 79.3% 0.3% Natural Person 20.7% 99.7% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 2142 25 2167 Optional 292 272 564 Total 2434 297 2731 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 78.4% 0.9% 79.3% Optional 10.7% 10.0% 20.7% Total 89.1% 10.9% 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 8 8 Optional 18 2705 2723 Total 18 2713 2731 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% Optional 0.7% 99.0% 99.7% Total 0.7% 99.3% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 74 2.7% 1 1930 70.7% 2 595 21.8% 3 93 3.4% 4 31 1.1% 5 8 0.3% Total 2731 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 2050 75.1% Cause 398 14.6% No Fault 261 9.6% Foreclosure 21 0.8% Unknown/Other 1 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 738 7 Chestnut Hill 235 5 Norwood 129 37 Holyoke 122 49 Cummington 114 1 Springfield 101 156 Tisbury 101 4 Dorchester 88 81 Fall River 88 79 Mattapan 87 32 South Boston 86 29 Worcester 84 153 Marlborough 83 32 Southbridge 83 14 Sagamore Beach 82 3 Blandford 81 1 Roxbury 80 48 Everett 76 32 New Bedford 74 71 Turners Falls 73 3 Chelsea 71 25 Adams 70 6 Malden 70 42 Berlin 69 2 Revere 69 36 Randolph 68 22 Richmond 67 1 Stoughton 66 18 Chicopee 65 36 Hyannis 63 9 West Springfield 63 18 Westborough 60 11 Fitchburg 59 24 Foxborough 59 10 Indian Orchard 59 6 Allston 58 17 Clarksburg 58 1 North Adams 58 8 Pittsfield 58 26 Salem 58 24 Warren 58 3 Lowell 57 61 Great Barrington 56 4 Erving 55 1 Framingham 54 37 Leverett 54 1 Lynn 54 49 Somerville 54 41 Sunderland 54 2 Charlestown 53 9 Oakham 52 1 Canton 51 11 East Falmouth 51 3 Attleboro Falls 50 1 Ware 50 5 Easthampton 49 8 Bridgewater 48 13 Jamaica Plain 48 18 Salisbury 48 4 South Deerfield 48 1 South Easton 48 5 Cambridge 47 50 Lawrence 47 36 Quincy 47 44 West Wareham 46 1 East Brookfield 45 1 Greenfield 45 8 Huntington 45 1 Brockton 44 42 Gardner 44 9 Roslindale 44 13 Tyngsborough 44 5 Beverly 43 17 Swampscott 43 6 Braintree 41 15 Brighton 41 18 Danvers 41 11 Shirley 41 3 Northampton 38 11 Orange 38 3 Williamstown 38 3 Peabody 37 19 Saugus 37 10 Weymouth 37 20 Dedham 36 9 Plainville 36 3 Waltham 36 22 West Tisbury 36 1 Dorchester Center 35 33 Marshfield 35 9 Mashpee 35 5 Athol 34 4 Three Rivers 34 1 Winthrop 34 6 Lee 33 2 Ashby 32 1 Burlington 32 8 Hyde Park 32 11 Milford 32 9 Dennis Port 31 1 Haverhill 31 19 North Attleborough 31 9 Brewster 30 3 Mansfield 30 7 Middleborough 30 7 Millbury 30 4 Wayland 30 4 Buzzards Bay 29 1 Clinton 29 4 East Boston 29 12 Hanson 29 3 Holliston 29 4 Nahant 29 1 Webster 29 5 Dighton 28 2 East Sandwich 28 1 Osterville 28 1 Pembroke 28 5 Roxbury Crossing 28 17 Sharon 28 5 Whitinsville 28 2 Woburn 28 11 Attleborough 27 12 Brimfield 27 1 East Wareham 27 6 Holbrook 27 3 Leicester 27 3 Sagamore 27 1 Whitman 27 4 Chelmsford 26 9 Cohasset 26 2 East Weymouth 26 14 Leominster 26 11 Taunton 26 15 Feeding Hills 25 3 Lynnfield 25 3 Newton Center 25 1 South Yarmouth 25 3 Gloucester 24 7 Palmer 24 3 Douglas 23 2 Medford 23 13 Medway 23 3 Monson 23 2 North Dighton 23 1 Acton 22 5 Avon 22 1 Oak Bluffs 22 1 Raynham 22 3 South Grafton 22 1 North Brookfield 21 1 North Chelmsford 21 2 Northborough 21 3 Norton 21 4 Plymouth 21 12 Seekonk 21 3 Westfield 21 9 Dracut 20 6 Hopkinton 20 3 Hudson 20 4 Marion 20 1 Tewksbury 20 6 Westwood 20 3 Acushnet 19 2 Northbridge 19 3 Winchendon 19 2 Ashland 18 3 Barre 18 1 Brookline 18 11 Dudley 17 2 Holden 17 3 Norfolk 17 2 Rockland 17 3 Spencer 17 2 Wilmington 17 4 Hopedale 16 1 Orleans 16 1 Reading 16 4 Shrewsbury 16 6 Somerset 16 3 West Roxbury 16 5 East Taunton 15 1 Kingston 15 2 Lincoln 15 1 Marblehead 15 3 Boston 14 90 Dennis 14 2 North Andover 14 4 Oxford 14 2 Uxbridge 14 2 Amherst 13 5 Ayer 13 1 Halifax 13 1 South Weymouth 13 7 Upton 13 1 West Boylston 13 1 Abington 12 2 Auburn 12 2 Belmont 12 3 Billerica 12 5 Lancaster 12 1 Millis 12 1 North Grafton 12 1 Rutland 12 1 Wakefield 12 3 Watertown 12 4 Littleton 11 1 Middleton 11 1 Townsend 11 1 Methuen 10 5 Southborough 10 1 Southwick 10 1 Falmouth 9 3 Franklin 9 3 Hingham 9 2 Lunenburg 9 1 Natick 9 3 North Billerica 9 1 Waquoit 9 1 Wareham 9 2 Westford 9 2 Wrentham 9 1 Groton 8 1 Medfield 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Pepperell 8 1 Walpole 8 2 West Harwich 8 1 Agawam 7 2 Bedford 7 1 Centerville 7 1 East Bridgewater 7 1 Ipswich 7 1 Melrose 7 2 North Easton 7 1 Wilbraham 7 1 Amesbury 6 1 Andover 6 2 Bellingham 6 1 Duxbury 6 1 Fairhaven 6 1 Lexington 6 2 Longmeadow 6 1 Needham Heights 6 2 Swansea 6 1 Bourne 5 1 Concord 5 1 Grafton 5 1 Newburyport 5 1 South Hadley 5 1 Sudbury 5 1 Ludlow 4 1 Onset 4 1 Stoneham 4 1 East Walpole 3 1 Milton 3 1 North Weymouth 3 2 Wellesley Hills 3 1 Arlington 2 1 South Dartmouth 2 1 Newton 1 1 (not given) 0 205 span 0 1 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 Berkshire 316 51 Norfolk 306 261 Plymouth 273 118 Bristol 272 224 Worcester 270 301 Suffolk 253 500 Barnstable 212 41 Hampshire 211 39 Essex 203 224 Middlesex 192 450 Franklin 180 19 Dukes 146 6 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/.