Filings Quarter Ending 2022 September 30

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-07-01 Search Period End: 2022-09-30 Earliest Case: 2022-07-01 Latest Case: 2022-09-30 Total Cases: 8855 Total Transfers: 232 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 30.9% Of those, percentage pro se: 54.4% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: Florence Least stable with 10+ filings: Florence Least stable with 100+ filings: Fall River Least stable county: Plymouth Cases per day: 97 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 1573 17.8% central 1384 15.6% western 1384 15.6% eastern 1172 13.2% southeast 1170 13.2% metro_south 868 9.8% quincy district 107 1.2% lynn district 104 1.2% malden district 77 0.9% brockton district 66 0.7% fall river district 58 0.7% somerville district 54 0.6% cambridge district 52 0.6% chelsea district 51 0.6% lowell district 51 0.6% pittsfield district 51 0.6% bmc east boston 48 0.5% waltham district 44 0.5% haverhill district 40 0.5% springfield district 35 0.4% wrentham district 35 0.4% attleboro district 34 0.4% salem district 34 0.4% chicopee district 24 0.3% barnstable district 23 0.3% new bedford district 21 0.2% woburn district 19 0.2% framingham district 18 0.2% lawrence district 17 0.2% dedham district 16 0.2% bmc west roxbury 15 0.2% northern berkshire district 15 0.2% orleans district 14 0.2% peabody district 14 0.2% edgartown district 13 0.1% fallmouth district 13 0.1% milford district 13 0.1% westfield district 10 0.1% ayer district 8 0.1% gloucester district 8 0.1% taunton district 8 0.1% bmc brighton 7 0.1% palmer district 7 0.1% stoughton district 6 0.1% bmc dorchester 5 0.1% concord district 5 0.1% nantucket district 5 0.1% newburyport district 5 0.1% newton district 5 0.1% uxbridge district 5 0.1% worcester district 5 0.1% clinton district 4 0.0% hingham district 4 0.0% northampton district 4 0.0% plymouth district 4 0.0% wareham district 4 0.0% bmc central 3 0.0% brookline district 3 0.0% holyoke district 3 0.0% natick district 3 0.0% eastern hampshire district 2 0.0% fitchburg district 2 0.0% bmc roxbury 1 0.0% gardner district court 1 0.0% southern berkshire district 1 0.0% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 6122 39 Natural Person 2733 8816 Total 8855 8855 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 69.1% 0.4% Natural Person 30.9% 99.6% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 5970 152 6122 Optional 1246 1487 2733 Total 7216 1639 8855 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 67.4% 1.7% 69.1% Optional 14.1% 16.8% 30.9% Total 81.5% 18.5% 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 15 24 39 Optional 153 8663 8816 Total 168 8687 8855 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% Optional 1.7% 97.8% 99.6% Total 1.9% 98.1% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 533 6.0% 1 6352 71.7% 2 1604 18.1% 3 261 2.9% 4 77 0.9% 5 19 0.2% 6 3 0.0% 8 3 0.0% 9 1 0.0% 10 1 0.0% 13 1 0.0% Total 8855 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 5342 60.3% Cause 1801 20.3% No Fault 1629 18.4% Foreclosure 79 0.9% Unknown/Other 4 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count Florence 2320 22 Monroe Bridge 1190 1 Woronoco 900 1 Fall River 373 332 Gilbertville 347 4 Royalston 317 4 Randolph 305 98 Worcester 303 550 New Bedford 302 288 Fitchburg 297 120 Holyoke 285 114 Gardner 266 54 West Warren 264 3 East Falmouth 259 15 Athol 258 30 North Truro 249 5 Framingham 237 162 Hyannis 234 33 Buzzards Bay 233 8 Quincy 231 214 Whitinsville 230 16 Norwood 227 65 Westborough 224 41 Brockton 223 210 Springfield 217 333 Sunderland 217 8 Lynn 216 196 South Yarmouth 215 25 Webster 208 35 Rockland 205 36 Pittsfield 203 91 Southfield 202 1 Taunton 198 111 Chelsea 196 69 Fiskdale 194 6 Dennis Port 189 6 West Brookfield 189 7 Lowell 183 195 Winthrop 182 32 Plainville 181 15 Southbridge 179 30 Chicopee 177 98 Stoughton 174 47 Bridgewater 173 46 Edgartown 172 7 Bellingham 171 28 Turners Falls 170 7 Indian Orchard 168 17 North Adams 167 23 Foxborough 166 28 Adams 164 14 Haverhill 164 100 Malden 164 98 Middleborough 164 38 Chesterfield 163 2 South Dennis 162 6 Avon 160 7 Charlemont 157 2 South Easton 156 16 Everett 151 63 Revere 150 78 Braintree 148 53 Thorndike 144 1 West Springfield 144 41 Chestnut Hill 141 3 Salem 140 58 Berlin 139 4 Lawrence 138 106 Spencer 136 16 Attleborough 135 59 Brewster 132 13 Dorchester 132 122 Florida 132 1 Marlborough 132 51 Greenfield 131 23 Mattapan 128 47 Warwick 128 1 Waltham 126 77 East Taunton 125 8 Clinton 124 17 Hyde Park 122 41 Wendell 117 1 Hull 116 12 Winchendon 116 12 Chilmark 115 1 East Sandwich 115 4 Harwich Port 115 2 Saugus 112 30 Windsor 111 1 Whitman 110 16 Lunenburg 109 11 Peabody 109 56 Wrentham 109 12 Nantucket 108 11 Leominster 107 44 Milford 107 30 North Attleborough 107 31 Bondsville 106 2 Vineyard Haven 105 2 Uxbridge 104 14 Pocasset 103 3 South Hadley 102 18 Three Rivers 102 3 Hopedale 101 6 East Weymouth 98 53 East Boston 96 39 Belchertown 95 14 Ayer 94 7 West Yarmouth 94 5 Cohasset 92 7 Cambridge 86 91 Amesbury 85 14 Somerville 85 65 Weymouth 85 46 Lakeville 84 9 Northampton 84 24 Mansfield 81 19 Ware 81 8 Dorchester Center 80 74 Williamsburg 80 2 Gloucester 79 23 Watertown 78 25 Woburn 78 30 East Dennis 77 2 Newton Center 77 3 Warren 77 4 Andover 75 25 Tewksbury 75 22 Holbrook 74 8 Norton 73 14 Salisbury 72 6 West Bridgewater 72 5 Mashpee 71 10 North Andover 70 20 Carver 69 8 Abington 68 11 Forestdale 68 3 Mendon 68 4 Hingham 67 15 Millbury 67 9 Provincetown 67 2 Richmond 67 1 Blackstone 66 6 Brighton 66 29 Hardwick 66 2 Mattapoisett 66 4 Danvers 64 17 Medford 64 36 North Brookfield 64 3 North Grafton 64 5 Franklin 63 20 Methuen 63 30 Millis 63 5 Orange 63 5 Rutland 62 5 Allston 61 18 E. Boston 61 25 Dedham 60 15 Eastham 60 3 Colrain 59 1 Dalton 59 4 East Wareham 59 13 Hadley 57 3 Newtonville 57 3 Fairhaven 56 9 Jamaica Plain 56 21 Shelburne Falls 56 1 Auburn 55 9 Kingston 55 7 Roxbury 55 33 Wareham 54 12 Tyngsborough 53 6 Upton 53 4 Westfield 53 22 Baldwinville 52 1 Conway 52 1 Southwick 52 5 West Roxbury 52 16 Feeding Hills 51 6 Roslindale 51 15 Stockbridge 51 1 Attleboro Falls 50 1 Dracut 50 15 Hanover 50 7 Marblehead 50 10 Agawam 49 14 Hinsdale 49 1 Palmer 49 6 Topsfield 49 3 Beverly 48 19 Hanson 48 5 South Deerfield 48 1 Wakefield 48 12 Plymouth 47 27 South Boston 47 16 Arlington 46 20 Canton 46 10 Monson 46 4 Stoneham 46 10 West Wareham 46 1 Huntington 45 1 Sharon 45 8 West Dennis 45 1 Burlington 44 11 North Oxford 44 1 Northbridge 44 7 Oak Bluffs 44 2 Raynham 44 6 Easthampton 43 7 Oxford 43 6 Sturbridge 43 4 Swampscott 43 6 Great Barrington 42 3 Natick 42 14 North Dartmouth 42 10 Shrewsbury 42 15 Charlestown 41 7 Westwood 41 6 Milton 40 11 Maynard 39 4 Yarmouth Port 39 2 Charlton 38 5 Rochester 38 2 Lancaster 37 3 Ludlow 37 8 Melrose 37 10 North Falmouth 37 1 Walpole 37 9 Belmont 36 9 Seekonk 36 5 Douglas 35 3 Rehoboth 34 4 Southampton 34 2 Pembroke 33 6 Auburndale 32 3 Chatham 32 2 Hudson 31 6 Lincoln 31 2 Marshfield 31 8 Merrimac 31 2 South Weymouth 31 17 Cotuit 30 1 Hatfield 30 1 North Easton 30 4 Sheffield 30 1 Southborough 30 3 Brookfield 29 1 Centerville 29 4 Chelmsford 29 10 Nahant 29 1 Princeton 29 1 West Hatfield 29 1 East Bridgewater 28 4 Essex 28 1 Jefferson 28 1 Lexington 28 9 Newburyport 28 5 Osterville 28 1 Rockport 28 2 Wilbraham 28 4 Billerica 27 11 Brimfield 27 1 Sagamore 27 1 Shirley 27 2 Westford 27 6 Westminster 27 2 Dudley 26 3 Groton 26 3 Halifax 26 2 North Reading 26 4 Wilmington 26 6 Westport 25 4 Ashland 24 4 Harwich 24 3 Medfield 24 3 Sherborn 24 1 Medway 23 3 North Dighton 23 1 Boylston 22 1 Ipswich 22 3 Onset 22 5 Amherst 21 8 North Chelmsford 21 2 Northborough 21 3 Raynham Center 21 1 Bolton 20 1 Boxborough 20 1 East Freetown 20 1 Marion 20 1 Marstons Mills 20 1 Acushnet 19 2 Hampden 19 1 Longmeadow 19 3 Manchester 19 1 Barre 18 1 Cherry Valley 18 2 Leicester 18 2 North Billerica 18 2 South Barre 18 1 Swansea 18 3 Pepperell 17 2 Boston 16 103 Newton Upper Falls 16 1 Sudbury 16 3 Bedford 15 2 Falmouth 15 5 Groveland 15 1 Harvard 15 1 Newbury 15 1 Dighton 14 1 Holliston 14 2 Sandwich 14 3 Acton 13 3 West Boylston 13 1 East Templeton 12 1 South Attleboro 12 1 Templeton 12 1 Williamstown 12 1 Brookline 11 7 Concord 11 2 Littleton 11 1 Somerset 11 2 South Dartmouth 11 4 Sutton 11 1 Fayville 10 1 Needham Heights 10 3 Norwell 9 1 Rochdale 9 1 Lynnfield 8 1 Norfolk 8 1 North Weymouth 8 5 Reading 8 2 Bradford 7 1 Wayland 7 1 Wellesley 7 2 Duxbury 6 1 East Longmeadow 6 1 Hopkinton 6 1 Needham 6 2 Roxbury Crossing 6 4 Bourne 5 1 Grafton 5 1 Holden 5 1 Newton Highlands 5 5 Scituate 5 1 Easton 4 1 Winchester 4 1 Wellesley Hills 3 1 Dartmouth 2 1 Newton 2 2 Newton Lower Falls 1 1 (not given) 0 1536 Providence 0 1 Spring Valley 0 1 span 0 17 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 Plymouth 1188 513 Bristol 1141 939 Worcester 1061 1181 Hampden 963 685 Norfolk 953 813 Berkshire 886 143 Barnstable 885 171 Essex 671 738 Hampshire 613 113 Franklin 493 52 Middlesex 488 1140 Suffolk 399 789 Nantucket 313 11 Dukes 292 12 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. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.