Filings Week Ending 2022 June 18

Residential summary process: Filings Report This report examines cases filed recently before reading, for which outcomes were largely unknown. Search Period Start: 2022-06-12 Search Period End: 2022-06-18 Earliest Case: 2022-06-13 Latest Case: 2022-06-17 Total Cases: 712 Total Transfers: 8 -- High-level take-aways: Percentage of landlords for whom attorney is optional: 30.8% Of those, percentage pro se: 52.1% Most common cause: Non-payment Least stable municipality/neighborhood: West Dennis Least stable with 10+ filings: Randolph Least stable with 100+ filings: (not given) Least stable county: Barnstable Cases per day: 118 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 central 128 18.0% northeast 106 14.9% southeast 95 13.3% eastern 89 12.5% metro_south 79 11.1% western 78 11.0% quincy district 16 2.2% lynn district 11 1.5% waltham district 9 1.3% bmc west roxbury 8 1.1% fall river district 7 1.0% bmc brighton 6 0.8% chelsea district 6 0.8% attleboro district 5 0.7% clinton district 5 0.7% malden district 5 0.7% bmc east boston 4 0.6% haverhill district 4 0.6% pittsfield district 4 0.6% somerville district 4 0.6% cambridge district 3 0.4% fallmouth district 3 0.4% framingham district 3 0.4% northern berkshire district 3 0.4% peabody district 3 0.4% woburn district 3 0.4% wrentham district 3 0.4% barnstable district 2 0.3% brockton district 2 0.3% dedham district 2 0.3% lawrence district 2 0.3% lowell district 2 0.3% orleans district 2 0.3% plymouth district 2 0.3% ayer district 1 0.1% bmc roxbury 1 0.1% milford district 1 0.1% new bedford district 1 0.1% newburyport district 1 0.1% northampton district 1 0.1% salem district 1 0.1% stoughton district 1 0.1% Party Type (n) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 493 6 Natural Person 219 706 Total 712 712 (%) Plaintiffs Defendants Corporate Entity 69.2% 0.8% Natural Person 30.8% 99.2% Total 100.0% 100.0% Plaintiff Representation (n) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 473 20 493 Optional 105 114 219 Total 578 134 712 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 66.4% 2.8% 69.2% Optional 14.7% 16.0% 30.8% Total 81.2% 18.8% 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 6 6 Optional 6 700 706 Total 6 706 712 (%) Has Attorney Pro Se Total Required 0.0% 0.8% 0.8% Optional 0.8% 98.3% 99.2% Total 0.8% 99.2% 100.0% Number of Adults in Households Count Percent 0 67 9.4% 1 479 67.3% 2 143 20.1% 3 17 2.4% 4 3 0.4% 6 1 0.1% 8 1 0.1% 9 1 0.1% Total 712 100.0% 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 353 49.6% Cause 224 31.5% No Fault 124 17.4% Foreclosure 11 1.5% Unknown/Other 0 0.0% Rate per 100,000 Municipality Residents Count West Dennis 137 3 Baldwinville 105 2 Bolton 102 5 South Dennis 54 2 Athol 51 6 East Falmouth 51 3 Randolph 43 14 Wellfleet 36 1 Framingham 35 24 Plympton 35 1 Southbridge 35 6 Fall River 34 31 Lunenburg 29 3 Hyannis 28 4 Roslindale 27 8 Cohasset 26 2 Norwood 24 7 Plainville 24 2 Charlton 23 3 Worcester 23 42 Braintree 22 8 New Bedford 22 21 Middleborough 21 5 North Brookfield 21 1 Eastham 20 1 Marion 20 1 Gardner 19 4 Nantucket 19 2 Warren 19 1 Yarmouth Port 19 1 Bellingham 18 3 Holbrook 18 2 West Yarmouth 18 1 Fitchburg 17 7 Mendon 17 1 Quincy 17 16 Webster 17 3 Dedham 16 4 Marlborough 15 6 Clinton 14 2 North Adams 14 2 Waltham 14 9 Whitinsville 14 1 Attleborough 13 6 Ayer 13 1 Onset 13 3 Whitman 13 2 Abington 12 2 Ashland 12 2 Auburn 12 2 Lynn 12 11 Adams 11 1 Brockton 11 11 Everett 11 5 Foxborough 11 2 Holden 11 2 Marshfield 11 3 Middleton 11 1 Sutton 11 1 Winthrop 11 2 Brewster 10 1 North Attleborough 10 3 Plymouth 10 6 Taunton 10 6 Acushnet 9 1 Leicester 9 1 Leominster 9 4 Winchendon 9 1 Wrentham 9 1 Harwich 8 1 North Dartmouth 8 2 Pittsfield 8 4 Spencer 8 1 Bradford 7 1 Hanover 7 1 Mashpee 7 1 Milford 7 2 Millbury 7 1 Milton 7 2 Raynham 7 1 Revere 7 4 Stoughton 7 2 Amesbury 6 1 Easthampton 6 1 Franklin 6 2 Northbridge 6 1 Westport 6 1 Westwood 6 1 Chelsea 5 2 Hudson 5 1 Medford 5 3 Sharon 5 1 Woburn 5 2 Belmont 4 1 Canton 4 1 E. Boston 4 2 East Wareham 4 1 Haverhill 4 3 Stoneham 4 1 Walpole 4 1 Danvers 3 1 Natick 3 1 Needham 3 1 Beverly 2 1 Hyde Park 2 1 Mattapan 2 1 Methuen 2 1 South Dartmouth 2 1 Cambridge 1 2 Dorchester 1 1 Dorchester Center 1 1 East Weymouth 1 1 Lawrence 1 1 Lowell 1 2 North Weymouth 1 1 Roxbury 1 1 Somerville 1 1 South Weymouth 1 1 Weymouth 1 1 (not given) 0 286 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 Barnstable 98 19 Norfolk 92 79 Worcester 92 103 Bristol 88 73 Plymouth 83 36 Nantucket 56 2 Berkshire 43 7 Middlesex 26 61 Essex 19 21 Suffolk 11 23 Hampshire 5 1 Dukes 0 0 Franklin 0 0 Hampden 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. -- When Citing This Work, Please Credit: MassLandlords, Inc. Available online at https://masslandlords.net/policy/eviction-data/.