A communication from the Executive Office of the Trial Court (see Section 15(c) of Chapter 239 of the General Laws) submitting its report on filings, actions, and dispositions of summary process cases relative to permanent rental protections

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

The bill compiles monthly eviction data (filings, judgments, stays, mediation, rental assistance) from Jan 2025–Mar 2026 to inform oversight and policy.

Placed on file

Purpose and intent

This bill transmits the Massachusetts Trial Court’s monthly report, as required by General Laws Chapter 239, Section 15.

The report covers filings, actions, and dispositions in summary process cases (evictions) and provides data from January 2025 through March 2026.

The overarching goal is to inform lawmakers and the public about eviction activity, timelines, and related court processes, including coordination with short-term emergency rental assistance programs.

Key provisions and changes

The bill compiles and forwards detailed monthly statistics on summary process (eviction) proceedings, organized across nine (9) data pages in the report:

Page 1: Number of eviction actions entered/filied by court with jurisdiction.
Page 2: Number of default judgments entered, broken down by reason for the eviction filing.
Page 3: Number of executions for possessions orders granted, broken down by filing reason.
Page 4: Counts of continuances requested and granted due to pending short-term emergency rental assistance applications (per subsection (b)).
Page 5: Counts of stays issued due to pending short-term emergency rental assistance applications (per subsection (b)).
Page 6: Average length of continuances and stays granted under subsection (b).
Page 7: Counts of stays requested/granted/denied under General Laws Chapter 239, sections 9 and 10.
Page 8: Participation in pre-trial mediation by landlords and tenants, and, where practicable, outcomes.
Page 9: Numbers of landlords and tenants receiving legal representation and legal services via on-site court diversion and support resources.

The report notes that additional related data (tier-1 and tier-2 events, executions issued, etc.) are accessible via an external Tableau public data profile.

Who or what would be affected

Courts with jurisdiction over eviction actions (summary process) would be the primary recipients of the data summarized in the report.

Landlords and tenants involved in eviction proceedings may be indirectly affected by the data-driven oversight and the emphasis on mediation, representation, and access to rental assistance programs.

State legislators and committees (Ways and Means, Joint Committee on Housing, Joint Committee on the Judiciary) would gain structured visibility into eviction trends and the effectiveness of court and assistance program interventions.

Procedural and timeline aspects

The report is released monthly and covers data from January 2025 through March 2026.

The document is submitted by the Massachusetts Trial Court, specifically the Executive Office of the Trial Court, to:

Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Clerk of the Massachusetts Senate
House Committee on Ways and Means
Senate Committee on Ways and Means
Joint Committee on Housing
Joint Committee on the Judiciary

The action history notes the document was placed on file on May 28, 2026.

The report aligns with General Laws Chapter 239, Section 15, ensuring ongoing statutory compliance and data transparency regarding eviction proceedings and related rental assistance processes.

Data accessibility

In addition to the nine-page summary, further data on eviction filings, statuses, and related metrics are available via the provided Tableau Public profile for the department (link included in the report).

If you’d like, I can extract specific figures (e.g., total evictions filed, default judgments, or mediation participation) for a particular month or court, or summarize trends across the January 2025–March 2026 period.

Bill