The Massachusetts eviction process, called Summary Process, is a court-supervised procedure that a landlord must follow from start to finish. It begins with a written Notice to Quit, moves to a Summons and Complaint filed in Housing Court or District Court, includes a mediation session and, if needed, a trial, and can only end in a physical removal carried out by a constable or sheriff acting on a court-issued execution. A landlord who skips any of these steps, or who tries to force a tenant out by changing locks or shutting off utilities, is breaking the law.
Step 1: The Notice to Quit
Every case starts here. Before a landlord can file anything in court, they must deliver a written Notice to Quit to the tenant, and the required notice period depends on why the landlord wants the tenant out.
- Nonpayment of rent under a written lease: 14 days’ written notice.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186 Section 11
- Tenancy at will: written notice equal to the rental period or 30 days, whichever is longer. Monthly rent means at least 30 days; a rental period of three months or more requires three months.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186 Section 12 – Notice to Determine Estate at Will
- Lease violations or holdover tenancies: the notice period depends on the lease terms and the violation.
The notice must name each adult occupant, list the full address and unit number, state the reason for termination, and give a clear date to vacate. Small errors here can get the whole case dismissed later.
One overlay to know about: if the property has a federally backed mortgage (FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac) or participates in a federal housing program like Section 8, public housing, or the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the CARES Act permanently requires at least 30 days’ written notice before the tenant must vacate.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 9058 – Temporary Moratorium on Eviction Filings A 14-day nonpayment notice on a covered property has to be stretched to 30.
Step 2: Filing and Serving the Summons and Complaint
After the notice period runs out and the tenant is still in the unit, the landlord fills out a Summary Process Summons and Complaint. The form requires all defendants’ names, the address, the specific grounds for eviction, and, for nonpayment cases, an itemized amount owed. The landlord picks an Entry Date, which must be a Monday. That date sets the whole timeline: when the answer is due, when trial happens, when discovery closes.4Mass.gov. Uniform Summary Process Rule 2 – Form of Summons and Complaint; Entry of Action; Scheduling of Trial Date; Service of Process
A sheriff or licensed constable must serve the papers on the tenant no earlier than 30 days and no later than 7 days before the Entry Date.4Mass.gov. Uniform Summary Process Rule 2 – Form of Summons and Complaint; Entry of Action; Scheduling of Trial Date; Service of Process The officer returns proof of service, which the landlord files with the court along with the entry fee: $135 in Housing Court,5Mass.gov. Housing Court Filing Fees $195 in District Court or Boston Municipal Court.6Mass.gov. Boston Municipal Court and District Court Filing Fees Constable or sheriff fees are separate and vary.
Step 3: The Tenant’s Answer and the Right to Cure
The complaint states a deadline for the tenant to file a written answer with the court. The answer is where the tenant lays out defenses and any counterclaims. A tenant who ignores the case and skips the trial date will likely get hit with a default judgment.7Mass.gov. Respond to an Eviction Against You
For nonpayment cases under a written lease, there’s one fact worth putting above every other: a tenant can stop the eviction cold by paying all rent owed, plus interest and the landlord’s court costs, on or before the day the answer is due. Pay in full by that date and the lease survives, the case ends.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186 Section 11 Many tenants never learn this right exists until the window has already closed.
Step 4: The Court Date
Summary Process cases are usually scheduled for the second Thursday after the Monday Entry Date, though some courts use different days.4Mass.gov. Uniform Summary Process Rule 2 – Form of Summons and Complaint; Entry of Action; Scheduling of Trial Date; Service of Process The day starts with a mandatory first-tier event: both parties sit down with a Housing Specialist, a neutral court employee who helps them try to settle. Many cases end here with a payment plan or an agreed move-out date instead of going in front of a judge.8Mass.gov. Housing Court Frequently Asked Questions
If mediation doesn’t produce an agreement, the case moves to trial. The landlord has to prove they followed every step: proper notice, valid grounds, correct service. The tenant presents defenses and counterclaims. The judge weighs the notice, the rent history, the lease, and any evidence of code violations or retaliation. A written decision usually comes within days.
Defenses a Tenant Can Raise
Massachusetts gives tenants real ground to stand on in court, and these are the arguments that come up most often.9Mass.gov. The Attorney Generals Guide to Landlord and Tenant Rights
- A defective Notice to Quit. Wrong period, wrong date, wrong address, missing details: any of these can end the case.
- Retaliation. If the landlord files within six months of the tenant reporting a code violation, joining a tenants’ union, or exercising other protected rights, the law presumes retaliation. The landlord has to overcome that with clear and convincing evidence. A tenant who proves retaliation can recover between one and three months’ rent plus attorney’s fees.10General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186 Section 18
- Uninhabitable conditions. If the landlord failed to keep the property up to the State Sanitary Code, breach of the warranty of habitability can reduce or wipe out the rent owed, and sometimes defeats the eviction outright.
- Discrimination. Evictions motivated by race, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, or another protected characteristic violate the Fair Housing Act and state law.
Even a tenant who owes rent should show up. A valid defense or counterclaim can shift the outcome, and a written answer preserves the widest range of options.
Step 5: Judgment, Appeal, and a Second Chance to Cure
After trial, the losing party has 10 days from the judgment to file a notice of appeal. A timely appeal usually pauses the eviction while the Appeals Court reviews the case, with narrow exceptions for property damage or threats to other residents.11Mass.gov. Overview of Summary Process for Tenants
Appealing costs money. A tenant appealing a possession judgment has to post a bond covering back rent, rent that will come due during the appeal, and any damages the landlord may suffer from delay. The court sets the amount.12General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239 Section 5 Tenants who cannot afford it can move to waive the bond based on indigency; if granted, the court instead requires periodic rent payments as they come due during the appeal.
Nonpayment cases carry one more escape route even after judgment: if the tenant pays the full money judgment plus any use-and-occupancy charges that accrued after the judgment date, the landlord cannot proceed with the physical eviction, and the execution must be returned to the court as satisfied.13Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239 Section 3
Step 6: Execution and Physical Removal
If the 10 days pass without an appeal and the judgment goes unpaid, the landlord can ask the clerk for an execution. That document is what authorizes a constable or sheriff to remove the tenant. No execution can issue until all appellate review is done.14General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 235 Section 16 – Execution Not to Issue Until Appellate Review Exhausted
Before the removal happens, the constable or sheriff must give the tenant written notice of the exact date and time of the move-out, delivered at least 48 hours in advance.13Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239 Section 3 The removal cannot happen before 9:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m., and never on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Weekends and holidays push the actual date further out.
If the tenant hasn’t left by the scheduled time, the constable supervises the removal. Belongings cannot be dumped on the sidewalk. They have to go to a licensed storage facility, and the tenant can ask for delivery to a specific location instead.15Mass.gov. Tenants Guide to Eviction The landlord usually fronts the moving cost. Once the unit is empty, the constable changes the locks and hands possession back to the landlord.
Fair Housing and Disability Accommodations
Federal law sets a floor under every Massachusetts eviction. The Fair Housing Act bars evictions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.16U.S. Department of Justice. The Fair Housing Act A tenant can raise discrimination as a defense in Summary Process or file a separate complaint with HUD.
Disability accommodations show up often in eviction cases. When a tenant’s disability is tied to the reason for eviction, the landlord must grant reasonable accommodations. Examples include letting a tenant on Social Security disability pay rent a few days late each month when the benefit date doesn’t line up with the due date, giving extra time to address housekeeping violations connected to a disability, and modifying no-pet rules for support animals. A tenant can request an accommodation at any point in the process. The landlord can only deny it if it would impose an undue financial or administrative burden, and even then the parties should discuss alternatives.
What an Eviction Does to Your Housing Record
An eviction case creates a court record that can follow a tenant for years, even one who wins. Tenant screening companies pull housing court records and sell reports to future landlords, often with a predictive score attached.17Federal Trade Commission. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, screening companies generally cannot report cases older than seven years.
The eviction itself doesn’t hit a consumer credit report. But if the landlord wins a money judgment and sends the debt to collections, that collection account can appear on the tenant’s credit report and drag the score down for up to seven years from when the payment first went past due.18Experian. How Long Does an Eviction Stay on Your Record Screening reports also contain errors more often than people realize: outdated information, cases marked as open when they were dismissed, sealed cases that still appear. Tenants have the right to dispute inaccuracies and ask the screening company for a correction.19Federal TradeCommission. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights
Why Landlords Cannot Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
Frustrated landlords sometimes try to shortcut Summary Process by changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or hauling a tenant’s belongings out. Massachusetts law prohibits all of it. Only a court can authorize the removal, and only a constable or sheriff can carry it out.20General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 239 – Summary Process for Possession of Land
A landlord who tries a self-help eviction can be sued for wrongful eviction, trespass, and infliction of emotional distress. The tenant can recover actual losses (temporary housing, damaged belongings) plus additional penalties, and in some cases can stay in the unit and still collect damages. The bill from an illegal lockout almost always dwarfs the cost of going through the courts the right way.