New Housing Court rules will take effect in June 2023, changing how this trial court operates. Since the pandemic, Housing Court has significantly changed its court procedures and operations. Many of these changes, in my opinion, have been long overdue. more »
Several weeks ago, the Supreme Judicial Court issued an important decision concerning eviction settlement agreements. The full decision, Darcey v. Burgess, is included below. The facts of the case are fairly straightforward. A tenant filed a lawsuit in Housing Court more »
Housing Court Specialist Status Conferences are one of the many changes to the court system during and after the pandemic. In this post, I’ll discuss the roles of these conferences in the Massachusetts eviction process. Eviction Overview In Massachusetts (like more »
After years of stalled legislation, housing court expansion has finally occurred in Massachusetts. The recently passed 2018 budget provides for statewide Housing Court, allowing all towns and cities access to a regional division of the Housing Court. Previously, a large more »
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued Fannie Mae v. Rego today, an important foreclosure law decision that permits a Chapter 93A defense to foreclosure. Chapter 93A, the common name for Massachusetts’s Consumer Protection Law, is a broad consumer statute that more »
Massachusetts tenants in eviction (“summary process”) cases have the option of suing the landlord who is trying to evict them, in an action known as a counterclaim. A counterclaim, simply put, is a lawsuit brought against the party who first more »
Massachusetts’s trial court system has a unique forum for resolving housing matters: Housing Court. Housing Court has jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters related to the health, safety, or welfare of the occupants or owners of residential housing. In addition more »
