Massachusetts law about eviction

Laws, regulations, cases, and web sources on eviction law (summary process).

Legal help is available.

If you are unable to find the information you are looking for, or if you have a specific question, please contact our law librarians for assistance.

Best bets

Eviction, Mass. Legal Help.
A collection of articles and resources about the eviction process in Massachusetts and how to protect yourself.

Eviction for landlords and Eviction for tenants, Mass. Court System.
Learn about filing an eviction (landlord) or responding to one (tenant) and what may happen before and after an eviction court case. Refer to additional state agency and court pages on the topic of eviction for more information.

Massachusetts Defense for Eviction (MADE): Self-guided eviction help, Greater Boston Legal Services.
A free guided interview for Massachusetts tenants who are being evicted. It includes videos and educational links.

Massachusetts laws

Note

There are no laws against evicting, for valid reasons, tenants with children, tenants with disabilities, or evicting tenants during the winter season. However, if the eviction was determined by a judge to not be your fault, or if you can show a judge that you can't find a good place to live, you may be able to request a "Stay of Execution" for up to 6 months (or a year for tenants who are elderly or have a disability).

Primary eviction law

MGL c. 239 Summary process for possession of land (eviction)

Other Massachusetts laws relating to eviction

MGL c. 121B, § 32 Evictions, local housing authorities

MGL c. 139, § 19 Use of premises for illegal activities, voiding of lease

MGL c. 184, § 18 Forcible entry forbidden

MGL c. 186, § 11 Determination of lease for nonpayment of rent 

MGL c. 186, § 11A Termination of lease for nonpayment of rent

MGL c. 186, § 12 Notice to determine estate at will

MGL c. 186, § 13 Recovery of possession after termination of tenancy at will

MGL c. 186, § 13A Tenants deemed to be at will upon foreclosure

MGL c. 186, § 14 Quiet enjoyment violation

MGL c. 186A Tenants in foreclosed properties

Massachusetts regulations

105 CMR 410 State sanitary code - minimum standards of fitness for human habitation

940 CMR 3.00 General regulation

• 940 CMR 3.17(5) Unfair and deceptive acts by landlord

Federal laws and regulations

Laws

34 U.S.C. § 12491 Housing protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking

42 U.S.C. § 1437f Low-income housing assistance  

42 U.S.C. §§ 13601-13644 Residency and service requirements in federally assisted housing 

50 U.S.C. § 3951 Evictions and distress (Relates to active servicemembers)

PL 111-22 An act to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability
Defines homelessness to include one who has received an eviction notice, 42 U.S.C. 11302.

Regulations

24 CFR 247 Evictions from certain subsidized and HUD-owned projects

Court rules and jury instructions

Uniform rules of summary process (eviction rules)

Joint Standing Order 1-23: Electronic filing of summary process cases

District Court Fourth Amended Standing Order 10-20: Court operations for the adjudication of summary process cases

Trial Court administrative and standing orders (eviction)

Jury instructions

Residential summary process (District Court civil model jury instructions)

Legal assistance

Eviction legal services and mediation, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Available to both tenants and landlords.

Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder, Legal Services Corp.
Information for legal aid offices, government agencies and court programs that may be able to help you for free or at low cost. Includes

Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP)
Call or request legal help online. Also offers in-person Housing Court clinics on Tuesdays.

Boston only

Access to Counsel Program, a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Housing, Boston Public Schools, Family Aid Boston, and Greater Boston Legal Services.
The program aims to prevent evictions for eligible households with children enrolled in K-12 schools by providing full legal representation for families at risk of eviction.

Legal help for housing crisis, Boston Office of Housing Stability.
Register online for virtual and in-person legal clinics for small landlords and tenants facing eviction.

Forms

• Court forms for eviction
• Non-court legal forms and resources compiled by the law libraries

Notices to Quit

If you are looking for sample notices to quit, please contact your local law library or use one of our Ask a Law Librarian services. This service is free.

Selected cases

Selected court cases on the topic of eviction

Web sources

Housing appeals guide, Mass. Appeals Court.
This guide explains the process of getting an appeal from the Trial Court into the Appeals Court. If you are looking to stop an imminent eviction, skip down to Staying execution on a judgment.

Housing court resources, Mass. Housing Court.  
Provides concise information on procedures of the Housing Court. Page also includes civil information sheets for each regional court division.

Tenants at sufferance, Mass. Legal Help, 2025.
A tenant at sufferance is a tenant who does not have their landlord's permission to stay in their dwelling after the lease or agreement ends or after the landlord terminates tenancy with a notice to quit.

Tenant defenses to evictions in Massachusetts, Nolo, 2024.
Explains grounds for eviction as well as defenses.

Eviction record sealing

Eviction sealing, Mass. Legal Help.
If you are eligible, you can file a petition to have your eviction records sealed. This means that the records are no longer publicly available.

Sealing eviction court records, Mass. Trial Court.
Find information about asking the court to seal an eviction case, including a link to a guided interview to file a Petition to Seal Eviction Records, and other forms and information about the eviction sealing process.

Eviction storage

Eviction process in Massachusetts: Rules for landlords and property managers, Nolo, 2024.
Eviction storage. "If the tenant does not move out of the rental unit and a law enforcement officer has to remove the tenant as part of the eviction, then the law enforcement officer will also remove the tenant's belongings and place them in storage. This will be done at the landlord's expense, but the landlord can try to get reimbursement from the tenant. The storage facility will need to hold onto the property for six months before disposing of it. If the property has value, then it can be sold."

Print sources

Handbook of civil procedure in the Mass. District Court by Marc G. Perlin, 5^th ed., Lawyers Weekly, 2018 with annual supplement. 
Chapter 14: Summary process.

The Massachusetts landlord survival guide by Philip S. Lapatin, 11^th ed., Greater Boston Real Estate Board, 2023.

Massachusetts landlord-tenant law by George Warshaw, 2^nd ed., Lexis, with supplement (includes forms).
Chapter 4: Termination by Notice to Quit. Includes sample forms (Forms 4-1 through 4-5[C]).

Landlord and tenant law: With forms by E. George Daher, 3^rd ed., (Massachusetts practice, vol. 33A) West Group, 2000 with supplement. 
Chapter 15: Termination of lease and tenancy at will. Sections 15:13–15:16: Sample of Notices to Quit.

Massachusetts real estate by Robert Marzelli, 3^rd ed., Lexis, with supplement (Includes forms). (eBook available with library card)
Chapters 13 & 14: Summary process. Sample Notices to Quit at Forms 102 and 103.

Property management manual for Massachusetts rental owners by H. John Fisher, 6^th ed., HAPHousing, 2015.

Residential and commercial landlord-tenant practice in Massachusetts, 5^th ed. MCLE, 2024.
Chapter 11: Termination of residential tenancies. Exhibits 11B-11G: sample Notices to Quit.

Residential landlord-tenant benchbook, Flaschner Judicial Institute, 2013.

Last updated:	March 20, 2026