G.L. c. 239; G.L. c. 186, §§ 11, 12, 31; Uniform Summary Process Rules
Summary process in Massachusetts — eviction, and the notice that has to come first
A claim in Massachusetts trial courts · Last verified August 26, 2026
Summary process is the only lawful way to evict someone in Massachusetts. It runs on its own statute, its own rules and its own calendar, and it moves faster than any other civil case in the state — the Trial Court reports that more than 80 percent of these cases reach an initial decision or disposition within 25 days.
Speed is the point, and it is also the risk. A tenant who does not file a written answer is not automatically beaten, but a tenant who does file one changes the case entirely, because the statutory defences and counterclaims are where most of the money in these cases sits.
What the claim is
A landlord goes to court to recover possession of the property, and usually unpaid rent with it.
Where the right comes from
G.L. c. 239 for the action itself; G.L. c. 186, §§ 11 and 12 for the notice that has to come first; and the Uniform Summary Process Rules for the procedure, which is not the ordinary civil procedure the rest of this site covers.
What a plaintiff has to prove
- A tenancy or occupancy — a lease, a tenancy at will, or occupancy without right;
- Proper termination by a valid, timely notice to quit;
- Service of the summons and complaint in the window the Uniform Summary Process Rules set — between 7 and 30 days before the entry day, which is a Monday;
- The defendant is still in possession; and
- The plaintiff has the superior right to possession.
The notice to quit
Almost every failed eviction fails here.
Non-payment of rent: 14 days. Section 11 requires 14 days' notice, and gives a tenant at will a right to cure — a tenant who had not received a notice to quit for non-payment in the previous 12 months may pay or tender the full arrears on or before the answer date and defeat the case.
No-fault termination of a tenancy at will: § 12. The notice period is the interval between rent days, or 30 days, whichever is longer — and never more than three months.
A lease with a stated term ends when it ends, subject to whatever notice the lease requires.
And since April 1, 2023, a residential non-payment notice must carry the state's form. Under G.L. c. 186, § 31, a notice to quit for non-payment of residential rent must be accompanied by the official "Form to Accompany Residential Notice to Quit," and a court may not accept the case for filing without proof that the form was delivered. This is a recent requirement and it is missed regularly.
How long you have to file
No fixed limitations period. The case ripens when the notice-to-quit period expires, and a landlord may file after that. Filing too early is fatal — the case is dismissed and the notice has to be given again.
Back rent claimed with the possession case runs on the six-year contract period in G.L. c. 260, § 2.
What has to happen before you file
A valid notice to quit, expired. The § 31 form, for residential non-payment. Service inside the 7-to-30-day window before the Monday entry day.
What the claim pays
Possession, which is the point of the action.
Unpaid rent and use-and-occupancy for the period after the tenancy ended.
Costs, and 12 percent interest on the money judgment under G.L. c. 231, § 6C.
Attorney's fees only if the lease provides them — and note that where a lease gives the landlord fees, G.L. c. 186, § 20 implies a reciprocal covenant giving the tenant the same right.
Execution, the document that authorises a constable or sheriff to remove the tenant. It issues after judgment and after the appeal period, and only a constable or sheriff may carry it out.
Which court
Housing Court, where one sits, and it is the preferred forum: it has housing specialists, a mediation programme, and — importantly — no monetary ceiling on the counterclaims a tenant can bring under G.L. c. 185C, § 3. District Court and the Boston Municipal Court also hear summary process, as does the Superior Court. There is no monetary limit on the summary process action itself.
What a tenant can raise
This is where the case is decided, and the defences and counterclaims are worth more than the possession claim in many cases.
Defective notice to quit — wrong period, wrong grounds, no § 31 form, served on the wrong person.
Bad conditions under G.L. c. 239, § 8A, which lets a tenant raise by defence or counterclaim any claim for breach of warranty, breach of a material lease provision, or violation of any other law.
Retaliation under G.L. c. 186, § 18 and c. 239, § 2A, which is both a defence and a damages claim.
Security deposit violations under c. 186 § 15B — a treble-damages counterclaim.
Quiet enjoyment under c. 186 § 14, with its three-months'-rent floor.
Chapter 93A, which needs no demand letter when asserted as a counterclaim.
Discrimination principles under c. 151B where the tenancy involves a protected characteristic.
Cure, for a tenant at will facing a first non-payment notice in 12 months.
Two procedural points matter. A tenant may request discovery under the Uniform Summary Process Rules, which postpones the trial date. And a tenant who never filed a written answer may still raise defences at trial — the Appeals Court so held in Morse v. Ortiz-Vazquez, 99 Mass. App. Ct. 474 (2021).
The counterclaim problem
The Trial Court's own research explains why these claims look rare and are not. In its May 2021 study of Housing Court summary process, only about 12.5 percent of cases had an answer filed and about 6.2 percent had an answer with a counterclaim. Cases filed on no-cause grounds had the highest answer rate, at 38.9 percent; non-payment cases had the lowest, at 14.9 percent.
So the security-deposit, habitability, quiet-enjoyment and retaliation claims that Massachusetts law gives tenants are being litigated in a small fraction of the tenancies where they exist. That is a pleading-rate artefact, not a statement about the merits.
Common defenses
- Defective or premature notice to quit, including the missing § 31 form.
- Improper service, or filing outside the 7-to-30-day window.
- Payment or cure.
- Retaliation, which is a complete defence.
- Conditions, under § 8A.
- Discrimination.
- The plaintiff does not hold superior title — which a summary process court can decide, per Bank of New York v. Bailey, 460 Mass. 327 (2011).
What people get wrong
A notice to quit is not an eviction. It ends the tenancy. Only a court judgment and an execution served by a constable or sheriff can remove anyone.
Self-help is expensive. Changing the locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities exposes a landlord to c. 186 § 14 liability — the greater of actual damages or three months' rent, plus mandatory attorney's fees, and a criminal fine.
A tenant who owes rent still has claims. Section 14 damages may be applied in setoff or recoupment against the rent owed, and § 8A operates the same way.
No answer does not mean no defence. Morse holds a tenant may raise defences at trial anyway — though filing an answer is far safer.
There is no winter eviction ban in Massachusetts. Courts have discretion to stay an execution, and hardship matters, but the calendar does not stop.
Where it came from
Summary process was created in the nineteenth century to give landlords a fast alternative to the common-law action of ejectment, which was slow enough that self-help was the practical remedy. The bargain was speed in exchange for procedure: a landlord who follows the statute gets possession quickly, and one who does not gets nothing.
Everything added since has been on the tenant's side of that bargain, and each addition is a response to what the speed produced. The warranty of habitability arrived in 1973 because the old rule let a landlord collect rent on a unit with no heat. Section 8A made conditions available as a defence inside the eviction rather than only as a separate suit nobody was going to file. Section 18 made retaliation a defence because tenants who reported code violations were being served notices the following week.
The § 31 form is the newest layer, and it reflects the same observation the Trial Court's counterclaim data makes: rights that exist on paper do nothing for people who do not know they have them. The form tells a tenant, at the moment they receive the notice, that defences exist.
Common questions
How long does an eviction take in Massachusetts?
Faster than most civil cases — the Trial Court reports over 80 percent reach an initial decision or disposition within 25 days. Discovery requests, appeals and stays extend it.
Do I have to move out when I get a notice to quit?
No. A notice to quit ends the tenancy; it does not remove you. Only a court judgment and an execution served by a constable or sheriff can.
Can I stop an eviction by paying the rent?
If you are a tenant at will facing a non-payment notice and you have not received one in the previous 12 months, you may pay or tender the full arrears on or before the answer date.
Can I raise bad conditions?
Yes. Section 8A lets you raise breach of the warranty of habitability and other claims by defence or counterclaim, and the court can order rent escrowed.
Can the landlord change the locks?
No. Self-help exposes the landlord to liability of at least three months' rent plus attorney's fees under c. 186 § 14, and to criminal penalties.
Is there a winter moratorium on evictions?
No. A court may stay an execution in hardship circumstances, but there is no seasonal ban.