--- title: "Massachusetts Eviction Process and Court Timeline | MCC" description: "Massachusetts eviction court steps: Housing Court or District Court, answer 7 days, writ 10 days, lockout 2 court days, sheriff or constable. From official page" url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/tools/eviction-process-massachusetts" --- Eviction process · Massachusetts # Massachusetts eviction process and court timeline What happens after the landlord files: court, filing fee, hearing after filing, time to answer or appear, judgment to writ, writ to lockout, who carries out the lockout, paying to stop the case, right to counsel (statewide) and diversion or mediation (statewide), from the state's own pages. **Short answer.** Cases go to the Housing Court or District Court. The written answer is due on or before the first Monday after the Monday entry date in the summons (counted here from filing on the entry date). Who carries out a lockout: sheriff or constable. ## At a glance Court Housing Court or District Court. A District Court or Housing Court; a tenant can ask to move a case to Housing Court. "a District Court or Housing Court" Source 1 Filing fee Depends on the court: $180 in a District Court or the Boston Municipal Court, $120 in Housing Court, plus a $15 surcharge and $5 for the summons. "Filing for eviction (District Court/BMC) | $180 | each." Source 3 Hearing after filing In the Housing Court, the clerk schedules the first court event 30 to 60 days after the case is entered; if the case isn't resolved there, trial is set about 2 weeks later (Standing Order 1-23, in effect until further order). The District Court and Boston Municipal Court have their own standing orders. "no sooner than thirty days, but no later than sixty days, after the case is entered" Source 6 Time to answer or appear The written answer is due on or before the first Monday after the Monday entry date in the summons (counted here from filing on the entry date). "on or before the first Monday after the Monday entry date stated in the summons and complaint." Source 3 Judgment to writ After judgment the tenant has 10 days to appeal; then the judge gives the execution to the landlord. "You will have 10 days to appeal the decision" Source 1 Writ to lockout The sheriff or constable gives written notice 2 days (not counting weekends or holidays) before removal; moves happen weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. "2 days (not including weekends or holidays)" Source 1 Who carries out the lockout Sheriff or constable. The landlord hires a sheriff or constable to serve the execution and carry out the move. "Hire a sheriff or constable to deliver it to the tenant" Source 1 Paying to stop the case A tenant with a lease can stop a nonpayment case by paying all the rent owed, with interest and costs, by the day the answer is due. A tenant at will can cure only within 10 days of getting the notice to quit, and only if they haven't had a nonpayment notice to quit in the last 12 months. "all the rent you owe with interest and costs" Source 5 Right to counsel (statewide) No statewide right to counsel for tenants in eviction cases (as of November 2026, per the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel): its tracker of enacted laws lists no statewide law here. "An eviction right to counsel is created by an enacted law that, at a minimum:" Source 4, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source) Diversion or mediation (statewide) Yes. Statewide RAFT rental assistance (a pending application blocks eviction) and free pre-court community mediation. "you can't be evicted if you have a pending RAFT application" Source 1 ## Sample timeline: filed Monday, December 7, 2026 **Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer.** Need the other side served? [Process serving with an affidavit of service](/notary/process-serving). - **Answer due (if served the day of filing):** Monday, December 14, 2026 - **Hearing or trial:** Wednesday, January 6, 2027 - **Judgment:** Wednesday, January 6, 2027 - **Writ or warrant of possession:** Saturday, January 16, 2027 - **Earliest lockout:** Wednesday, January 20, 2027 Another date: [open the estimator](/tools/eviction-timeline-estimator?state=ma). ## Want us to handle it? A runner files your papers in person at the clerk's window and sends you a scan of the stamped copy. We file what you prepared; we don't give legal advice. **Price:** Outside New Jersey it goes through our contractor network: quote-based, confirmed before any work starts, and booked once a local contractor accepts. In New Jersey it is from $75 per filing, court fees at cost. Starting rates. Your exact price is quoted after we confirm a local notary/runner, before you pay. [Request a court filing](/notary/court-filing#request) ## Help the official pages point to - A tenant with a lease can stop a nonpayment case by paying all the rent owed, with interest and costs, by the day the answer is due. A tenant at will can cure only within 10 days of getting the notice to quit, and only if they haven't had a nonpayment notice to quit in the last 12 months. - Statewide RAFT rental assistance (a pending application blocks eviction) and free pre-court community mediation. - The Legal Resource Finder, which connects to legal aid programs (source 1) - Massachusetts Community Mediation Centers, free pre-court mediation (source 1) ## Worth knowing Uniform Summary Process Rule 2 puts cases on the second Thursday after the Monday entry date, but provisions inconsistent with the courts' standing orders have been suspended since 2021; the hearing range here is the Housing Court's Standing Order 1-23. ## Sources - [Mass.gov: Tenants' guide to eviction](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/tenants-guide-to-eviction) (checked November 2026) - [Mass.gov: Uniform Summary Process Rule 2](https://www.mass.gov/trial-court-rules/uniform-summary-process-rule-2-form-of-summons-and-complaint-entry-of-action-scheduling-of-trial-date-service-of-process) (checked November 2026) - [Mass.gov: File an eviction case](https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-an-eviction-case) (checked November 2026) - [National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source): National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel: Enacted Eviction Right to Counsel and Eviction Defense Programs (last modified November 2026)](https://civilrighttocounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RTC_Enacted_Legislation_in_Eviction_Proceedings_FINAL.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [Mass.gov: Respond to an eviction against you](https://www.mass.gov/service-details/respond-to-an-eviction-against-you) (checked November 2026) - [Massachusetts Housing Court: Interim Standing Order 1-23, Summary process (effective June 5, 2023)](https://www.mass.gov/doc/interim-housing-court-standing-order-1-23/download) (checked November 2026) Sourced from official pages; a few facts from vetted secondary sources, marked "(secondary source)". General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Not a court form. Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer. ## Common questions **Which court hears eviction cases in Massachusetts?** Housing Court or District Court. A District Court or Housing Court; a tenant can ask to move a case to Housing Court. **How long does a tenant in Massachusetts have to respond?** The written answer is due on or before the first Monday after the Monday entry date in the summons (counted here from filing on the entry date). **How soon after filing is the Massachusetts hearing?** In the Housing Court, the clerk schedules the first court event 30 to 60 days after the case is entered; if the case isn't resolved there, trial is set about 2 weeks later (Standing Order 1-23, in effect until further order). The District Court and Boston Municipal Court have their own standing orders. That's the statute's window; the court's own calendar decides the actual date. **When can a Massachusetts landlord get the writ after winning?** After judgment the tenant has 10 days to appeal; then the judge gives the execution to the landlord. **How long between the writ and a lockout in Massachusetts?** The sheriff or constable gives written notice 2 days (not counting weekends or holidays) before removal; moves happen weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. **Who carries out an eviction in Massachusetts?** Sheriff or constable. The landlord hires a sheriff or constable to serve the execution and carry out the move. The officer acts on the court's order. **Can paying the rent stop a Massachusetts eviction case?** A tenant with a lease can stop a nonpayment case by paying all the rent owed, with interest and costs, by the day the answer is due. A tenant at will can cure only within 10 days of getting the notice to quit, and only if they haven't had a nonpayment notice to quit in the last 12 months. Notice step: [notice periods](/tools/landlord-tenant-notice-periods-by-state) · Deposit step: [deposit rules](/tools/security-deposit-rules-by-state) · All states: [eviction process by state](/tools/eviction-process-timeline-by-state) · [Maryland](/tools/eviction-process-maryland) · [Michigan](/tools/eviction-process-michigan) ## Keep rental records in order [Bookkeeping for landlords](/bookkeeping/for/small-landlords)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)