The Housing Courts have enacted a new Standing Order affecting landlords' eviction procedures. We have highlighted a few changes below, and here is a section-by-section summary of the new Standing Order. Still, we recommend that you read the entire order to familiarize yourself with the new rules.

These changes affect Chapter 186 Section 31, a part of Massachusetts housing law. Section 31 says what landlords must tell their tenants when they give a notice to quit. We recommend reading the entire section, which is only two paragraphs.

Here are a few important changes from the new standing order. There are others, so make sure you know your obligations if you are proceeding with an eviction in the Housing Court. 



• If you wish to collect back rent from your tenant as part of your eviction, you MUST include the documents below, even if you are evicting for cause (lease violations) or no cause.

-NTQ Accompanying Form

-Affidavit of Compliance with G.L. c. 186, s. 31.

• Mediations will occur in person. The Courts are returning to in-person hearings in many instances, including for mediation.

• If you have a good reason not to appear in person, you may request in writing that the mediation be held by a virtual hearing. You must make this request in writing, and the court must grant it in advance of your mediation, so be sure to make your request in writing, early! Good cause to request a reasonable accommodation can include disability, sickness, being out of state on the court date, lack of transportation, etc. Again, the court decides this, so make the request early. If you do not get permission to appear by a virtual hearing, you must go to court on the day of your mediation. 

• Mediation is voluntary but you must appear on the day it is scheduled. You do not have to make any agreement at mediation if you think you will not be able to reach one with your tenant. However, you need to show up to court on the scheduled day. You can then tell the judge or housing specialist that you do not wish to mediate. The Housing Specialist will then give you a date to return for trial. The court may dismiss your case if you do not appear for mediation.

• Serving a notice of Mediation on your tenant(s). Once you have filed your case, you will receive a notice of mediation from the court with the date for you to appear. You MUST give on your tenant a copy of the mediation notice and the information sheet accompanying it. This is called “serving” the notice to the tenant. The notice must be served by a constable. Be sure to give the constable all the documents that need to be served. There is a time limit to serve the tenant so be sure to arrange the service of the notice quickly. 

• To tell the constable, bring them the notice and information sheet you got from the court. The constable will make a copy of the forms, deliver the papers to the tenant, and forward to you a Return of Service, a document showing that the documents were served.    

• Once the constable fills out the Return of Service, which is the paper that says that they served the forms on the tenant, you MUST file the return of service with the court by the date of your mediation. If you don't file the return of service with the court, this could prevent the court from giving you a judgment if your tenant does not attend mediation or trial.   

Are you Small Landlord?

If you are a small landlord who needs legal assistance or help applying for rental, mortgage or utility assistance, click here to see if you qualify to speak with a lawyer. Lawyers from VLP can help you apply for assistance, completely free.

Want to Get Involved with the Landlord Project?

If you are lawyer, law student, or paralegal interested in volunteering to help our small landlords, click below to see volunteer opportunities.

TRUE: In certain circumstances, you may be required to reinstate the tenancy.  

TRUE: RAFT payments are made directly to the landlord.

We want to introduce the newest members joining the Landlord team. Get to know Attorney Alexandra Roman, Attorney Timothy Dills and Bilingual Paralegal Shaiprice Vasquez. 

Alexandra Roman, Esq. joined VLP in 2018 as a law school intern, in 2021 as a volunteer for the HILA Landlords program, and in 2023 as a Temporary Staff Attorney for the Landlord Advocacy Project. Alex got her BA in history from UMass Dartmouth in 2017 and her JD from New England Law | Boston in 2020. She works part time for VLP and part time running her own office doing child welfare and delinquency work in the Fitchburg/Leominster area. 

Timothy Dills, Esq. joined VLP in January 2022 as an intern in the HILA Tenant program. Timothy was later hired in February 2023 as a Staff Attorney in the Landlord Advocacy Project. Timothy earned his J.D. in 2022 from New England Law | Boston, where he received a CALI award in Housing Discrimination. Timothy earned his B.A. in History and Political Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he is excited to continue his work providing representation to underserved communities. 

Shaiprice Vazquez is a part of the Volunteer Lawyers Project’s Paralegal team. He started as a legal intern in January 2023 and became a Paralegal in April 2023. He was born and raised in the neighborhoods of Worcester. He completed his Associate degree at Quinsigamond Community College and his Bachelor of Science in Law at Suffolk University. He enjoys every aspect of being able to assist Massachusetts residents and is planning on continuing his career in law school to become an attorney. 

Pro bono attorney Dana Cohen has volunteered with the VLP since the Spring of 2021. The VLP Landlord Advocacy team and clients benefit from his volunteerism based on the topic he advises, which is the importance of valid title ownership. He is currently the only attorney specializing in this topic and provides Landlord Ownership advice and advice on Deeds, Individual/Joint, LLC, Corporations, and Trust matters. Thank you to Dana for his contribution! 

The Landlord Advocacy Project’s many partners have helped propel our advocacy work for low-income owner-occupants. In this issue we highlight Executive Director of Justice Bridge Legal Center, Len Zandrow, Esq. Len Zandrow has been a partner with VLP since the Landlord Advocacy Project’s inception and was instrumental in helping to recruit pro bono volunteers. His input also helped the Landlord Advocacy Project establish a platform where attorneys and clients interact in a secure virtual space called Legal Squirrel. We are grateful to have him as our partner.  

Our Landlord client and her husband are an elderly, disabled couple with limited English proficiency. They have fully paid off their mortgage on their home and live off a fixed income from the husband's pension and the rental income from the tenant who lives in the apartment upstairs. 

While working at his previous factory job, the Landlord’s husband met a young man who was in a difficult situation regarding his housing, and they opened their home to this young man, offering to let him rent their upstairs apartment.  

Shortly after moving into the apartment, the tenant stopped paying rent. When the Landlord asked about the unpaid rent, he became aggressive. The Landlord tried to convince the tenant to apply for rental assistance, but the tenant refused. Despite the tenant’s lack of cooperation and failure to pay rent, the landlord still remained sympathetic. After more than a year, tens of thousands of dollars in utility bills had accrued, and the Landlord and her husband needed the rental income to keep up with payments. The Landlord finally decided that she had to evict the tenant to keep her home; there was no other choice.   

The Landlord then sought help from VLP. VLP helped her file an eviction action and schedule mediation. The tenant did not show up to the mediation, and a default judgment was issued against the tenant. Shortly after obtaining the judgment, the tenant abandoned the property. Before leaving the property, the tenant attempted to damage the apartment by plugging all the drains and flooding the apartment. Fortunately, the Landlord was able to catch the flooding before it became catastrophic and was able to shut off the water from the basement, which had become partially flooded.  



Now that the tenant had left, the Landlord could repair damage on the unit and rebuild her life. Even though the resolution of her case was not ideal, the aid she received from VLP allowed her to get to the point where she could move on. 

To Date Community Impact

Follow VLP on social media at any of the links below: