How to Evict a Tenant in Massachusetts: The Summary Process Timeline
Massachusetts has one of the most tenant-protective eviction systems in the country, and the process — called summary process — punishes small mistakes harshly. A miscounted notice or a wrong entry date can get your case dismissed and cost you another month of unpaid rent. Here's the timeline, step by step.
Step 1 — Serve the correct Notice to Quit
Every Massachusetts eviction starts with a Notice to Quit that matches your ground for eviction:
- Nonpayment of rent: a 14-day notice. Be aware that a tenant at will can usually "cure" by paying everything owed within 10 days of receiving the notice (if they haven't had a similar notice in the past year), which reinstates the tenancy.
- No fault / terminating a tenancy at will: generally 30 days or one full rental period, whichever is longer.
- For cause under a lease: follow the notice provisions in the lease.
The notice must be properly addressed, accurately dated, and properly delivered. Counting the days wrong — or sending the wrong type of notice for your ground — is one of the most common reasons cases fall apart later.
Step 2 — Summary Process Summons & Complaint and the Monday entry date
Only after the notice period expires can you file. You serve the tenant with a Summary Process Summons and Complaint on the proper form, then "enter" (file) the case with the court. In summary process, the entry date is a Monday, and the summons must be served on the tenant within a set window before that entry date. Pick the wrong Monday or serve too late, and the case can be thrown out.
Where you file matters too. Many landlords use the Housing Court, which specializes in these cases, but District Courts and the Boston Municipal Court also hear summary process. Our court directory shows which division covers your property.
Step 3 — The answer date and discovery
After entry, the tenant has until the answer date (generally the Monday following the entry date) to file an Answer raising defenses and counterclaims — habitability, security-deposit violations, retaliation, and the like. The tenant can also serve discovery, which automatically postpones the hearing by about two weeks and obligates you to respond in writing under oath. A landlord who can't cleanly answer discovery about the deposit, the condition of the unit, or the rent ledger is in a weak spot.
Step 4 — The hearing (and mediation)
At the first court event, many courts route parties to mediation with a Housing Specialist before a judge hears the case. A negotiated agreement (often an "agreement for judgment" with a payment or move-out schedule) is common and can be faster and more certain than trial. If the case is tried, the judge decides based on the evidence — your notice, your records, your exhibits, and the tenant's defenses.
Step 5 — Judgment and execution
If you win, the court enters judgment for possession. You still cannot remove the tenant yourself. The court issues an execution (the actual eviction order), generally about 10 days after judgment, and a sheriff or constable — not the landlord — carries it out, after giving the tenant the required advance notice. Courts can also grant tenants a stay in certain circumstances. Doing any part of this yourself ("self-help") is illegal and can turn you from plaintiff into defendant.
Common mistakes that cause dismissal — or worse
- Wrong notice or miscounted days for the ground you're using.
- Wrong entry date or late service of the summons.
- Security-deposit missteps that hand the tenant a counterclaim — sometimes for triple damages plus attorney's fees. (See the §15B deposit guide.)
- Acting within six months of a tenant complaint, triggering the retaliation presumption.
- Self-help: changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities.
Want to see how the delay adds up in dollars? Try the free landlord cost & timeline calculator.
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Related: How tenants answer a Notice to Quit · Find your court · Landlord packet pricing