The Massachusetts Housing Court (also known as the Housing Court Department of the Trial Court) is a

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

in Massachusetts that hears eviction cases, small claims cases, and civil actions involving personal injury, property damage, breach of contract, discrimination, and other claims. The Housing Court also hears code enforcement actions and appeals of local zoning board decisions that affect residential housing. The Housing court is led by Chief Justice Timothy F. Sullivan and Deputy Court Administrator Benjamin O. Adeyinka. The Housing Court has 15 judges and covers all fourteen counties of the Commonwealth. The Housing Court has 6 divisions: Central, Eastern, Metro South, Northeast, Southeast, and Western. In civil matters, Housing Court judges conduct both

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

and jury-waived trials, and determine with finality any matter within the court's

subject matter jurisdiction Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...

. Cases from the housing court may be appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Housing Court Divisions

The Eastern Housing Court is located in the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, 24 New Chardon Street,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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. The court was established by the state legislature in 1971 as the Boston Housing Court and started its operation in August 1972. It handles summary proceedings for possession of land, also known as summary process. The court is one division of the Massachusetts Housing Court. The Eastern Division has sessions in Boston, Chelsea, and Somerville. The Central Housing Court is located at 225 Main Street, Worcester, MA. It has sessions in Worcester, Dudley, Leominster and Marlborough. The Western Housing Court is located at 37 Elm Street, Springfield, MA. It has sessions in Springfield, Pittsfield, Greenfield and Hadley. The Northeast Housing Court is located at 2 Appleton Street, 2d Floor, Lawrence, MA. It has sessions in Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Salem and Woburn. The Southeast Housing Court is located at 289 Rock St, Fall River, MA. It has sessions in Fall River, New Bedford, Plymouth and Taunton. The Metro South Housing Court is located at 215 Main Street, Suite 160, Brockton, MA. It has sessions in Brockton and Canton.

Judges

As of 2023, the Housing Court judges are: *Hon. Timothy F. Sullivan, Chief Justice *Hon. Irene Bagdoian (Associate Justice, Eastern) *Hon. Sergio Carvajal (First Justice, Central) *Hon. Gustavo del Puerto (First Justice, Northeast) *Hon. Robert G. Fields (Associate Justice, Western) *Hon. Eduardo Gonzalez (Associate Justice) *Hon. Diana H. Horan (Associate Justice, Central) *Hon. Jonathan Kane (First Justice, Western) *Hon. Joseph Kelleher (First Justice, Eastern) *Hon. Michael Malamut (Associate Justice, Eastern) *Hon. Joseph Michaud (Associate Justice, Southeast) *Hon. Alexander Mitchell-Munevar (Associate Justice, Northeast) *Hon. Donna Salvidio (First Justice, Southeast) *Hon. Neil Sherring (First Justice, Metro South) *Hon. Maria Theophilis (Associate Justice, Metro South) *Hon. Fairlie A. Dalton (Recall Justice) *Hon. Anne Kenney Chaplin (Recall Justice) *Hon. Jeffrey M. Winik (Recall Justice)

References

External links

Official website

Webpage providing information about the rights of MA tenants.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Housing Court, Massachusetts Massachusetts state courts Massachusetts law 1971 establishments in Massachusetts Courts and tribunals established in 1971