To mitigate community spread of the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued an order pausing residential evictions for some tenants unable to make rental payments due to hardships caused by the coronavirus. Use this form to see if you are covered by this order and to produce a declaration to share with your landlord if you are.
To qualify, you must:
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. Consequently, it is not an approved court form. It will help you produce a letter that you can mail or email to your landlord.
This form is national and can be used anywhere in the United States.
Ask the judge to order your landlord to stop doing things that are illegal - like locking you out, shutting off your utilities, refusing to make emergency repairs, and other things that stop you from feeling like your home is your own. This last is called, "Interfering with your right to quiet enjoyment."
The name of the form is VERIFIED COMPLAINT AND MOTIONS FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION FOR PROTECTION FROM UNLAWFUL EVICTION, UTILITY TERMINATION, OR BREACH OF QUIET ENJOYMENT G.L. c. 186, §14
This cover sheet must be filed in each civil case entered into Superior Court. The purpose is to assist the Clerk’s office by providing basic contact information for the parties, the case category, an estimation of how long the case will take, statement of damages and related cases pending in the Superior Court.
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not yet intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. It is not yet an approved court form. It will help you produce a document you can download and file on your own.
This form helps Massachusetts tenants ask the court to dismiss an eviction because the eviction is not "essential." Under Governor Baker's eviction moratorium landlords can file only "essential" evictions. The moratorium currently ends October 17, 2020.
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. Consequently, it is not an approved court form. After you complete this packet, you will need to call the court and see how they would like it delivered.
If a trial court judge has ordered you to be evicted, use this form to appeal the trial court judge's order and ask the appeals court to prevent your eviction.
Before using this form, you must ask for a Stay in the Housing Court.
If you have not already done so, you can use this form to download a Notice of Appeal and file a Waiver of Appeal Bond.
To use this form, you will need relevant Housing Court documents including:
For more information on what you need to file an appeal, view the Housing Appeal Guide.
If you cannot meet the current due date to serve and file your brief you may use this form to ask the Appeals Court for more time.
This interview will help you tell the court:
A copy of the motion must be served on all other parties to the appeal.
This completely free guided interview is for Massachusetts tenants who are being evicted. It is estimated to take between 25 and 90 minutes for a typical tenant to use on their own. It will help you make sure that you respond to your landlord's eviction case correctly. It can send you reminders of important dates by text and email. It includes videos and educational links.
Unlike other forms found on this site, this form is not intended for direct filing with the Massachusetts Trial Court. Consequently, it is not an aproved court form. At the end of the form, you can download, print, and send or e-file using the court's official E-Filing portal.
The public can call the Helpline to ask general questions about their civil and criminal cases and help them navigate the court system while the court system remains closed to the public except for emergency matters. The Helpline will be staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For emergency matters, court users should first call their local court Clerk's or Register's Offices. Contact numbers for individual courts and offices can be found online on the Courthouse Locator page. Emergency matters include: emergency protection and harassment prevention orders; arraignments of new arrests; bail reviews; dangerousness hearings; mental health commitment orders; care and protection orders; and other matters. Each department of the Trial Court issued Standing Orders that contain full lists of emergency matters.
