A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-58, regarding a report on eviction data collection

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development SANDRA CLARKE Deputy Director Chief of Administration KHALIL MOGASSABI Deputy Director Chief of Planning 344 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] www.cambridgema.gov To: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager From: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Date: December 5, 2018 Re: Awaiting Report #18-58 dated May 21, 2018 regarding eviction data collection In response to the above-referenced policy order we report the following. Property owners may file eviction complaints against tenants for unpaid rent or other lease violations. Owners must follow the terms of their leases and state statutes which regulate the landlord-tenant relationship. The process begins with a ‘notice to quit’ delivered to tenants, and if tenants do not remedy any violation (or in the case of no-fault evictions do not move), owners may escalate the issue by filing an eviction complaint. Eviction complaints can be filed in Cambridge District Court or, more frequently, in the Eastern Division of the Massachusetts Housing Court. Complaints may be dismissed for various reasons such as when the parties come to agreement. Over the past several months Community Development Department staff have assembled data available in Massachusetts court system electronic records on eviction complaints filed in Cambridge between 2013 and 2017. Since there is no consolidated source for eviction complaint data (like there is for foreclosure actions), the information gathered by CDD helps to establish a baseline for tracking eviction complaints and helps us begin to evaluate the extent to which these eviction complaints pose a threat to stability of tenants in Cambridge rental housing. However, information on executed eviction judgments is limited, so it is difficult to draw conclusions about the number of households displaced as a result of eviction. ANALYSIS Between 2013 and 2017, there were 2,900 eviction complaints filed against 1,937 unique Cambridge tenants. Eviction filings were seen in all types of housing, and ranged from a high of 662 in 2014 to a low of 510 in 2016. Many tenants were defendants in more than one eviction action during this period, with an average of 1.5 actions per defendant.

During this time, there were 1,655 judgments, approximately 330 each year. More than 60% of judgments were for amounts of more than $1,000. The median judgment amount was roughly $1,400, and the average judgment amount was $2,830. A summary of these trends is shown in the chart above. It is difficult to reliably determine the cause for eviction filings without a file review of the details of each case. However, analysis of judgment amounts shows that 82% of judgments approved by the Court are for amounts greater than expected court costs, which suggests that rent arrearages are included in most judgments. Of judgments in amounts under $300 (which are likely court costs), most appear to be for units with affordability restrictions, which would suggest the complaints stem from lease violations as affordable housing providers only file eviction complaints for cause. LIMITATIONS While data is available to show patterns in eviction complaints and judgments, complete data on outcomes is hard to assemble. We have information on judgments entered for eviction actions, however it is up to property owners to act on these judgments and then file paperwork with the Court. Judgments are often used by property owners to negotiate agreements with tenants, so many do not result in eviction and displacement. While property owners are responsible for returning notice of executed judgments to the Court, many do not, and information on executed judgments is therefore not readily available. We should also note that tenants may face displacement risk outside the eviction process, such as tenants who are not aware of their rights and move 0 100 200 300 400 500 [phone removed] 2014 2015 2016 2017 Trends for Eviction Actions 2013 - 2017 Eviction Actions Filed Eviction Actions - Unique Households Judgments Judgments - over $1,000 Judgments - $1,000 or less

after receiving notices from property owners. So even with better information on eviction outcomes we will not have a complete picture of households at risk of displacement or being displaced in the community. NEXT STEPS To continue this analysis, we will delve further into the court dockets and judgements to review eviction case files in the relevant courts to determine what additional information we can gather, especially on causes and outcomes. We intend to initiate this work in early 2019 and review a year of cases to establish a baseline, and to then update this analysis of court records annually. Staff are also now working to determine how available data could be used to connect tenants facing eviction complaints with resources including legal assistance and financial support to help preserve tenancies.