October 11, 2024
MassLive’s Housing Court Guide: A list of self-help resources and legal services
BY MassLive
Self-help resources
Law librarians cannot provide legal advice, but they can help find legal information you may need for your case.
Apply for Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT)
Civil Court Date Text Reminders
Receive text reminders four days before and one day before your scheduled court event.
Court forms for eviction – Mass.gov
This page provides blank forms needed during many parts of the eviction process. Additional forms are available here.
This site offers free guided interviews that will help you fill out court forms based on the answers you provide. There are forms to request an interpreter, request a temporary restraining order, send a security deposit demand letter, file a motion to stay eviction, remove a default judgment or extend the deadline to file an appeal brief and more.
E-book: Tenants’ Rights in Massachusetts
Eviction for Tenants – Mass.gov
More information about what to expect if your landlord files an eviction case against you.
Guide to virtual hearings – Mass.gov
Find available affordable housing opportunities in Massachusetts.
MADE, or Massachusetts Defense for Eviction, is a self-help guided interview for tenants who are being evicted created by Greater Boston Legal Services. It can help you file legal paperwork and determine your next steps and takes approximately 25 to 90 minutes to complete. This resource is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Portuguese and Haitian Creole.
Massachusetts Free Legal Answers
Low-income residents may post a specific legal question and receive a response from a lawyer answering their questions. Note: Users are not guaranteed to receive an answer to their question and it is not recommended to use this service if you already have a court date scheduled or a deadline to file legal paperwork, as you may not receive an answer in time.
Massachusetts housing assistance guide – Mass.gov
This provides resources and information on shelter, eviction, emergency help with housing costs, rental vouchers, public housing and affordable housing.
Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder
This website can provide links and referrals to legal aid and resources suited to your specific situation. The Guide Me quiz is meant for people facing a housing-related legal issue and can provide information on what your next steps should be. Disponible en español.
Mass Legal Help offers guides on many legal topics. Their housing section includes information on eviction, tenants’ rights, housing discrimination, foreclosure, public and subsidized housing and more. Disponible en español.
Massachusetts Trial Court Self-Help Center
You can file a small claims lawsuit if the amount of money you are requesting is $7,000 or less. Small claims lawsuits are cheaper than typical civil complaints and designed to be more straightforward for people without a lawyer’s help. This page offers more information on small claims lawsuits and how to file one online.
This website can help you determine if your home is safe and in compliance with building and sanitary codes, then navigate next steps. Having records of poor conditions in your home can be a defense in an eviction case. This resource is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole.
Statewide resources
Seven courthouses throughout Massachusetts have a Court Service Center, and there is one Virtual Court Service Center that can be accessed from anywhere. Staff of the Court Service Center cannot provide legal advice but they can provide one-on-one help filling out and filing forms or accessing documents, information on court rules and procedures, computers and connections to other community resources. Staff can provide help in most languages. There are Court Service Centers at courthouses in Boston, Brockton, Greenfield, Lawrence, Lowell, Springfield and Worcester, and the Virtual Court Service Center is available from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday through Friday on Zoom or by calling 646-828-7666, entering the meeting ID 1615261140 and pressing # #.
617-338-0610 or 877-686-0711
The Massachusetts Bar Association holds a monthly Dial-A-Lawyer program where volunteer lawyers answer legal questions for free. The program is offered between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.
Families that are eligible for emergency assistance shelter may be able to receive state funds to help with monthly rent payments, moving expenses, first and last month’s rent and deposits on a new apartment or overdue rent and utility payments.
Lawyer for the Day
Some courthouses host Lawyer for the Day programs on certain days with attorneys and law students who can provide free legal help on the day you are in court. The Housing Court sessions in Brockton, Boston, Canton, Hadley, Greenfield, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield, Woburn and Worcester offer this program. Check the website for your individual court location to see if the program is offered on the day you will be in court.
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
Boston: 617-994-6000
Springfield: 413-739-2145
Worcester: 508-453-9630
MCAD investigates complaints of discrimination in housing, the workplace and other areas. If you believe you are the victim of housing discrimination, you can file a complaint and the commission will investigate it, but cannot provide legal advice. The commission’s website also provides useful information about housing discrimination.
Suffolk University Housing Discrimination Testing Program
617-884-7568
This program can provide assistance to victims of housing discrimination. They have resources in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Haitian Creole.
Each location of the Housing Court has a local office of the Tenancy Preservation Program, which works with tenants who are facing eviction because of behavior related to a disability such as mental illness, intellectual disability, substance abuse or aging-related impairments. The program works as a neutral party with the landlord and tenant to try to find reasonable accommodations for the disability and avoid the tenant being removed from the home.
Contact information for local Tenancy Preservation Program offices can be found on the program website.
There are 15 law libraries across Massachusetts, where you can get information about state laws and court processes and check out books on legal topics. Law librarians can’t provide legal advice, but they can help you find the legal information you need to understand and navigate your case. The law library system website also has an online database and e-books if you are unable to go in person.
Law libraries are located within courthouses in Barnstable, Brockton, Dedham, Fall River, Greenfield, Lawrence, Lowell, Northampton, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Woburn and Worcester.
Boston-area resources
Boston Fair Housing Commission
617-635-2500
If you believe you are the victim of housing discrimination and the discriminatory incident took place within the city of Boston, you can file a complaint with the city’s Fair Housing Commission. The commission will investigate your complaint but does not provide legal advice. However, the commission’s website has more helpful information on housing discrimination.
Boston Office of Housing Stability
617-635-4200
The city of Boston’s Office of Housing Stability offers resources and support for Boston residents in housing crisis. They can provide help and information and also host a virtual legal clinic on the first Tuesday of every month for tenants and small landlords. Disponible en Español.
English: 617-934-5006 Español: 617-397-3773
City Life/Vida Urbana is a community advocacy organization that focuses on tenants’ rights and housing issues. It offers a housing phone hotline and holds two hybrid meetings, one in English and one in Spanish, each week for people looking for support with housing issues. See their website for meeting information.
617-661-1010
De Novo offers free legal assistance on housing matters for Cambridge and Somerville residents. It can provide advice, advocacy and representation in court and administrative proceedings.
617-371-1234
GBLS offers free legal advice for residents in the Greater Boston area, both through phone consultations and free legal clinics. Their staff can answer questions and may be able to represent you in court for free if they determine it is needed.
GBLS has staff who speak Cantonese, English, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish, and use interpreters for other languages.
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and Tenant Advocacy Project
Harvard University offers multiple programs where tenants can get free legal aid from student attorneys. The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau provides free legal representation for residents of Suffolk County and parts of Middlesex County with no or low incomes. They also run a free weekly Eviction Defense Clinic to help unrepresented tenants prepare for court appearances or fill out and file answer and discovery forms.
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau: 617-495-4408 Disponible en Español.
The Tenant Advocacy Project provides legal advice and guidance for public housing tenants or applicants as well as tenants with housing vouchers or applicants waiting for a voucher in and around Boston. They provide services in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Portuguese.
Tenant Advocacy Project: 617-495-4394
Chelsea: 781-214-6533 Malden: 781-397-7000 ext. 572
Housing Families provides free legal aid for low-income residents. While they have offices in Chelsea and Malden, Massachusetts residents throughout the state can contact them for help through their website.
617-889-6080
La Colaborativa is a grassroots organization in Chelsea that provides services and support in a number of areas, including housing. It can provide assistance with RAFT applications, tenant-landlord mediation and limited cash assistance for emergency housing costs. It hosts weekly Know Your Rights trainings for tenants and free legal aid clinics where tenants can meet one-on-one with a housing attorney. Disponible en Español.
617-603-1700 or 1-800-342-LAWS (5297)
The Volunteer Lawyers Project provides free legal assistance for residents of Greater Boston. They also host clinics for tenants at risk of eviction to help fill out answer and discovery forms.
In addition to aid for tenants, the organization also runs the Landlord Advocacy Project, which provides legal assistance for low-income owner-occupant landlords across Massachusetts who rent out one or more units in their own home.
Central Massachusetts and Metro West services
855-CLA-LEGAL (855-252-5342)
Community Legal Aid serves residents of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties. it may be able to provide free legal assistance or representation for low-income or elderly residents and victims of housing discrimination. Their website also provides a library of “Know Your Rights” materials in English and Spanish. Disponible en Español.
Massachusetts Fair Housing Center
413-539-9796
Residents of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester Counties who believe they have been the victim of housing discrimination may be able to receive free assistance from the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center. The organization will investigate your case, help you determine your options and potentially help you file a legal complaint. Disponible en Español.
508-620-1830
MetroWest Legal Services may be able to provide free legal aid and representation to low-income residents of over 40 communities in the Metro West region. They have staff fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and use interpreters for clients who speak other languages.
Northeastern Massachusetts resources
781-346-9199
Lynn residents facing eviction, foreclosure, poor living conditions or other housing issues can contact this grassroots organization for support. Disponible en Español.
978-458-1465
Northeast Legal Aid runs Lawyer for the Day programs in the Lawrence, Lowell and Lynn/Salem Housing Court sessions and provides other legal assistance for low-income and elderly tenants. They can help with completing answer and discovery forms in eviction cases or advocate for families facing subsidy and shelter terminations. Resources are available in English, Spanish and Khmer.
Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Islands services
South Coastal Counties Legal Services
800-244-9023
Low-income or elderly residents of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket and Plymouth counties may be eligible to receive free legal services in housing and other matters. Resources are available in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese and Vietnamese.
401-285-2550 or 774-473-9994
SouthCoast Fair Housing helps residents of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island who believe they are the victim of housing discrimination. They can provide information about housing rights, investigate complaints, help determine options and pursue legal complaints. In Massachusetts, they may be able to provide legal advice or representation or connect you with an attorney. Resources are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
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