Will I Get Evicted?
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How long before eviction in Massachusetts?

Tenant protection: Strong

Tenant protection rating, from nine protections in Massachusetts law. How the rating works.

Last verified 2026-09-23

From notice to removal

Each stage has its own timing. A landlord notice alone does not authorize removal.

  1. 01
    Notice

    14 days

  2. 02
    Court stage

    Timing not verified

  3. 03
    Writ wait

    10 days before execution

  4. 04
    Removal

    Enforcement follows a court order

At a glance

Grace period before a late fee
30 days
Late fee cap
No cap stated on the amount of a late fee or interest charge. The only statutory limit is timing: no interest or penalty for late payment may be imposed until 30 days after the rent is due.
Pay-or-quit notice
14 days
Two 14-day rules, with different ways to stop the eviction by paying. A tenant with a lease (c.186 §11) can pay any time up to the day the answer is due in court, with no limit on how often. A tenant at will (c.186 §12) can pay within 10 days of receiving the notice, but only if they have not received a similar notice in the past 12 months. If the notice leaves out the required warning about this right, the 10 days extend to the answer date. Neither section says whether a lease can change the 14 days. No city ordinance changes the notice period.
Recorded court-stage timing
Not verified
Wait before the writ can be executed
10 days
Can paying stop it before judgment?
Yes
Can paying stop it after judgment?
No
Lockouts without a court order banned?
Yes
Record sealing available?
Yes
Right to counsel
none
Fastest lawful timeline
56 daysNot independently verified. Figure from the Eviction Research Network's state eviction timeframes dataset, as of 2026-07-13. We have not yet checked it against the statutes.
Not legal advice. This page reports what the state statute says as of the last-verified date. It does not describe how a particular court applies it, and it does not account for your lease, local ordinances, or the facts of your case. If you have received a notice or a court summons, contact a legal aid organization listed below.

Can I stop it by paying?

Before judgment: Yes. A tenant with a lease (c.186 §11) may pay all rent due, with interest and court costs, up to the day the answer is due, with no 12-month limit. A tenant at will (c.186 §12) may pay the full rent due within 10 days of receiving the notice, but only if they have not received a similar notice in the past 12 months.

After judgment: No. If the landlord accepts full payment of the judgment and any use and occupancy since, the landlord cannot carry out the eviction and must return the execution to the court (c.239 §3). The landlord does not have to accept the payment, and refusing it does not stop the landlord from enforcing the judgment.

Behind on utilities in Massachusetts too? See Massachusetts's shutoff protection rules.

Where to get help

  • Free legal help
  • Massachusetts has not enacted a right to a lawyer in eviction cases, statewide or for any city. Earlier research noted a state-funded Access to Counsel pilot and a Boston pilot for households with school-age children. Those pilots were not re-confirmed for this update, and a pilot is not a legal right.

Sources