Housing Justice Beyond the Emergency

An Analysis of Racial Inequity in Eviction Filings Across Massachusetts

Since the state's eviction moratorium ended in 2020, tens of thousands of families have been pushed toward eviction — and it hasn't happened evenly. This report, from HFA Mass and researchers at MIT, shows exactly who's been hit hardest.

[Download the full report →]

33,000+
new eviction cases filed statewide since Oct 2020
43%
of evictions were in majority-nonwhite neighborhoods (only 32% of rental housing)
2x
the eviction filing rate in nonwhite vs. white neighborhoods
113,000
MA households behind on rent — 64% people of color

What we found

Evictions since the pandemic haven't just been about who couldn't pay rent — they've followed clear racial, gender, and ownership lines.

Eviction filings were disproportionately concentrated in Black and Latinx neighborhoods statewide
Neighborhoods with more single-mother households saw higher filing rates
Absentee, corporate landlords filed evictions at significantly higher rates than owner-occupant landlords
The Central and Southeast housing courts saw the highest filing rates in the state

This isn't a coincidence — it's the result of policy choices. And it's why we're fighting for rent stabilization, right to counsel, and real tenant protections now.

This is why we're organizing

Ensuring an equitable recovery means more than emergency rental assistance — it means changing how we think about housing altogether. That's why HFA Mass is pushing for: