Just cause eviction rules in Essex County, MA — sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances — list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Essex County community enforces one. A landlord can end a tenancy-at-will without giving a reason, using a 30-day notice to quit followed by summary process in court under Chapter 239.
Evictions across Essex County run through the state summary process statute, MGL Chapter 239. For a tenancy-at-will, a landlord terminates by serving written notice of 30 days or one rental period, whichever is longer, and need not prove cause. Nonpayment cases require a 14-day notice to quit. Only after the notice expires can the landlord file in District or Housing Court; self-help lockouts and utility shutoffs are illegal. Boston and Cambridge have pushed for just-cause protections through home-rule petitions, but Lynn, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Salem have not adopted any, so no cause requirement applies here.
A landlord who removes a tenant without a court judgment, by changing locks, seizing belongings, or cutting utilities, faces triple damages and attorney fees under MGL c.186 §14. Only a sheriff or constable may execute a court-ordered eviction.
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