Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title III Chapter 239
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 239, § 1 (2026)

Persons entitled to summary process

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1. If a forcible entry into land or tenements has been made, if a peaceable entry has been made and the possession is unlawfully held by force, if the lessee of land or tenements or a person holding under him holds possession without right after the determination of a lease by its own limitation or by notice to quit or otherwise, or if a mortgage of land has been foreclosed by a sale under a power therein contained or otherwise, or if a person has acquired title to land or tenements by purchase, and the seller or any person holding under him refuses to surrender possession thereof to the buyer, or if a tax title has been foreclosed by decree of the land court, or if a purchaser, under a written agreement to purchase, is in possession of land or tenements beyond the date of the agreement without taking title to said land as called for by said agreement, the person entitled to the land or tenements may recover possession thereof under this chapter. A person in whose favor the land court has entered a decree for confirmation and registration of his title to land may in like manner recover possession thereof, except where the person in possession or any person under whom he claims has erected buildings or improvements on the land, and the land has been actually held and possessed by him or those under whom he claims for six years next before the date of said decree or was held at the date of said decree under a title which he had reason to believe good.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 69 cases (13 in the last 5 years), 1923–2026 · leading case: Bank of New York v. Bailey, 951 N.E.2d 331 (Mass. 2011).
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Bank of New York v. Bailey, 951 N.E.2d 331 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 3× “2 Seeking to evict Bailey, BNY filed an action for summary process pursuant to G. L. c. 239, § 1. Bailey’s answer to the complaint alleged, among other claims and defenses, that BNY was not the owner because the sale was not in compliance with the foreclosure statute, due to…”
Meikle v. Nurse, 49 N.E.3d 210 (Mass. 2016). · cites it 3× “186, § 15B, as a defense to a landlord’s claim for possession in a summary process action brought under G. L. c. 239, § 1. The issue arises from a Housing Court judge’s disposition of a summary process action brought by Garth Meikle, the landlord, against Patricia Nurse, the…”
Rental Prop. Mgmt. Servs. v. Hatcher, 97 N.E.3d 319 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 2× “Standing to bring summary process action . A plaintiff may bring a summary process action to evict a tenant and recover possession of his or her property only if the plaintiff is the owner or lessor of the property.”
Cambridge Street Realty, LLC v. Stewart, 113 N.E.3d 303 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 2× “The plain text of the summary process statute, G. L. c. 239, § 1, also defines the role of a notice to quit in the exercise of that **128 jurisdiction.”
Adjartey v. Cent. Div. of the Hous. Court Departmentand, 120 N.E.3d 297 (Mass. 2019). “In fact, eight categories of persons may initiate a summary process eviction under G. L. c. 239, § 1 : (1) persons whose premises has been forcibly entered; (2) persons forcibly and unlawfully kept out of possession of their premises by one who entered the premises peaceably;…”
Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n v. Marroquin, 74 N.E.3d 592 (Mass. 2017). “775 (1966) (title defects can be raised as defense in summary process); G. L. c. 239, § 1 (summary process available to plaintiff only if foreclosure carried out according to law).”
U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Schumacher, 467 Mass. 421 (Mass. 2014). “See G. L. c. 239, § 1. See also Bank of N.Y. v.”
Commonwealth v. Barboza, 438 N.E.2d 1064 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 2× “[2] The BHA cannot, of course, "evict" a tenant without the aid of the summary process statute, G.L.c. 239, § 1, which authorizes a person legally entitled to possession of land or tenements to bring an action to recover possession.”
Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n v. Rego, 50 N.E.3d 419 (Mass. 2016). “185C, § 3; G. L. c. 239, § 1. In summary process cases, the occupant facing eviction may bring a defense or counterclaim that the owner of the property has committed a breach of warranty, a breach of any material provision of the rental agreement, or a “violation of any other…”
Scofield v. Berman & Sons, Inc., 469 N.E.2d 805 (Mass. 1984). · cites it 2× “434, 437 (1910); G.L.c. 239, § 1. There is, however, considerable persuasive authority, from courts of other jurisdictions, which indicates that a lessor lawfully may not terminate a tenancy when that action is taken in retaliation for the tenant's reporting violations of the…”
Bank of Am., N.A. v. Rosa, 999 N.E.2d 1080 (Mass. 2013). “The court held that because the circumstances did not reflect any of the enumerated instances for which summary process has been authorized by G. L. c. 239, § 1, the summary process action could not be maintained.”
Sarvis v. Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co., 711 N.E.2d 911 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “4 In particular, they contend that there was no evidence that they threatened, intimidated, or coerced the plaintiffs or that their actions involved actual or threatened confrontations with the plaintiffs.”
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