The ongoing expansion of the state Housing
Court will arrive in Chelsea on Monday as the Housing Court has its first
session on Monday, Sept. 30 in Chelsea District Court.
For decades, Housing Court has been located
in Boston at the Brooke Courthouse, or residents could file in Chelsea District
Court. However, Chelsea Court didn’t have the specialty services that Housing
Court delivers, such as mediation sessions, and if residents couldn’t get to
the Brooke, they often lost out.
That is not the case anymore, as Housing
Court Chief Justice Tim Sullivan and Deputy Court Administrator Benjamin O.
Adeyinka (also a Chelsea resident) announced they are ready to bring the court
to the people.
“We will being our Chelsea session on Sept.
30 and every Monday thereafter as long as it works,” said Sullivan this week.
“We believe if you build it, they will come. We believe is we establish a
presence then the litigants will make use of the services. We think it’s going
to be much more convenient, especially to people who feel constrained by
transportation.”
The Court sessions will begin in Courtroom 2
in Chelsea, with Judge Marylou Muirhead presiding. They will also bring a Clerk
Magistrate and a team of housing specialists – which includes mediation. Most
of those on the team will also be bi-lingual as well.
The bulk of Housing Court business is
summary process cases, which is basically evictions. There were 507 of those
filed in Chelsea District Court last year, and Adeyinka said they are expecting
that number to be about the same in the first year of operation of their court.
Most summary process cases go before the
judge, and then are sent to special mediators who try to sort out a resolution between
the tenant and landlord. That does the trick most times, but if not, the case
can come back before the judge. If a trial is required, that would still have
to happen in Boston where they can seat a 12-person jury. Likewise, any
pre-trial conferences and initial case filings would be taking place in Boston.
Cell phones are not allowed in Chelsea
Court, though they are allowed in the Brooke – it should be noted.
The expansion comes out of legislation
passed in 2017 that allowed for the Housing Court to move into different areas,
some places with new buildings and others with shared facilities like in
Chelsea.
“Prior to 2017, there were still 84 cities
and towns in the Commonwealth without any access to our court,” said Sullivan.
“Interestingly, even though we began in Boston and Boston is in Suffolk County,
no other Suffolk County communities were included. We believe if we can, we
should immerse ourselves in the community…From my standpoint, one great aspect
of Housing Court expansion is many communities we’re picking up include large
numbers of rental units. Chelsea is certainly no exception. Our court can
really serve that population in a very beneficial way.”
Another positive is for the City to be able
to file Code Compliance cases with the Housing Court, including compliance for
the building, sanitary and fire codes. That is a great aspect of the new
Housing Court, and one that City officials were excited to use.
Sullivan said they are also trying to work
with the Bar Association to implement a Lawyer for a Day program to provide
assistance to the many litigants that show up without representation.
He said he has been extremely impressed with
the cooperation from the Trial Courts and all of the community stakeholders in
Chelsea.
“None of this
could have happened without all of them,” said Sullivan.
Continue at source –
First Housing Court Session in Chelsea to Start Monday