Just to confirm, this is a rental that you own yourself, correct?

You certainly don't HAVE to get a lawyer. If you are nervous about it, some people will tell you to hire a lawyer for your first eviction, shadow/watch them throughout the process, and then you can do it yourself next time.

But, if you're up to the challenge (which usually isn't that bad if you are prepared), then you can certainly do it yourself.

I'll let someone more familiar the eviction laws in MA respond to give better guidance on where to go from here though.

- John...

Provided that the rental is owned in your name & not in an LLC or a trust you can do you own eviction for non payment. Since you have never done one before, I suggest that you visit either your local district court or housing court to observe how things go. I prefer to use housing court. What area of MA is your rental located in?

Do you have proof of service for the 14 day notice? If not you will need to have proof of service before you can proceed to the next step. This can be done by either having the tenant sign for it if you serve it or you can use a sheriff or a constable to serve it. Make sure you use the correct form for MA. There is one for mtm tenancies and a slightly different one for term tenancies. If you do not have proof of service then I suggest that you properly serve a new 14 day notice.

After the 14 days are up, the next step is to have either a sheriff or a constable serve a summons to bring the tenant into court. This has to be done by either a sheriff or a constable, you can not do it yourself.

When you have you day in court, you will need to be able to prove that the 14 day notice was properly served. You will need to bring copies of your rental agreement, rent register and any other information required to support your case. I suggest that you have a copy for the defendant, the judge & your self. If you use the housing court you & your tenant will first meet with a housing specialist to try to settle the case. If a settlement can be reached usually the judge will approve it. If you can't reach a settlement the case will be heard in open court before the judge.

FYI in MA a LL can still collect monies from a tenant after a 14 day notice has been issued. Unless they pay everything owed in full you will need to issue then a "Uses and Occupancy" receipt for any partial payments. If this is not done correctly, you will have to start the eviction process again.

I can't emphasize enough how helpful it is to observe the eviction process first hand before your court appearance.

Johnny B, I don't think that the 2 courts that I deal with would accept your method as proof of service. I'm confident that they wouldn't allow the letters to count however I'm not sure about the text picture unless you have someway to proof that the tenant actually received it. I'll try to remember to ask my local housing court judge about this, the next time I see him.

I deal with the Southeast Housing Court. That's the Taunton, Fall River area.

If you are at all nervous about validly serving a 14 NTQ, then pay a constable or sheriff about $45 to serve it. That will NOT be questioned in court.

However, I serve my 14 day NTQ all the time.

If I can, I will give the 14 NTQ "in hand" to the tenant. Then mail a copy via first class mail to that tenant.

If you can't serve it "in hand", then double tape it to their entry door. This is called serving it "by nail". Again, mail a copy via first class mail to the tenant.

After serving, on YOUR copy, in the upper right hand corner, hand write the following:

"On xx/xx/xxxx at xx:xxpm , I William Landlord, served IN HAND to Joe Tenant the original of this document. On that same day, I mailed a copy to the tenant via USPS First Class Mail." Then you sign below this handwritten info.

If you had to serve it "by nail", change the handwritten info to the following:

"On xx/xx/xxxx at xx:xxpm , I William Landlord, served BY NAIL by taping top and bottom (or nailing) the original of this document to the entry door of Joe Tenant's door at Apt 3, 123 Main St., Anytown, MA. On that same day, I mailed a copy to the tenant via USPS First Class Mail." Then you sign below this handwritten info.

On an eviction 3 weeks ago, Judge Edwards, read this handwritten notation, nodded and then found in my favor.

This is VERY doable in the Southeast Housing Court.

BUT, each Housing Court has it's own "personality" and quirks. Go the the Housing Office in your court house and ask them if my suggested verbiage will satisfy them.

Good luck.