Housing Court Rules  Housing Court Standing Order 1-26: In-person and remote court hearings

This standing order shall repeal and replace Section 2 of Interim Housing Court Standing Order 1-23, as it pertains to remote and in-person court events. Where appropriate, this Standing Order is intended to be consistent with any orders of the Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") and the Executive Office of the Trial Court.

Consistent with the Housing Court’s mission to adjudicate all matters in a fair, efficient and timely manner, to increase access to justice, and to support the operational needs of the Divisions of the Housing Court, it is hereby ORDERED, effective June 1, 2026, that the Divisions of the Housing Court shall operate subject to the provisions below. This Standing Order may be amended or rescinded at any time and shall remain in effect until further order of the Court.

So ordered,

Diana H. Horan
Chief Justice of the Housing Court

The following types of court events shall presumptively be held in person:

1. mediation and trial in all case types, including all first- and second-tier court events in summary process cases;
2. proceeding where an assessment of credibility is necessary, as determined by the Clerk-Magistrate, in consultation with the respective First Justice;
3. motion requiring an evidentiary hearing, as determined by the Clerk-Magistrate, in consultation with the respective First Justice; and
4. arraignment and contempt proceeding.

The following types of court events shall presumptively be held remotely:

1. case management, pre-trial, and status conferences;
2. emergency motions (e.g., where one party cannot appear because of short notice, including motions to stop the levy on 48-hour eviction notices), as determined by the Clerk-Magistrate, in consultation with the respective First Justice; 
   and
3. motions that do not require an evidentiary hearing, as determined by the Clerk-Magistrate, in consultation with the respective First Justice.

A.

Upon motion, request, or on its own initiative, the court may exercise its discretion to schedule any court event to be held in person or remotely to support operational needs of the Division. In exercising its discretion, the court may authorize a participant (attorney, party, or witness) to appear remotely while other participants appear in person, so long as it is consistent with the protection of constitutional rights. A participant who requests to appear remotely for an otherwise in-person proceeding shall have no grounds to object to other participants appearing in person.

B.

Each Clerk-Magistrate, in consultation with the respective First Justice, shall determine the process for scheduling and hearing code enforcement cases and any other court events not identified in §§ I and II.

C.

Where lawful and appropriate as determined by the court, any court personnel or third-party agency representative—including judges, housing specialists, interpreters, and representatives from a regional administering agency—may appear remotely at any type of court event in order to support operational needs of the Division. 

No person shall take any photographs, or make any recording or transmission by electronic means, of a remote or hybrid court hearing, without prior authorization from the judge or clerk magistrate having immediate supervision over the remote or hybrid hearing, consistent with Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19, which governs electronic access to the courts.

For purposes of public access to in-person, remote, or hybrid hearings that are open to the public, members of the public may access court hearings as follows:

1. For in-person hearings, where no party appears remotely, members of the public shall attend in person.
2. For remote hearings, where all parties attend remotely, members of the public may access the hearing remotely.
3. For hybrid hearings, where at least one party attends in person, while at least one other party or participant appears remotely, members of the public shall attend in person.
   
   Members of the public may seek permission from the court, by contacting the Clerk’s Office, to access a hybrid hearing remotely. A request to access a hybrid hearing remotely shall be subject to the court’s discretion and determination. In determining such request, the court may consider the timeliness of the request, among any other factor(s) impacting the operational needs of the Division.

Members of the public seeking specific information or instructions on public access to in-person, remote, or hybrid hearings in a particular case shall contact the Clerk’s Office for further details.