February 10, 2026

In early 2025, Massachusetts lawmakers filed Senate Docket No. 491, titled An Act establishing a foreclosure review division (the “Bill”). This Bill proposes the creation of a dedicated Foreclosure Review Division within the Superior Court Department. As currently written, this Bill proposes the creation of a dedicated Foreclosure Review Division within the Superior Court Department. It would insert a new Chapter 212A into the General Laws and establish a specialized division with concurrent jurisdiction over a wide range of foreclosure-related matters (including, but not limited to, actions involving the validity of foreclosures, post-foreclosure evictions, title disputes, quiet title actions, and loan modification disputes).

The proposed division would operate via four (4) to six (6) statewide sessions, provide online resources for self-represented litigants, and offer alternative dispute resolution services. Judicial leadership and staffing shall be determined by the Chief Justice of the Trial Court in consultation with other court leadership. In summary, the Bill proposes a structural reorganization of foreclosure litigation in Massachusetts by centralizing foreclosure-related disputes within a specialized court division designed to handle both procedural and substantive foreclosure issues.

If enacted, the Bill would also allow foreclosure-related cases pending in other court departments to transfer into the Foreclosure Review Division without additional filing fees. It would also permit refiling within thirty (30) days when a foreclosure claim is dismissed, or denied and appealed, elsewhere for lack of jurisdiction. The Bill further establishes an advisory board composed of judicial, executive, and legal professionals with experience in foreclosure, consumer protection, and access-to-justice issues, and sets an initial five (5)-year term for the division with automatic renewal unless repealed by the legislature.

While the Bill’s proposal does not alter substantive foreclosure standards, it would create a new procedural forum that may affect case routing, judicial specialization, and litigation strategy for foreclosure matters across the Commonwealth.