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Get time to move

Produced by Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, with assistance from legal services offices in Massachusetts
Reviewed January 2022

Need time to move?

If you lost your eviction case, or you agreed in a court judgment to move out, and you need more time to move, you can ask the judge to let you stay in your home longer. You must act fast and use the Stay of Execution form in this booklet.

Act fast

10 days after you lose your eviction case, your landlord can get an Execution from the court. The Execution is the court order a landlord must give a sheriff or constable so they can move you out. A sheriff or constable can only move you out if your landlord has given them an Execution.

If you appeal a case you lost within 10 days of the court’s decision, your landlord cannot get the Execution right away. See Booklet 7: Appeal.

The longer you wait to request a Stay of Execution, the more risk you run that the landlord will get an Execution and move you out.

You can also ask the court for more time before if you signed an agreement and you cannot move out by the date in the agreement.

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