I got a 30 day eviction notice what happens next? If I do not leave when the days are up?

If you just got the notice this month, it should say that you must vacate by December 1 (They need a full rental period). If you are not out by then, your landlord has the right to serve a summons on you and, not less than one week later, "enter" it in court. The "entry date" is always a Monday. The way the calendar works this year, the first available Monday would be 12/14. You would then be due to appear in court on the second Thursday after that Monday entry date, e.g., Christmas eve! If you went to court and lost (or didn't show up or answer and were defaulted) then a judgement would enter against you, and an execution for possession could issue as early as January 4 (also a Monday). If it was served that same day, the moving trucks could arrive on January 6 or 7, 2016. If you answered the complaint, and sought minimal discovery, push the trial date to January 7, with earliest move-out about January 19. If you sought a jury trial, your court date might not occur until much later. Depending on your financial, age, and disability status, you might also be entitled to post-judgment stays of execution which, for the short time you are looking for, would probably be granted. You may have defenses and counterclaims. I suggest running this by a landlord/tenant attorney. You can find one near you by using the find-a-lawyer function on this site. Most will agree to a free or low cost consultation.

What you received sounds as if it is not actually an eviction notice, but a "notice to quit". What a notice to quit does is terminate your tenancy, it is not actually a legal order to vacate the premises and evict you. If the landlord sent a 30-day notice to quit, it normally means that it is not for cause or failure to pay rent. You can stay at your current home up to and until the landlord takes you to court in a summary process action, gets an order, and then the Sheriff serves you with an eviction notice. If the landlord locks you out themselves, that is self-help eviction and it is illegal. At the summary process hearing you will be able to present evidence of the conditions of your apartment, the landlords failings to meet the statutory requirements for security deposits and last month's rent, and any other claims you may have against them. You should definitely consult with a landlord tenant attorney as rules for landlords in Massachusetts tend to be tenant friendly and complicated, and the court is supposed to hold landlords strictly responsible for obeying them. For instance, if your landlord never sent you a notice of where your security deposit is held and hasn't paid you interest on it you can request they return it immediately. If they don't they are supposed to be liable for triple the damages. If the landlord failed to make repairs or harassed you you may also be able to offset any rent you are due. As long as you keep paying your rent through the court case, you most likely will not be liable to the landlord for any money from a court judgement. The court can award the landlord possession of the premises without determining that owe any rent. For more general information see here: http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/evictions Find a landlord tenant lawyer immediately to see if you have any claims against the landlord to offset rent due, or to help you negotiate for costs to move sooner. Some landlords will pay you to move out quickly to avoid the holdup of having to go to court and pay an attorney to go thorough summary process with the court.