Massachusetts HOA Laws: What Homeowners Need to Know in 2026

Massachusetts condo associations operate under chapter 183A, which applies only where a master deed was recorded. Subdivision use restrictions fall under chapter 184: those imposed after 1961 lapse after 30 years unless extended of record. Condo associations can put six months of common charges ahead of a first mortgage.

Master deed or deed restrictions

Section 2 of chapter 183A says the chapter “shall apply only when the owner of the land or the lessee of the land submits such owner’s or lessee’s interest” by recording a master deed stating that a condominium is being created, and that it does not “preclude or regulate the creation or maintenance of other interests in real property not expressly declared by the owner or lessee to be subject thereto.” A townhouse complex with a master deed is a 183A condominium; single-family lots bound only by recorded covenants are not.

The statutes on this page that reach that second kind of community are chapter 184’s rules on how long land-use restrictions last, on solar and on group homes, plus section 10A of chapter 183A, the EV-charger rule, which names homeowners’ associations expressly.

How long a Massachusetts subdivision restriction lasts

Chapter 184 treats restrictions “on the use of land or construction thereon” (section 26). Under chapter 184, section 27, a restriction imposed after December 31, 1961 can be enforced only by a party to the instrument (or a successor) for whose benefit it was stated, or by an owner of benefited land that adjoins the lot or is named in the instrument as benefited. After 30 years it lapses, unless one of two things happened:

• it is part of a common scheme covering four or more parcels contiguous except for streets, the instrument allows extensions of up to 20 years at a time by record owners of 50 percent or more of the restricted area, and an extension naming or signed by a record owner of the lot was recorded before the 30 years (or any earlier termination date in the instrument) ran out, with a further extension recorded before each extension term expires; or
• for any other restriction, a notice of restriction meeting the section’s content rules was recorded before the 30 years ran out, and a further notice within every 20 years after.

Restrictions imposed before 1962 run on the 50-year clock of section 28. Section 26 lists the instruments outside these rules, and section 30 adds a test every enforcer must pass: no restriction is enforced unless it is “of actual and substantial benefit” to the person claiming it, and a court can limit relief to money damages in the circumstances that section lists.

Unpaid condo charges under section 6

A 183A association holds a lien on the unit from the moment a common expense assessment is due (section 6). Fines, late charges, interest, attorneys’ fees and collection costs may be assessed against the owner and become part of that lien, and the owner is personally liable for them as well. The master deed, recorded, is the lien notice; nothing else has to be filed. Enforcement is a civil action in the superior court or the district court where the land lies (chapter 254, section 5).

The lien sits behind liens recorded before the master deed, a first mortgage recorded before the assessment became delinquent, and municipal taxes and charges. But it jumps that first mortgage for the budget-based common expense assessments that would have come due in the six months before the association filed suit, plus the costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees of that suit. Special assessments, late charges, fines, penalties and interest never get that head start, and mechanics’ liens keep their own priority.

Notice steps: once any part of an owner’s share is at least 60 days late, the association sends the owner a notice of the amount by certified and first class mail, and sends the first mortgagee the same if the lender has given its name and address. Thirty days before suing, it notifies that lender again. Skipping the lender notices does not forfeit the six-month priority, but then costs and attorneys’ fees fall out of it.

The 6(d) certificate at closing

Section 6(d) provides for a statement of unpaid common expenses and other sums assessed against the unit, including the amount the association claims ahead of any mortgage. The association must furnish it within ten business days after a written request, on payment of a reasonable fee; a foreclosing mortgagee that has given notice pays no fee. Once recorded, the statement discharges the unit from the lien for any other sums then unpaid, and it binds the association and every owner.

Books, reports and reserves

Section 10(c) requires the association to keep the recorded master deed, the by-laws, the minute book, and financial records (receipts and expenditures, reserve fund records, audits and reports, service contracts, and current insurance policies) in Massachusetts, open to reasonable inspection by any owner or first mortgagee during regular business hours, photocopies at the requester’s expense. Records are retained at least seven years. Minutes, to the extent kept, go out by email on request.

A year-end financial report is due within 120 days after the fiscal year closes and reaches owners within 30 days after completion. A condo with 50 or more units needs an annual review by an independent CPA; smaller ones need it only if a majority in beneficial interest votes for it. Every condominium must keep an “adequate replacement reserve fund” in a separate account (section 10(i)).

After the developer hands over control, owners holding 67 percent or more in beneficial interest may, by annual vote, relax the CPA review (though never beyond every two years), the manager’s reporting frequency (never less than quarterly), check-signing rules, fidelity insurance and the reserve requirement, all listed in section 10(m). A simple majority can rescind the change. Section 10(b)(5) lets the association levy “reasonable fines” for violations of the master deed, trust, by-laws, rules or restrictions.

Rules that bind covenant associations and condo boards alike

EV chargers. Chapter 183A, section 10A, added by St. 2024, c. 239, § 86 (approved November 20, 2024), defines “association” to include homeowners’ and community associations. None may prohibit or unreasonably restrict a charger on the owner’s separate interest or in an area the owner uses exclusively. Reasonable restrictions are allowed, and in setting them the association must give substantial weight to climate-change threats and the state’s greenhouse gas emission limits. Application fees may not exceed reasonable processing fees, and only where fees apply to all architectural applications. An application the association does not deny in writing within 60 days is deemed approved, unless the delay comes from a reasonable request for more information. The owner pays for installation by a licensed contractor or electrician and for the electricity, and must tell buyers about the charger.

Solar. Chapter 184, section 23C voids any provision in an instrument about real property that “purports to forbid or unreasonably restrict the installation or use of a solar energy system.”

Group homes. Section 23D of chapter 184 voids covenants that allow residential use but prohibit “a community residence for persons with disabilities,” to the extent of the prohibition (wording as amended by St. 2026, c. 102, § 299).

What Massachusetts owners ask

Our subdivision’s building restrictions date from 1990. Are they still enforceable?

Only if an extension or notice of restriction was recorded before the 30-year mark in 2020 (or an earlier end date in the deed), as section 27 requires, and even then the section 30 benefit test applies.

Can a condo board take me to court over fines?

Yes. Fines are part of the section 6 lien and are enforced by civil action, though they are excluded from the six-month priority over your lender.

Can my HOA refuse my EV charger?

It cannot ban one in your own driveway or deeded space under section 10A; it can require an application and set reasonable restrictions.

Further reading: what an HOA is, the buying guide, selling with an association, and nearby rules in New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York.