Massachusetts General Laws
Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases
Title III - Remedies Relating to Real Property

Section 1a - Land or Tenements Used for Residential Purposes; Action by Lessor Under This Chapter to Recover Possession; Conditions and Restrictions - Section 1A. A lessor of land or tenements used for...

Section 2 - Jurisdiction; Venue; Form of Writ - Section 2. Such person may bring an action in the...

Section 2a - Reprisal for Reporting Violations of Law, for Tenant's Union Activity, or Actions Taken Pursuant to Laws Protecting Tenants Who Are Victims of Domestic Violence, Rape, Sexual Assault or Stalking; Defense; Presumption - Section 2A. It shall be a defense to an action...

Section 3 - Judgment and Execution; Costs; Appeal - [ Section impacted by 2020, 65, Secs. 3 and 6...

Section 4 - Storage of Property Removed; Notice of Presence and Condition of Animals; Liens and Enforcement; Penalties - [ Section impacted by 2020, 65, Secs. 3 and 6...

Section 5 - Appeal; Bond; Actions Thereon; Waiver; Appeal of Waiver or Periodic Payments; Notice of Decision - Section 5. (a) If either party appeals from a judgment...

Section 6 - Condition of Bond in Action for Possession After Foreclosure of Mortgage; After Purchase - Section 6. If the action is for the possession of...

Section 6a - Condition of Bond After Foreclosure of Tax Title - Section 6A. If the action is for the possession of...

Section 7 - Judgments; Effect - Section 7. The judgment in an action under this chapter...

Section 8 - Three Years Quiet Possession; Effect - Section 8. There shall be no recovery under this chapter...

Section 8a - Rent Withholding; Grounds; Amount Claimed; Presumptions and Burden of Proof; Procedures - Section 8A. In any action under this chapter to recover...

Section 9 - Stay of Proceedings - Section 9. In an action of summary process to recover...

Section 10 - Stay of Proceedings; Hearings - Section 10. Upon application for such a stay of proceedings,...

Section 11 - Stay of Proceedings; Deposit of Applicant - Section 11. Such stay shall be granted and continue effective...

Section 12 - Stay of Proceedings; Validity of Waiver in Lease - Section 12. Any provision of a lease whereby a lessee...

Section 13 - Stay of Proceedings; Costs - Section 13. Costs recoverable under section three shall, in actions...

Section 14 - Inspection of Property for Presence of Abandoned Animals - Section 14. Not more than 3 days after a property...

Chapter 240 - Proceedings for Settlement of Title to Land

Section 1 - Petition to Compel Adverse Claimant to Try Title - Section 1. If the record title of land is clouded...

Section 2 - Proceedings Upon Petition - Section 2. If the petition is not so served, the...

Section 3 - Proceedings Upon Appearance - Section 3. If the persons notified or summoned appear and...

Section 4 - Parties Without Actual Notice; Remedies - Section 4. A party against whom, without other notice than...

Section 5 - Application of Preceding Sections - Section 5. The four preceding sections shall not apply to...

Section 6 - Actions in Supreme Judicial, Superior or Land Courts - Section 6. If, in a civil action in the supreme...

Section 7 - Notice - Section 7. If in such action the court finds that...

Section 8 - Guardian Ad Litem - Section 8. If, after notice has been given or served...

Section 9 - Guardians Ad Litem; Compensation and Expenses - Section 9. The cost of appearance of any such guardian...

Section 10 - Proceeding in Rem; Effect of Judgment - Section 10. After all the defendants have been served with...

Section 10a - Restrictions on Land; Determination; Jurisdiction; Petition - Section 10A. The superior court and the land court shall...

Section 10b - Notice of Proceedings; Parties - Section 10B. The court shall, after consideration of the complaint,...

Section 10c - Determination of Restrictions; Manner - Section 10C. Any determination or declaration that the restriction is...

Section 11 - Petition in Land Court to Determine Encumbrances - Section 11. If the title to land appears of record...

Section 12 - Unknown, etc., Respondents; Describing; Amending Petition - Section 12. If it is averred in the petition that...

Section 13 - Respondents Upon Whom Service Cannot Be Made; Notice; Appointing Agents - Section 13. The court shall prescribe the notice to be...

Section 14 - Jurisdiction; Hearings; Decrees; Costs - Section 14. Upon service of such notice, the court shall...

Section 14a - Municipal Zoning Ordinances, etc.; Petition for Judicial Determination of Validity - Section 14A. The owner of a freehold estate in possession...

Section 15 - Petition in Land Court; Notice - Section 15. (a) If the record title of land or...

Section 16 - Jurisdiction of Land Court; Determining Enforceability of Restrictions - Section 16. The land court shall have jurisdiction upon a...

Section 17 - Restrictions Injurious to Public Interests; Registration of Land; Damages - Section 17. If the land court shall find and determine,...

Section 18 - Appeal - Section 18. Any party aggrieved by a finding or decision...

Section 19 - Petition to Land Court - Section 19. One or more persons holding land or flats...

Section 20 - Proceedings - Section 20. Upon such petition the court may by a...

Section 21 - Report and Plan of Commissioners; Effect - Section 21. When the report and plan of said commissioners...

Section 22 - Costs - Section 22. The expenses and charges of the commissioners shall...

Section 23 - Determination of Boundaries by Court - Section 23. Instead of appointing the commissioners authorized by section...

Section 24 - Parties; Subsequent Purchasers As - Section 24. Whoever, during the pendency of proceedings for the...

Section 25 - Boundaries Determined Concurrently With Registration - Section 25. A petitioner for registration may in his petition...

Section 26 - Rights of Commonwealth - Section 26. Proceedings under sections nineteen to twenty-five, inclusive, shall...

Section 27 - Fiduciaries, etc.; Establishing Power or Authority - Section 27. Any person having, in a representative or fiduciary...

Section 28 - Determination by Court - Section 28. Upon such petition, after such notice as the...

Section 29 - Procedure Under This Chapter - Section 29. Except as otherwise provided, procedure in the land...

Chapter 241 - Partition of Land

Section 1 - Persons Entitled to Partition - Section 1. Any person, except a tenant by the entirety,...

Section 2 - Jurisdiction; Probate Courts; Land Court - Section 2. Probate courts and the land court shall have...

Section 3 - Land Within Jurisdiction of Probate Court in Two or More Counties - Section 3. If a case is begun in a probate...

Section 4 - Extent of Land Partitioned - Section 4. The court may make partition of all or...

Section 5 - Division of Shares - Section 5. The court may set off to the petitioner...

Section 6 - Form and Contents of Petition; Interveners - Section 6. The petition shall set forth on oath the...

Section 7 - Notice; Filing; Registered Land - Section 7. Upon the filing of a petition for partition,...

Section 8 - Notice Given by Citation; Contents; Publication; Service - Section 8. Notice shall be given by a citation containing...

Section 9 - Persons Not Personally Served; Absent, Incompetent or Undetermined Parties - Section 9. If any party named in the petition has...

Section 10 - Interlocutory Decree; Redemption - Section 10. If it is found that the petitioner is...

Section 11 - Dispute as to Ownership of Share - Section 11. If the ownership of any share appears to...

Section 12 - Commissioners; Appointment; Duties - Section 12. If the court determines the petitioner entitled to...

Section 13 - Land in Different Counties - Section 13. If the land lies in different counties, the...

Section 14 - Indivisible Land; Partition - Section 14. If a part of the land cannot be...

Section 15 - Money Awards; Payment or Security - Section 15. If money is awarded to make the partition...

Section 16 - Return of Commissioners; Confirmation; Amendments; Final Decrees; Recording - Section 16. The court may after hearing accept and confirm...

Section 17 - Examination of Title, Investigations, etc.; Omitted Parties; Improper Descriptions - Section 17. The court may at any time direct an...

Section 18 - Conclusiveness of Partition - Section 18. The partition by division, when confirmed and established...

Section 19 - Persons Not Named in Petition Claiming Assigned Shares; Partitions by Sale - Section 19. A person who was not made a party...

Section 20 - Stranger Claiming as Co-Tenant; Remedies - Section 20. A person who was not made a party...

Section 21 - Stranger Claiming Paramount Title - Section 21. A person who has not appeared and who...

Section 22 - Costs - Section 22. The reasonable expenses and charges of partition proceedings,...

Section 23 - Improvements; Compensation - Section 23. If the court in which partition proceedings are...

Section 24 - Improvements Made Before New Partition; Compensation - Section 24. If after a first partition improvements have been...

Section 25 - Equity Jurisdiction - Section 25. The court in which a petition has been...

Section 26 - Death of Party Named in Petition - Section 26. If a party named in the petition has...

Section 27 - Persons Evicted - Section 27. If a person to or for whom a...

Section 28 - Mortgagee, etc., of Co-Tenant - Section 28. A person having a mortgage, attachment or other...

Section 29 - Improvements Made by Person Evicted; Compensation - Section 29. A person holding land under a partition made...

Section 30 - Trusteeship, etc.; Effect on Partition - Section 30. The fact that a cotenant is, alone or...

Section 31 - Partition by Sale - Section 31. In partition proceedings the court may order the...

Section 32 - Liability of Commissioners; Partition by Sale - Section 32. If the commissioners, after making a sale in...

Section 33 - Attachments or Liens; Failure to Disclose; Penalties - Section 33. Whoever receives any proceeds of a sale of...

Section 34 - Unclaimed Proceeds of Sale; Disposition - Section 34. If the proceeds of a sale, or any...

Section 35 - Trustees; Appointment; Bond - Section 35. If in any share there are estates in...

Section 36 - Water Rights; Other Incorporeal Hereditaments; Division - Section 36. Joint tenants or tenants in common of a...

Section 37 - Nonnavigable Natural Streams; Partition of Water - Section 37. Under the preceding section, partition may be made...

Chapter 242 - Waste and Trespass

Section 1 - Waste; Persons Entitled to Maintain; Jury Trial - Section 1. If a tenant in dower, by the curtesy,...

Section 2 - Actions of Tort in Nature of Waste; Persons Entitled to Maintain - Section 2. A person having the next immediate estate of...

Section 3 - Actions in Tort in Nature of Waste; When Maintainable Against Representatives - Section 3. If such action in tort was commenced in...

Section 4 - Triple Damages for Waste; Liability of Co-Tenant - Section 4. A joint tenant or tenant in common of...

Section 5 - Actions for Triple Damages - Section 5. Such damages may be recovered in tort by...

Section 6 - Triple Damages for Waste During Pendency of Action for Recovery of Land - Section 6. If, during the pendency of an action for...

Section 7 - Willful Trespass to Trees, etc.; Damages - Section 7. A person who without license willfully cuts down,...

Section 7a - Agricultural or Horticultural Land; Theft or Destruction; Treble Damages - Section 7A. Any person who, without permission, willfully enters the...

Section 7b - Damage by Off-Highway or Recreational Vehicle to Field Crops or Agricultural Property; Treble Damages; Definitions - Section 7B. (a) Any person operating an off-highway or recreational...

Section 8 - Involuntary Trespass; Tender of Damages - Section 8. A trespasser, if the trespass was casual and...

Section 9 - Enjoining Waste; Jurisdiction; Bond - Section 9. If a person whose land is attached commits...

Chapter 243 - Actions for Private Nuisances

Section 1 - Judgment for Abatement of Nuisance - Section 1. If the plaintiff prevails in tort for a...

Section 2 - Stay of Warrant - Section 2. The court may, upon motion of the defendant,...

Section 3 - Judgment of Abatement in Second Action - Section 3. If the plaintiff recovers judgment in a second...

Section 4 - Expense of Abatement; Collection - Section 4. The expense of abatement and removal shall be...

Section 5 - Injunction to Restrain Nuisance - Section 5. The superior court may in an action for...

Section 6 - Actions Against Farming Operations; Limitations - Section 6. No action in nuisance may be maintained against...

Chapter 244 - Foreclosure and Redemption of Mortgages

Section 1 - Foreclosure by Entry or Action; Continued Possession - Section 1. A mortgagee may, after breach of condition of...

Section 2 - Entry Without Judgment; Memorandum or Certificate; Recording - Section 2. If an entry for breach of condition is...

Section 3 - Declaration by Mortgagees; Conditional Judgment - Section 3. The mortgagee in an action for possession may...

Section 4 - Procedure - Section 4. Unless the defendant is the mortgagor or his...

Section 5 - Form of Conditional Judgments Generally - Section 5. If the conditional judgment is to be entered,...

Section 6 - Form in Special Cases - Section 6. If the condition of the mortgage is not...

Section 7 - Discharge or Release on Satisfaction of Execution - Section 7. If, after an execution on a judgment for...

Section 8 - Form of Action; Parties - Section 8. The entry may be made or the action...

Section 9 - Right of Entry Before Breach - Section 9. This chapter shall not prevent a mortgagee or...

Section 10 - Foreclosure and Redemption Where Entry Made Before Breach - Section 10. A mortgagee, or a person claiming under him...

Section 11 - Mortgages Containing Power of Sale; Court Order for Sale - Section 11. If a conditional judgment has been entered upon...

Section 12 - Procedure After Sale - Section 12. The person selling shall, within ten days after...

Section 13 - Necessary Parties - Section 13. Unless the defendant is seized in fee simple...

Section 14 - Oreclosure Under Power of Sale; Procedure; Notice; Form - [Section impacted by 2020, 65, Secs. 5, 7 and 8...

Section 14a - Foreclosure Database; Annual Report on Developments and Trends in Residential Property Foreclosures - Section 14A. The commissioner of the division of banks, hereinafter...

Section 15 - Copy of Notice; Affidavit; Recording; Evidence; Effect of Legal Challenges - Section 15. (a) For the purposes of this section, the...

Section 15a - Mortgagee Taking Possession or Conveying Title; Notice - Section 15A. A mortgagee taking possession of mortgaged premises prior...

Section 17 - Conveyance by Mortgagor; Effect - Section 17. A sale or transfer by the mortgagor shall...

Section 17a - Limitation of Actions - Section 17A. Actions on mortgage notes, whether witnessed or not,...

Section 17b - Notice of Intention to Foreclose; Necessity; Form; Notice and Affidavit - Section 17B. No action for a deficiency shall be brought...

Section 17c - Waiver of Provisions of Secs. 17a and 17b; Validity - Section 17C. The provisions of sections seventeen A and seventeen...

Section 18 - Persons Authorized to Redeem - Section 18. The mortgagor or person claiming or holding under...

Section 19 - Tender of Payment or Performance - Section 19. The person entitled to redeem shall pay or...

Section 20 - Accounting - Section 20. If the mortgagee or person claiming or holding...

Section 21 - Time for Tender; Suit for Redemption - Section 21. The tender may be made before the expiration...

Section 22 - Suit Without Previous Tender - Section 22. The person entitled to redeem may, before the...

Section 23 - Amounts Not in Dispute; Order for Payment - Section 23. The court may determine, by a reference to...

Section 24 - Costs - Section 24. The court may award costs in the suit...

Section 25 - Defective Tender - Section 25. If suit was commenced before the expiration of...

Section 26 - Venue - Section 26. Except as provided in section forty, a suit...

Section 27 - Judgment of Possession - Section 27. If the court finds the plaintiff entitled to...

Section 28 - Interest - Section 28. If the court finds that the mortgagee has...

Section 29 - Execution for Possession - Section 29. The court may at the same time order...

Section 30 - Judgment and Execution for Balance - Section 30. If the court finds that the defendant has...

Section 31 - Distribution of Money Tendered and Paid Into Court - Section 31. The court may order the amount found due...

Section 32 - Intervention - Section 32. If a person, other than the parties to...

Section 33 - Survival of Right of Redemption - Section 33. If the person entitled to redeem a mortgaged...

Section 34 - Tender to Guardian or Conservator - Section 34. A tender may be made to a guardian...

Section 35 - Opening Foreclosure; Right of Redemption - Section 35. If, after the foreclosure of a mortgage not...

Section 35a - Right of Residential Real Property Mortgagor to Cure a Default; Notice Required to Accelerate Maturity of Balance; Contents of Notice; Late Fees; Filing - Section 35A. (a) Any mortgagor of residential real property located...

Section 35b - Requirement of Reasonable Steps and Good Faith Effort to Avoid Foreclosure; Criteria; Notice of Right to Pursue Modified Mortgage; Recording of Affidavit of Compliance - Section 35B. (a) As used in this section, the following...

Section 35c - Creditor Actions in Violation of Chapter - Section 35C. (a) As used in this section, the following...

Section 36 - Excess Received by Mortgagee; Recovery - Section 36. If a mortgagee or person claiming or holding...

Section 37 - Discharge of Mortgages Held by Commonwealth - Section 37. If a mortgage is held by the commonwealth,...

Section 38 - Foreclosure - Section 38. If the condition of such mortgage is not...

Section 39 - Redemption Generally - Section 39. The mortgagor or his assigns may redeem the...

Section 40 - Action for Redemption; Jurisdiction; Process; Payments; Discharge - Section 40. If the state treasurer and the person applying...

Section 41 - Inspection of Property for Presence of Abandoned Animals - Section 41. Not more than 3 days after the property...

Chapter 245 - Informations by the Commonwealth

Section 1 - Unlawful Entry; Action for Recovery - Section 1. If a person unlawfully enters upon or holds...

Section 2 - Order of Governor and Council; When Necessary - Section 2. If the title of the commonwealth is founded...

Section 4 - Notice by Publication - Section 4. If, in case of a supposed escheat, no...

Section 5 - Defendants, Persons Who May Be; Costs - Section 5. A person claiming an estate or interest in...

Section 6 - Rents and Profits; Improvements; Commonwealth Prevailing Party - Section 6. If the commonwealth prevails, the defendant shall be...

Section 7 - Judgments for Commonwealth; Effect - Section 7. The commonwealth shall be actually seized and possessed...

Section 8 - Judgments; Conclusiveness - Section 8. The judgment shall be conclusive between the commonwealth...

Section 9 - Persons Not Concluded; Action for Recovery - Section 9. A person not concluded by a judgment for...

Section 10 - Against Whom Action Brought - Section 10. If the commonwealth continues seized of the land...

Section 11 - Rents and Profits; Improvements; Plaintiff Prevailing Party - Section 11. If the plaintiff recovers judgment, he shall be...

Section 12 - Costs - Section 12. Costs shall be awarded and taxed for the...

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Massachusetts General Laws Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases Title III - Remedies Relating to Real Property

Massachusetts General Laws
Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases
Title III - Remedies Relating to Real Property