Massachusetts HOA Board Elections

Key Findings

• Chapter 183A is short, and it leaves the work to you. The Condominium Act defines the "organization of unit owners" as "the corporation, trust or association owned by the unit owners and used by them to manage and regulate the condominium." It contemplates all three forms — yet it says almost nothing about how a board or board of trustees gets composed or elected. Massachusetts courts call it "an enabling statute, which sets out a framework for the development and operation of condominiums."
• The trust form dominates. Mass.gov continuing-education materials put it plainly: "Most Condominiums in Massachusetts are set up as trusts with trustees." When the organization is a trust, a recorded declaration of trust creates it, a board of trustees runs it, and board elections are trustee elections.
• Planned communities have no statute at all. They run on declarations and by-laws, lean on chapter 180 director defaults where they are incorporated, and fall back on common-law contract, property, and trust doctrine to fill the gaps.
• No one oversees this, and no one licenses the managers. Massachusetts has no dedicated HOA regulator. The Commonwealth, Mass.gov confirms, "does not have any jurisdiction or regulatory oversight over Condominiums," and the state does not license community association managers.¹
• One change has passed; one election-specific bill waits. The Affordable Homes Act added chapter 183A § 24, effective August 6, 2024, and it authorizes remote meetings and mail-in or electronic voting. H.1539 (2025–2026) would, for the first time, write detailed trustee-election rules into the statute — but it sits in committee.
• No appellate election fight reached a decision in the window. No Massachusetts appellate court squarely decided a contested board or trustee election, a removal vote, or a declarant-control transition during the review period. The closest recent decision, Geezil v. White Cliffs Condominium Four Association, turns on who owns the common areas, not on elections.

How board elections are governed

Massachusetts governs condominium board elections through a comparatively short statute, the Condominium Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A,² and that statute hands most of the election mechanics to the master deed and the governing documents. The system stands out for the condominium-trust form, in which unit owners elect trustees rather than directors. Chapter 183A is the only statewide statute that addresses condominium governance, and it enables rather than dictates. Under it, the organization of unit owners may take the form of a trust, a corporation, or an unincorporated association; where it is a trust, trustees run it under a declaration of trust.³ Non-condominium planned communities get no comprehensive statute. Their board elections run on recorded declarations and by-laws, supplemented, where the association is incorporated, by the nonprofit corporations statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 180.⁴ Massachusetts has not adopted the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, so UCIOA concepts such as declarant-control schedules and deemed ratification simply do not apply here. Disputes move through the Massachusetts Trial Court — usually the Superior Court Department, with the Land Court Department handling certain real-property matters. The Appeals Court sits as the intermediate appellate court, and the Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court.⁵

The election framework

The Massachusetts Condominium Act and the organization of unit owners

Chapter 183A is short, and it enables. Massachusetts courts have described it as "an enabling statute, which sets out a framework for the development and operation of condominiums" (Trustees of Beechwood Village Condominium Trust v. USAlliance Federal Credit Union, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 278, 285 (2019), quoting Queler v. Skowron, 438 Mass. 304 (2002)). It defines the "organization of unit owners" as "the corporation, trust or association owned by the unit owners and used by them to manage and regulate the condominium," and it expressly contemplates all three organizational forms.³ On how a board or board of trustees gets composed or elected, the Act prescribes very little. Section 11, which lists the mandatory by-law provisions, requires only that the by-laws address maintenance and repair of common areas, collection of each owner's share of common expenses, hiring of personnel, the method of adopting and amending rules, and use restrictions. It says nothing about board size, terms, nomination, notice, quorum, or the conduct of elections.⁶ Section 12 confirms that the by-laws "may also provide" for matters including voting rights "with respect to election of directors, trustees or members of the managing board," which plants the election framework squarely in the governing documents rather than the statute.⁷ Section 10 addresses the powers of the organization, and it repeatedly refers to "the board of trustees of the organization of unit owners or if there is no board of trustees, the entity performing its duties" — a phrasing that assumes the organization will name its own governing body and write its own election rules.⁸ This is the principal way chapter 183A parts company with UCIOA frameworks and with California's Davis-Stirling regime: it imposes no statutory board-governance defaults, no mandatory secret ballots, no independent inspectors of election, no fixed nomination and ballot-distribution timelines. Where a given Massachusetts condominium has those features, they come from the master deed, the declaration of trust, or the by-laws — not from chapter 183A.

The condominium-trust structure and planned communities

The condominium trust is the central Massachusetts feature. Where the organization of unit owners takes the trust form, a recorded declaration of trust creates it, a board of trustees governs it, and board elections are trustee elections. The correct terminology follows: "trustees," the "board of trustees," and the "declaration of trust" — not directors, board of directors, or articles. Mass.gov continuing-education materials state that "Most Condominiums in Massachusetts are set up as trusts with trustees."⁹ So before describing any particular condominium's board and election, a manager or attorney has to identify the organizational form first, by reading the master deed and the instrument that creates the governing body. The terminology, the gap-filling law, and the location of the election rules all turn on whether the organization is a trust, a corporation, or an unincorporated association. Planned communities — non-condominium homeowners associations that hold or maintain common areas such as private roads or recreational facilities — are a different animal. Massachusetts gives them no comprehensive planned-community statute and no statutory board-election machinery. Their board elections run on the recorded declaration and by-laws, and where the association is incorporated as a nonprofit, it draws director-election, term, removal, and vacancy defaults from chapter 180.⁴ In both settings, the operative documents — not a uniform statute — supply the election rules.

Governing documents, corporate and trust law, and order of precedence

For a condominium, the order of precedence runs from the mandatory provisions of chapter 183A, to the master deed, to the declaration of trust or by-laws, to the trust-law or corporate-law gap-fillers that fit the chosen form, and finally to the rules and regulations. Because chapter 183A fixes so few election mechanics, the master deed and the declaration of trust or by-laws control most of the analysis. Where the organization is incorporated, chapter 180 supplies the director defaults; under it, a corporation "may by its by-laws determine the manner of calling and conducting its meetings; the number of members which shall constitute a quorum; the mode of voting by proxy; and the tenure of office of the directors and officers and the manner of their selection and removal."⁴ Where the organization is a trust, common-law trust principles and the terms of the declaration of trust fill the gaps. For a planned community, the declaration and by-laws govern, with chapter 180 gap-fillers where the association is incorporated and common-law contract and property doctrine where documents and statute fall silent. The takeaway stays the same: identify the organizational form, then read the master deed and the trust instrument or by-laws, because chapter 183A leaves nearly all the election detail to the governing documents.

Election mechanics

Because chapter 183A is sparse and the trust form is common, the master deed and the declaration of trust or by-laws set most of the rows below.

A. Eligibility and nominations

For condominiums, chapter 183A imposes no candidate qualifications and no nomination procedure; the master deed and the declaration of trust or by-laws set both, and for trust-form condominiums the candidates are trustees.⁷ For planned communities the rules are contractual — declaration and by-laws — or, where the association is incorporated, corporate, with qualifications fixed by the by-laws under chapter 180.⁴

B. Notice, annual meeting, and quorum

Chapter 183A sets no statutory annual-meeting requirement, no notice period, and no quorum figure for condominiums; the by-laws set each one, and under § 24 electronic presence satisfies any quorum requirement.¹⁰ For incorporated associations of either type, the by-laws fix the timing of meetings, the notice, and the quorum of members under chapter 180; a corporation customarily holds an annual meeting.⁴

C. Voting methods, proxies, and ballots

For condominiums, chapter 183A § 24 (added in 2024) permits mail-in and electronic voting provided a quorum is present, but it does not separately authorize proxy or cumulative voting — those depend on the master deed, the declaration of trust, or the by-laws.¹⁰ For incorporated associations, chapter 180 § 6A lets a member vote in person or by proxy unless the articles or by-laws provide otherwise, and it voids any proxy dated more than six months before the meeting.⁴

D. Terms, vacancies, removal, and recall

For condominiums, chapter 183A does not address term length, staggering, vacancy-filling, or removal and recall; the declaration of trust or by-laws set them, and for trust-form condominiums these are trustee terms and trustee removal.⁷ For planned communities the rules are contractual, and where the association is incorporated, chapter 180 § 6A leaves the tenure of directors and the manner of their selection and removal to the by-laws.⁴

Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

Two measures matter here. One has already become law and changed how condominiums can meet and vote; the other would, if passed, rewrite the election rules entirely.

B. Recent appellate rulings

No Massachusetts appellate court squarely decided a contested election in the review window. The most relevant recent decision is about ownership of the common areas — and it still matters for who votes and how.

C. Active legislative debates

The Condominium Owners' Rights Act, S.980 in the 2025–2026 session, filed by Senator Lydia Edwards with Senator Robyn K. Kennedy, would amend chapter 183A to add open-meeting, records-access, reserve-funding, dispute-resolution, and remote-voting requirements, and to create a condominium ombudsman in the Attorney General's office; the committee reported it favorably and referred it to Senate Ways and Means on October 23, 2025.¹⁵ Its governance and meeting-transparency provisions would, if enacted, shape how boards of trustees conduct meetings and votes.

National positioning and related coverage

Massachusetts sits among the states that regulate condominiums through a dedicated condominium statute while leaving non-condominium planned communities to their recorded documents and general corporate law, and it stands out for how often the condominium-trust form appears — the form in which unit owners elect trustees. It differs from the comprehensive-statute and UCIOA states. Its 1963 Condominium Act, chapter 183A, runs comparatively short and leaves most election detail to the master deed and governing documents; the trust form, run by a board of trustees under a declaration of trust, is common; and its court system places the Appeals Court as the intermediate appellate court, the Supreme Judicial Court as the highest court, and the Land Court Department as the forum for certain real-property matters.⁵ For multi-state operators the practical implication is direct: figure out whether a condominium's organization is a trust, a corporation, or an unincorporated association, read the master deed and the trust instrument or by-laws for the election rules, and use trustee terminology where the organization is a trust.

HOA Weekly's Massachusetts Board Elections coverage updates quarterly as the legislature and the courts act. Federal frameworks — including the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the FCC's OTARD rule — also reach Massachusetts associations and condominium trusts regardless of the state framework.

Recommendations

• First, identify the organizational form before you do anything else. For each condominium, read the master deed and the instrument that creates the governing body to determine whether the organization is a trust, a corporation, or an unincorporated association. That choice drives the terminology (trustees vs. directors), the gap-filling law (trust principles vs. chapter 180), and where the election rules live. Do not assume a "board of directors"; in Massachusetts, expect a board of trustees under a declaration of trust.
• Second, treat the governing documents as the primary election authority, not the statute. Because chapter 183A fixes almost no election mechanics, build election calendars, notice templates, nomination procedures, quorum determinations, and removal procedures from the master deed and the declaration of trust or by-laws. For incorporated associations, layer in chapter 180 § 6A defaults (proxy validity, quorum, tenure, removal) only where the documents fall silent. Do not import UCIOA or California Davis-Stirling features — mandatory secret ballots, statutory inspectors of election, fixed ballot-distribution timelines — unless the governing documents adopt them.
• Third, put the 2024 remote-voting authority to work now. Associations may hold annual meetings and trustee elections by video conference and accept mail-in or electronic ballots under chapter 183A § 24 without amending the governing documents, but counsel should resolve the statute's "quorum shall be present" language and adopt written electronic-meeting and voting policies. Watch the benchmark that would change this approach: enactment of H.1539 (which would mandate plurality voting, ban proxies, and require independent election inspectors) or S.980/CORA (open meetings, records timelines, reserve funding, and an ombudsman). Check both each quarter; if favorable committee action moves either bill toward a floor vote, trigger a governing-document and procedure review.
• Fourth, route disputes to the correct forum. Trustee-election, removal, and fiduciary-duty disputes generally proceed in the Superior Court Department, with the Land Court Department available for matters that touch title and registered land. Use the correct court names in filings and client communications: the intermediate appellate court is the Appeals Court, and the highest court is the Supreme Judicial Court — not a "Supreme Court."

Caveats

• Most election mechanics are document-specific, not statutory. The table records the majority of mechanics as "Not addressed by statute; set by the declaration and by-laws" because that is the accurate legal position under chapter 183A. Read any specific number (board size, term years, notice days, quorum percentage, vote threshold) from the individual association's master deed, declaration of trust, or by-laws; there are no statewide statutory defaults for condominiums and none at all for planned communities.
• No appellate election contest turned up in the review window. Despite targeted research, no Massachusetts Appeals Court or Supreme Judicial Court decision from mid-2023 through June 2026 squarely decided a contested condominium election, a trustee-removal vote, or a declarant-control transition. Geezil is included as the most relevant recent governance decision, but it concerns common-area ownership and disability-modification cost allocation, not elections. Older governance precedents exist (on declarant control and trustee fiduciary duty, for example) but fall outside the requested window and were not relied on as current activity.
• Pending bills are not law. H.1539 and S.980 (CORA) are pending in the 2025–2026 session and have not been enacted; the detailed provisions described here would take effect only if the bills pass and are signed. Verify status on malegislature.gov before relying on them, because the General Court works in two-year sessions and committee referrals can change.
• CORA detail caveat. Specific S.980 figures circulating in third-party bill summaries (records-production timelines or reserve-funding percentages, for example) reflect the bill as drafted and were not independently confirmed against the engrossed statutory text for this report; check the bill's text on malegislature.gov before citing any specific threshold.

1. Condominiums, Mass.gov (Commonwealth has no regulatory oversight over condominiums) ↩
2. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A (Condominiums), Massachusetts Legislature ↩
3. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 1 (Definitions, "organization of unit owners") ↩
4. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 180, § 6A (By-laws; tenure, selection and removal of directors; proxy) ↩
5. Massachusetts law about state courts, Mass.gov ↩
6. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 11 (By-laws; mandatory provisions) ↩
7. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 12 (By-laws; additional provisions, election of directors, trustees or managing board) ↩
8. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 10 (Corporation, trust or unincorporated association; powers; board of trustees) ↩
9. RE12R07: Condominiums, Cooperatives and Timeshares, Mass.gov ("Most Condominiums in Massachusetts are set up as trusts with trustees") ↩
10. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 24 (Electronic meetings and voting; added by St. 2024, c. 150, § 47, effective August 6, 2024) ↩
11. Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024, Massachusetts Legislature ↩
12. Bill H.4977, Affordable Homes Act, 193rd General Court ↩
13. Bill H.1539, An Act relative to condominium elections, 194th General Court ↩
14. Geezil v. White Cliffs Condominium Four Association, 105 Mass. App. Ct. 103 (2024), slip opinion (Docket 23-P-1103) ↩
15. Bill S.980, Condominium Owners' Rights Act (CORA), 194th General Court ↩