Massachusetts HOA Collections & Liens

Section 1: Overview

Massachusetts governs condominiums through the Condominium Act, M.G.L. c. 183A, and has no comparable statute for planned communities. At the center of the collection framework sits the Section 6 super-lien, which hands an association six months of common-expense assessments — plus collection costs and reasonable attorney fees — priority over a prior first mortgage.¹ The lien arises automatically on each assessment's due date. Recording the master deed serves as record notice and perfects the lien; the association needs no separate claim of lien.¹

The super-priority is fixed at the six months of common-expense assessments immediately preceding the filing of an enforcement action. The rolling-lien doctrine amplifies it further, letting associations stack successive six-month windows through successive suits.² Enforcement is judicial — the lien proceeds as a civil action under M.G.L. c. 254 §§ 5 and 5A, with no common-law power of sale.^3,4 No statute sets a minimum dollar amount or fixed delinquency period before foreclosure; the one threshold is a sixty-day delinquency before the association must send its statutory notice.¹

Massachusetts belongs firmly among the strong super-priority states. The rolling-lien doctrine — rejected in several other jurisdictions — positions the framework even further in the association's favor.² The sections below address the lien and its priority, the collection and foreclosure sequence, recent legislative and judicial developments, and national positioning.

Massachusetts HOA Collections & Liens at a glance

Section 2: The lien and its priority

2A. Lien creation, authority, and what it secures

M.G.L. c. 183A § 6(a) creates the assessment lien: the organization of unit owners "shall have a lien on a unit for any common expense assessment levied against that unit from the time the assessment becomes due."¹ The lien arises automatically on each assessment's due date — not on any recording event. For condominiums, recording the master deed "constitutes record notice and perfection of this lien," and the statute states expressly that "no further recordation of any claim of lien for assessment under this section is required."¹ Common-expense assessments must be made at least annually on the basis of a budget adopted at least annually under the master deed, trust, or bylaws.¹

What the lien secures is broad. Section 6(b) makes the unit owner personally liable for all sums assessed as the owner's share of common expenses, "including late charges, fines, penalties, and interest assessed by the organization of unit owners and all costs of collection including attorneys' fees, costs, and charges."¹ Section 6(a) separately provides that the organization may assess "any fees, attorneys' fees, charges, late charges, fines, costs of collection and enforcement, court costs, and interest," each of which "shall constitute a lien against the unit from the time the assessment is due."¹ The lien attaches to the unit itself. A unit owner cannot withhold payment of a lawful common-expense assessment as a self-help measure; the owner must pay under protest and then seek judicial relief.⁸

2B. Lien priority and any super-priority component

Section 6(c) sets the priority rule, and the language rewards a careful reading. The association lien "is prior to all other liens and encumbrances on a unit except (i) liens and encumbrances recorded before the recordation of the master deed, (ii) a first mortgage on the unit recorded before the date on which the assessment sought to be enforced became delinquent, and (iii) liens for real estate taxes and other municipal assessments or charges against the unit."¹ Mechanics' and materialmen's lien priority is not affected.¹

The super-priority component is the signature Massachusetts feature. The lien "is also prior to the mortgages described in clause (ii) above to the extent of the common expense assessments based on the budget adopted pursuant to subsection (a) above which would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien and to the extent of any costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in the action to enforce the lien."¹ In plain terms: six months of budgeted common-expense assessments, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees from the enforcement action, jump ahead of the first mortgage. The statute caps attorney fees incurred before January 1, 1993 at $2,500 — a now-historical limit.¹ The priority amount "shall not include any amounts attributable to special assessments, late charges, fines, penalties, and interest."¹ If the association fails to send the required mortgagee notices, the six-month priority for common expenses survives, but costs and attorney fees drop out of the priority amount.¹

The super-priority can be reasserted in successive periods. In Drummer Boy Homes Association, Inc. v. Britton, 474 Mass. 17 (2016), the Supreme Judicial Court held that c. 183A § 6 permits an organization "to establish multiple contemporaneous priority liens on a condominium unit by filing successive legal actions to collect unpaid monthly common expense assessments," with each lien carrying its own six-month priority over the first mortgage.² The doctrine should not be overstated: each window is six months, each requires a separate enforcement action, and the priority for any given action still excludes special assessments, late charges, fines, penalties, and interest.^1,2

2C. CC&R interaction, corporate-law overlay, and federal overlay

Recorded master deeds, trusts, and bylaws supplement the statutory lien, and Section 6 expressly permits an organization to adopt additional protections, remedies, or rights.¹ Where a master deed, trust, or bylaw conflicts with the relevant subsections of Section 6, the statute controls.¹

The underlying assessment debt is a contract-type obligation, and Massachusetts applies a six-year limitations period to contract actions under M.G.L. c. 260 § 2.⁹ Most condominium associations and homeowners associations in Massachusetts organize as nonprofit corporations under M.G.L. c. 180, which governs their corporate existence, board action, and records — but does not itself create any lien.⁵

Three federal frameworks operate on top of the Massachusetts framework. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can reach associations and, in particular, their attorneys and outside collection agents, which is why statutory collection notices typically carry debt-collector disclosures.¹⁰ The Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay halts collection and foreclosure activity when an owner files, though the Massachusetts statutory lien is generally not discharged in bankruptcy.¹¹ The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act limits enforcement against active-duty servicemembers.⁶

Section 3: The collection and foreclosure process

This section is the operational core. Each step notes its statutory source, whether it applies to condominiums, planned communities, or both, and whether it is statutory or imposed only by typical covenants.

3A. Pre-lien collection sequence

For condominiums, no separate claim of lien is recorded — recording the master deed perfects the lien (statutory, condominiums).¹ The first statutory step toward enforcement is the delinquency notice. Under Section 6(c), "When any portion of the unit owner's share of the common expenses has been delinquent for at least sixty days," the organization "shall send a notice stating the amount of the delinquency to the unit owner by certified and first class mail" and must also send a delinquency notice to the first mortgagee by certified and first class mail if the mortgagee has provided its name and mailing address (statutory, condominiums).¹ The statute sets no mandatory payment-plan offer and no formal pre-lien dispute procedure, though the owner may demand a Section 6(d) statement of the amount claimed, which the association must furnish within ten business days of a written request (statutory, condominiums).¹

For planned communities, every step in this subsection is contractual, not statutory. A non-condominium association's authority to demand payment, assess late fees, or impose any notice sequence comes from its recorded covenants and bylaws, supplemented by c. 180 and common law (contractual).⁵

3B. Recording and the pre-foreclosure sequence

For condominiums, the pre-foreclosure mortgagee notice is the critical prerequisite. Section 6(c) requires that "thirty days prior to the filing of an action by the organization of unit owners to enforce its lien for delinquent common expenses, the organization of unit owners shall send a notice stating its intention to file said action to the first mortgagee by certified and first class mail," conditioned on the mortgagee having provided its name and address (statutory, condominiums).¹ Failing to send either the sixty-day delinquency notice or the thirty-day intent notice does not defeat the six-month priority for common expenses, but it strips costs and attorney fees from the priority amount (statutory, condominiums).¹

When the enforcement action is filed, c. 254 § 5 requires an attested copy of the complaint — describing the property and stating the amount due — to be filed and recorded in the registry of deeds within thirty days of commencing the action, or the lien is dissolved (statutory, condominiums).³ Section 6 also gives a first mortgagee a statutory buyout option: the association must take no further enforcement action if the mortgagee agrees in writing that the priority lien exists and pays the six-month priority amount plus costs and reasonable attorney fees within sixty days, and pays future common expenses as they come due (statutory, condominiums).¹ The statute does not require a recorded board vote, mediation, or alternative dispute resolution before suit, though governing documents may impose such steps.

For planned communities, the recording, notice, and pre-suit requirements come from covenants and bylaws, not Section 6 (contractual).⁵

3C. Foreclosure mechanics and thresholds

Condominium-lien foreclosure in Massachusetts is judicial. The lien "shall be enforced in the manner provided in sections five and five A of chapter two hundred and fifty-four."¹ Section 5 directs that the lien be enforced by civil action in the superior court for the county where the land lies, or in the district court for that judicial district.³ Section 5A provides that once the amount of a c. 183A § 6 lien "has been established by a court, the court shall enter an order authorizing the sale of the real estate to satisfy such lien."⁴ There is no power-of-sale shortcut for condominium liens — a court order is the operative authority for the sale (statutory, condominiums).^3,4

No statute sets a minimum dollar threshold or fixed delinquency duration before a condominium association may foreclose, beyond the sixty-day delinquency that triggers the notice sequence.¹ Whether fines and late fees — as opposed to common-expense assessments — can drive a foreclosure is contested. The general lien under Section 6 does secure fines, late charges, penalties, and interest, but those amounts are expressly excluded from the six-month super-priority.¹ Massachusetts appellate authority has separately limited the collection of fines and late fees on reasonableness and notice grounds, constraining their use as a foreclosure driver.⁷ For planned communities, the availability and mechanics of foreclosure depend entirely on whether the recorded covenants grant a lien and a remedy, and on general civil-action procedure (contractual).⁵

3D. Post-sale: redemption, deficiency, surplus, reinstatement

Massachusetts does not offer post-sale redemption. For the more common mortgage power-of-sale foreclosures, M.G.L. c. 244 provides no statutory post-sale right of redemption; the owner's equitable right of redemption must be exercised by paying the full debt before the sale.⁶ The same principle governs a judicial condominium-lien sale: redemption is a pre-sale equitable right, and no statutory window opens after a court-ordered sale.⁶ A unit owner who wants to stop the process must reinstate or redeem by paying the arrears — and, depending on the posture, costs and fees — before the sale.⁶

Because Section 6(b) makes the unit owner personally liable for all assessed sums and costs of collection, an association may pursue a personal money judgment for any balance the sale does not satisfy, functioning as a deficiency remedy.¹ Surplus proceeds from a sale first satisfy the association lien, then go to junior lienholders in order of priority, with any remainder to the former owner.⁶ For planned communities, post-sale rights track the covenants and general law rather than c. 183A.⁵

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

4A. Recent bills

Two legislative developments have touched Massachusetts condominium collections in recent years. The more significant is a pending bill, Senate Bill S.980 — the Condominium Owners' Rights Act (CORA) — filed in the 194th General Court by Senators Lydia Edwards and Robyn K. Kennedy.¹² A narrower 2024 enactment has already made a targeted change to the Section 6 assessment framework.

4B. Recent appellate rulings

On the judicial front, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has sharpened where the Section 6 super-lien's reach ends — and where association fine authority meets proportionality limits.

4C. Active legislative debates

The active debate centers on CORA and a related study-commission proposal, which would layer owner-protection rules, reserve mandates, and an ombudsman onto a chapter that currently favors association collection power.¹³ No measure under active consideration would reduce the six-month super-priority or unwind the rolling-lien doctrine.

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Massachusetts belongs to the company of strong super-priority states. Its six-month priority over the first mortgage — extended by the rolling-lien doctrine and by including collection costs and attorney fees within the priority amount — places it near the association-favorable end of the national spectrum, comparable to Nevada's nine-month priority under NRS 116.3116(2), which Nevada courts treat as "true lien priority" equal to nine months of common-expense assessments preceding institution of foreclosure as the Nevada Supreme Court confirmed in SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, 334 P.3d 408 (Nev. 2014),¹⁶ and to the six-month model under Connecticut's CIOA, CGS § 47-258, where the priority equals the debt accrued during the six months prior to foreclosure proceedings plus the association's reasonable attorney's fees as the Connecticut Supreme Court recognized in Hudson House Condominium Assn. v. Brooks, 223 Conn. 610 (1992).¹⁷ It contrasts with threshold-restricted states such as California, where Cal. Civ. Code § 5720 bars judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure unless "the amount of the delinquent assessments...is one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800)" or "the assessments secured by the lien are more than 12 months delinquent."¹⁸ For multi-state operators, the practical implication is direct: Massachusetts collection timelines and recoveries can outpace those in threshold states, so portfolio collection policies should not default to a lowest-common-denominator rule. Massachusetts's direction of travel, signaled by CORA, is toward more owner-side process — not toward weakening the lien.

Caveats

• Cerda (No. 22-P-605, May 16, 2023) is an unpublished Appeals Court Rule 23.0 decision. It is persuasive on the reasonableness of fines and late fees, but it is not binding precedent. The specific unpublished table citation and any Westlaw citation for that second appeal were not confirmable from free primary sources; retrieve them from Westlaw or Lexis if a precise parallel cite is needed.
• Whether fines are foreclosable in Massachusetts is genuinely unsettled: the general lien secures fines, but they are excluded from the super-priority, and appellate authority has curtailed fine and late-fee collection on reasonableness grounds. This page flags the contest; it does not resolve it.
• The six-year limitations period derives from the general contract statute of limitations, M.G.L. c. 260 § 2, not from a c. 183A-specific time bar. Section 6 itself contains no express statute of limitations for lien enforcement.
• Post-sale redemption and deficiency analysis draws on the mortgage-foreclosure framework (c. 244) and general lien-enforcement practice. M.G.L. c. 183A § 6 and c. 254 §§ 5, 5A do not spell out a post-sale redemption rule for condominium-lien sales; the "no post-sale redemption" conclusion is an inference from the mortgage framework and the absence of a contrary provision.
• The comparative-state citations (Nevada, Connecticut, California) are for positioning only — not a substitute for current research in those jurisdictions, where statutes and case law continue to evolve.

1. M.G.L. c. 183A § 6, Common profits and expenses; lien (Massachusetts Legislature) ↩
2. Drummer Boy Homes Association, Inc. v. Britton, 474 Mass. 17 (2016) (Massachusetts Cases) ↩
3. M.G.L. c. 254 § 5, Enforcement of lien; procedure (Massachusetts Legislature) ↩
4. M.G.L. c. 254 § 5A, Court order authorizing sale of real estate; procedure (Massachusetts Legislature) ↩
5. M.G.L. c. 180, Corporations for Charitable and Certain Other Purposes (Mass.gov); see also Nolo, HOA and COA Foreclosures in Massachusetts ↩
6. Massachusetts law about mortgage foreclosure, M.G.L. c. 244 (Mass.gov) ↩
7. Trustees of the 10 Porter Street Condominium Trust v. Cerda, No. 22-P-605 (Mass. App. Ct. May 16, 2023) (Rule 23.0) ↩
8. Blood v. Edgar's, Inc., 36 Mass. App. Ct. 402 (1994); see also Trustees of the Prince Condominium Trust v. Prosser, 412 Mass. 723 (1992) ↩
9. M.G.L. c. 260 § 2, Contract actions; six-year limitation (Massachusetts Legislature) ↩
10. Condominium Collection Practices in Massachusetts (Moriarty Bielan & Malloy LLC), discussing FDCPA debt-collector notice requirements ↩
11. Condominium Super-Liens (Pulgini & Norton), noting the statutory lien is not discharged in bankruptcy ↩
12. Bill S.980, An Act relative to the condominium owners' rights, 194th General Court (Massachusetts Legislature) ↩
13. Senate No. 980 (CORA) bill text, Senate Docket No. 41, filed 1/6/2025 (Massachusetts Legislature) ↩
14. Mass. General Laws c.183A § 6, noting "Amended by St. 2024, c. 239, § 84, effective February 18, 2025" (Mass.gov) ↩
15. Trustees of the 10 Porter Street Condominium Trust v. Cerda, 99 Mass. App. Ct. 1106 (2021) (Cerda I) (Leagle) ↩
16. Community Associations Institute, priority-lien overview; NRS 116.3116(2); SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, 334 P.3d 408 (Nev. 2014) ↩
17. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-258 (Common Interest Ownership Act); Hudson House Condominium Assn. v. Brooks, 223 Conn. 610 (1992) ↩
18. Cal. Civ. Code § 5720, restrictions on assessment foreclosure ($1,800 / 12-month threshold) (California Legislative Information) ↩