Massachusetts HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
Massachusetts association law splits between condominiums and noncondominium homeowners' associations. The Massachusetts Condominium Act, G.L. c. 183A, principally governs condominiums.1 Chapter 183A defines an organization of unit owners as the corporation, trust, or association owned by unit owners and used to manage and regulate the condominium.2
Noncondominium HOAs do not sit under a single state HOA act. Their baseline sources include recorded covenants and land-use restrictions under G.L. c. 184, entity law such as G.L. c. 180 when the association organizes as a nonprofit corporation, and the association's own governing documents.3,4
Massachusetts has no state condominium regulatory oversight, and Mass.gov states that condominiums are privately owned and managed.5 Litigation usually begins in trial courts, including Superior Court for general civil jurisdiction and the Land Court for statewide real estate and land-use matters.6,7 Appeals generally move to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, with further review by the Supreme Judicial Court.8,9
Recent activity is targeted: 2024 amendments on electronic condominium governance and EV charging, plus recent Appeals Court decisions on disability modification costs and association contract rights.10,11,12,13 Massachusetts therefore sits between detailed condominium regulation and document-driven noncondominium HOA governance.
2. Primary statute and key resources
- Noncondominium HOA baseline, G.L. c. 180 and G.L. c. 184. Chapter 180 supplies nonprofit corporate law where applicable, and chapter 184 addresses property restrictions that may form community covenants.14,15
- Massachusetts Condominium Act, G.L. c. 183A. The Act governs condominium creation and unit-owner organizations, including trusts, corporations, or associations.16,17
- Massachusetts court system. Superior Court is a trial court of general jurisdiction, Land Court holds statewide real estate jurisdiction, and appellate review runs through the Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court.18,19
- State oversight and manager licensing. Mass.gov states that Massachusetts has no condominium regulatory oversight; the broker board licenses real estate brokers and salespersons, not HOA boards.20,21
- Attorney General consumer complaints. The Attorney General's Office runs a consumer complaint process for business and consumer disputes.22
4. Massachusetts's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
Massachusetts's 2024 session reshaped condominium meetings and EV charging. A 2025-2026 solar bill remains pending in committee.
H.4977 · Acts of 2024, ch. 150 · 193rd General Court
The Governor signed H.4977 as Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024.[23] Section 47 added G.L. c. 183A, §24, which permits condominium governing bodies and unit-owner meetings by telephonic, video, or other electronic communication process, and permits unit-owner voting by mail-in ballot or electronic means when statutory conditions are met.[24][25]
| Property managers | Condominium meeting notices, quorum procedures, and voting instructions should account for remote meetings and electronic or mail voting. |
| HOA board members | Condominium boards should confirm that meeting and voting procedures track chapter 183A and the governing documents. |
| Community association attorneys | Compare existing bylaws and trust instruments against the new statutory meeting and voting authority. |
| Homeowners | Condominium owners may see more remote participation and mail or electronic voting options. |
S.2967 · Acts of 2024, ch. 239 · 193rd General Court
The Governor signed S.2967 as Chapter 239 of the Acts of 2024.[26] Section 86 added G.L. c. 183A, §10A, which applies to condominium associations, homeowners' associations, community associations, cooperatives, trusts, and similar covenant-based entities, and which bars prohibitions or unreasonable restrictions on owner-installed EV charging equipment in covered areas.[27][28]
| Property managers | EV charger request intake, site review, insurance, and approval timelines need documented procedures. |
| HOA board members | Boards should not rely on blanket EV charger bans without counsel review. |
| Community association attorneys | Check governing documents and architectural standards against the new statutory standard. |
| Homeowners | Owners hold a state-law path to request EV charging equipment, subject to statutory and site-specific conditions. |
H.3496 · 2025-2026 Session · 194th General Court
H.3496 sits in the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.[29] The bill text would amend G.L. c. 184, §23C to void provisions that forbid or unreasonably restrict solar energy systems, define "association" to include homeowners' associations, condominium associations, property owners' associations, community associations, and housing cooperatives, require review of solar requests within no more than 60 calendar days, and create a civil action for aggrieved persons.[30]
| Property managers | Solar architectural applications may require tighter intake tracking if the bill advances. |
| HOA board members | Monitor whether current solar standards create cost, delay, or design limits that could be restricted. |
| Community association attorneys | Watch the bill because it would reach both condominium and noncondominium association forms. |
| Homeowners | Owners seeking solar systems would gain a clearer statutory review timeline if the bill becomes law. |
Recent Court Rulings
The Appeals Court has issued two recent decisions — on disability modification costs in condominiums and on settlement-based rights in a noncondominium HOA.31
Geezil v. White Cliffs Condominium Four Association
The Appeals Court affirmed summary judgment for a condominium association, holding that the association did not have to pay under the cited Massachusetts anti-discrimination statute for requested modifications to a patio that was common area but subject to an exclusive-use easement. The practical point: cost allocation for disability-related modifications depends on statute, ownership rights, governing documents, and the facts of the requested modification.[32]
| Property managers | Log disability modification requests, review them, and separate access, permission, and payment questions. |
| HOA board members | Boards should not treat this case as a general right to deny disability-related modifications. |
| Community association attorneys | Evaluate ownership, easement rights, and fair-housing obligations before advising on cost allocation. |
| Homeowners | Owners may need to distinguish approval rights from who must pay for requested modifications. |
Blackman's Point Homeowners' Association, Inc. v. Call
The Appeals Court held that a 1988 settlement agreement required the owners of a manufactured-housing community to continue operating the park unless they sold the property and first gave the homeowners' association its right of first refusal. The court remanded enforceability issues not decided below. For noncondominium associations, the case shows that settlement agreements and property-related commitments can carry operational force apart from a general HOA act.[33]
| Property managers | Keep long-running association agreements with governing documents and flag them before major property changes. |
| HOA board members | Treat settlement agreements and purchase rights as operating documents, not litigation history only. |
| Community association attorneys | Review historic agreements before advising on termination, sale, or redevelopment rights. |
| Homeowners | HOA rights may arise from contracts and settlements as well as statutes and recorded covenants. |
Regulatory Developments
The Land Court issued post-Affordable Homes Act guidance changing how registered-land withdrawal works for condominiums and HOAs.
Massachusetts Land Court
The Land Court issued guidance after the Affordable Homes Act stating that private owners of registered land no longer need to show statutory grounds or good cause to withdraw from the registration system, and that the Act removed the voluntary-withdrawal reference from G.L. c. 183A, §16 for condominiums.[34] The operational consequence is procedural: condominium or HOA real-estate counsel dealing with registered land should route voluntary withdrawal work through G.L. c. 185, §52 and Land Court forms rather than older c. 183A, §16 practice.[35]
| Property managers | Identify registered-land status before condominium amendments, withdrawals, or title-related filings. |
| HOA board members | Boards should expect additional Land Court process when common property or condominium land is registered land. |
| Community association attorneys | Update registered-land withdrawal checklists to reflect the Land Court's post-2024 guidance. |
| Homeowners | Owners in registered-land communities may see title and filing procedures that differ from ordinary recorded land. |
Active Policy Debates
Current policy debates focus on condominium dispute governance rather than a broad HOA act. H.1523 would create an Office of the Condominium Ombudsman within the Attorney General's Office, and S.980 would require condominiums organized under chapter 183A to include an internal dispute resolution procedure in their bylaws. Both bills remain in fiscal committees on the cited bill pages.36,37,38,39
5. Closing note
HOA Weekly will expand its Massachusetts coverage as new bills, appellate rulings, Land Court guidance, and enforcement actions emerge. Federal frameworks — the FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and FCC OTARD rule — may also affect Massachusetts associations depending on the facts, and deeper coverage will live at /federal/.40,41,42,43,44
Footnotes
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A, Condominiums ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A, §1, definitions ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 184, §26, restrictions on land use and construction ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 180, corporations for charitable and certain other purposes ↩
- Mass.gov, Condominiums ↩
- Mass.gov, Superior Court ↩
- Mass.gov, Land Court ↩
- Mass.gov, Appeals Court ↩
- Mass.gov, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, Bill H.4977, 193rd General Court ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A, §10A, electric vehicle charging stations ↩
- Geezil v. White Cliffs Condominium Four Association, 105 Mass. App. Ct. 103 (2024) ↩
- Blackman's Point Homeowners' Association, Inc. v. Call, 103 Mass. App. Ct. 711 (2024) ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 180 ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 184 ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A, §1 ↩
- Mass.gov, Massachusetts Court System ↩
- Mass.gov, Land Court ↩
- Mass.gov, Condominiums ↩
- Mass.gov, Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons ↩
- Mass.gov, File a consumer complaint with the Attorney General's Office ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, H.4977, An Act relative to the Affordable Homes Act ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024 ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A, §24, electronic meetings and voting ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, S.2967, An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, Chapter 239 of the Acts of 2024 ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 183A, §10A, electric vehicle charging stations ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, H.3496, An Act ensuring solar energy access ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, H.3496 bill text ↩
- Mass.gov, Published opinions of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court ↩
- Geezil v. White Cliffs Condominium Four Association, 105 Mass. App. Ct. 103 (2024) ↩
- Blackman's Point Homeowners' Association, Inc. v. Call, 103 Mass. App. Ct. 711 (2024) ↩
- Mass.gov, Land Court memorandum on Guideline 63 and Guideline 64 ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, G.L. c. 185, §52, voluntary withdrawal from registration ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, H.1523, An Act establishing the office of condominium ombudsman ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, H.1523 bill text ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, S.980, An Act relative to the rights of condominium owners ↩
- Massachusetts General Court, S.980 bill text ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act overview ↩
- ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act law and regulations ↩
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation F debt collection rule ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩