Massachusetts
Massachusetts 6D Certificate (6(d)): Fees, Deadlines, and How to Order
A 6D certificate is the association's statement of what a home owes, and Massachusetts closings do not happen without one. The organization of unit owners must furnish, within ten business days after receipt of a written request and on payment of a reasonable fee, a statement setting forth the amount of unpaid common expenses and any other sums assessed against a unit owner, including the amount the organization claims is entitled to priority over a first mortgage (M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d)). The broader resale package that often travels with it is not required by statute.
Free for the resale platform. No contract to sign.
Massachusetts 6D Certificate
Example Harbor Condominium Association
Regular assessment
$385.00 monthly
Reserve balance
$246,400.00
Master insurance
Certificate on file
Right of first refusal
No
Massachusetts at a glance
- What Massachusetts calls it
- 6D Certificate
- Fee cap
- No fixed dollar cap
- Delivery deadline
- Set by the statute quoted above
- Buyer's right to cancel
- No statutory right tied to this document
Also called: 6(d) certificate, 6D form, condo 6D certificate. If you were told to get a Massachusetts resale certificate, or an MA resale certificate as closing agents write it, for a home in an HOA or a condominium, this is that document. It has nothing to do with the sales tax resale certificate a retailer files with the state. Inside Havn the Massachusetts document is labeled Resale Package.
What Massachusetts law sets
This card covers the broader resale package that travels with a 6D certificate. No statute requires that package. The 6D certificate itself is statutory, and its rule is set out under the payoff statement below.
M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d)
Condominium Act. Applies to condominiums.
- Required by statute
- No. Furnished under the governing documents.
- Fee
- No fixed dollar cap
- Deadline
- None set
Massachusetts condo laws on resale documents, in plain words
Each entry links to the official text. Read the statute itself before relying on a summary.
M.G.L. c. 183A (Condominium Act)
Governs condominiums in Massachusetts, from creation by a recorded master deed through unit ownership, common areas and facilities, and the organization of unit owners and its bylaws. It covers governance and management, common expense assessments and liens, records and financial reporting, and, through section 6(d), the certificate used to confirm unpaid assessments in connection with a sale or mortgage; Massachusetts has no separate statutory resale disclosure package outside that certificate, and no equivalent statute for non-condominium planned communities or housing cooperatives.
M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d) (Certificate of unpaid common expenses)
The 6(d) certificate: on written request and payment of a reasonable fee, the organization of unit owners furnishes within ten business days a statement of the unpaid common expenses and any other sums assessed against a unit, including the amount it claims is entitled to priority over a first mortgage under section 6(c). The statement binds the organization, its governing body, and every unit owner, and when recorded in the registry of deeds it discharges the unit from any lien for other sums then unpaid. A statement from an unincorporated organization must cite the registry book and page of the instrument giving its signers authority. No fee may be charged to a mortgagee foreclosing on the unit that has given the organization notice of its intent to foreclose. Massachusetts has no resale disclosure statute and no planned-community or cooperative act.
M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(c) (Lien priority and mortgagee statement)
Gives the organization of unit owners a lien for common expense assessments that is prior to a first mortgage for up to six months of budgeted common expenses plus the costs and attorneys' fees of enforcing it, requires notices to the owner and the first mortgagee when an account is sixty days delinquent and before an enforcement action, and lets a first mortgagee halt priority-lien enforcement by agreeing in writing to pay the priority amount and future assessments. Within ten days of a first mortgagee's written request the organization must furnish a written statement in reasonable detail of the amounts the mortgagee would pay under that election. Special assessments, late charges, fines, penalties, and interest never count toward the priority amount.
The notice Havn prints on every Massachusetts 6D certificate
Every Massachusetts document Havn prepares carries a notice that tells the reader where the document comes from and what Massachusetts law says about it. This is the wording, act by act.
M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d)Condominiums
No Massachusetts statute requires this resale package. This package is furnished under the condominium's master deed, declaration of trust or by-laws, and rules, and under the arrangement between the association and the requester.
Massachusetts law does provide for a statutory statement that a buyer or a buyer's lender can request. Under M.G.L. c. 183A, section 6(d), the organization of unit owners must furnish, within ten business days after it receives a written request and upon payment of a reasonable fee, a statement of the unpaid common expenses and any other sums that have been assessed against the unit owner, including a statement of the amount the organization claims is entitled to priority with respect to any mortgage under section 6(c). That statement binds the organization of unit owners, the governing body of the organization, and every unit owner, and when it is recorded in the appropriate registry of deeds it operates to discharge the unit from any lien for other sums then unpaid. Where the organization of unit owners is unincorporated, as most Massachusetts condominium trusts are, a statement that is recorded must specify the book and page, or the document number for registered land, of the instrument giving the signer authority to sign for the organization. No fee may be required of a mortgagee, in connection with a foreclosure of a mortgage, that has given the organization notice of its intention to foreclose a mortgage upon the unit.
The balances shown in this package are taken from the same books and records, but this package is not itself the section 6(d) statement and does not carry that statement's binding or lien discharging effect. A section 6(d) statement is issued separately on written request. The section 6(c) priority amount never includes special assessments, late charges, fines, penalties, or interest.
Massachusetts law gives the purchaser no cancellation period tied to this package. Any review period is the one set by the purchase and sale agreement. The information in this package is current as of its issue date.
Massachusetts's payoff statement
The organization of unit owners must furnish, within ten business days after receipt of a written request and on payment of a reasonable fee, a statement setting forth the amount of unpaid common expenses and any other sums assessed against a unit owner, including the amount the organization claims is entitled to priority over a first mortgage (M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d)). Once recorded, the statement discharges the unit from liens for other sums then unpaid and binds the organization, its governing body, and every unit owner. If the organization of unit owners is unincorporated, which is the case for most Massachusetts condominium trusts, a statement that is recorded must specify the book and page, or the document number for registered land, of the instrument giving the signatory authority to sign for the organization. No fee may be required of a mortgagee, in connection with a foreclosure, who has given the organization notice of its intention to foreclose. The ten days section 6(c) gives for a statement to a first mortgagee are calendar days and are a separate clock.
About Demand LettersMassachusetts 6D certificate: common questions
What is a Massachusetts 6D certificate?
It is the association's signed statement of what a condominium unit owes, which a Massachusetts closing cannot do without. The organization of unit owners must furnish, within ten business days after receipt of a written request and on payment of a reasonable fee, a statement setting forth the amount of unpaid common expenses and any other sums assessed against a unit owner, including the amount the organization claims is entitled to priority over a first mortgage (M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d)).
Is it a 6D certificate or a 6(d) certificate?
The same thing. The name comes from section 6(d) of chapter 183A, the Massachusetts condominium statute. Closing attorneys and lenders usually write it 6D.
How much does a Massachusetts 6D certificate cost?
Massachusetts's statute puts no dollar figure on it, so the association or its management company sets the fee. The statute's own wording is quoted in the answer on timing.
How long does a Massachusetts association have to provide a 6D certificate?
The organization of unit owners must furnish, within ten business days after receipt of a written request and on payment of a reasonable fee, a statement setting forth the amount of unpaid common expenses and any other sums assessed against a unit owner, including the amount the organization claims is entitled to priority over a first mortgage (M.G.L. c. 183A, s. 6(d)).
Is a 6D certificate required in Massachusetts?
Yes. The statement of what a home owes is statutory, and it is what Massachusetts closings call a 6D certificate. The broader resale package that often travels with it is not required by statute.
Can a buyer cancel after receiving a Massachusetts 6D certificate?
Massachusetts law ties no cancellation right to this document. Any right to cancel comes from the purchase contract or from other disclosure laws.
Who pays for the 6D certificate in Massachusetts?
Whoever orders it pays the association's fee, usually the seller or the closing agent on the seller's behalf, and the purchase contract can move the cost to the buyer.
What is included in a Massachusetts 6D certificate?
What the home owes the association, the fees due at closing, the budget and reserves, the insurance the association carries, pending lawsuits, and the governing documents.
How do I get a 6D certificate in Massachusetts?
Ask the association, or its management company if it has one. Many take the request through an online order page and deliver by email. A buyer should ask the seller or the closing agent to order it.
Is this the same as a Massachusetts sales tax resale certificate?
No. A sales tax resale certificate is a form a retailer gives a supplier so it can buy goods without paying sales tax. It shares a name and nothing else. This page is about the condo document used when a home is sold.
How Massachusetts compares with its neighbors
Management companies that work across state lines meet a different rule on each side. Massachusetts: no fixed dollar cap, none set by statute.
New Hampshire
Resale Package
No fixed dollar cap
10 days
Required by statute
Connecticut
Resale Certificate
$185
10 business days
Required by statute
Rhode Island
Resale Certificate
$125
10 days
Required by statute
New York
Resale Package
No fixed dollar cap
No statutory deadline
Not required by statute
See all 51 jurisdictions on the map, compare every state in the fee and deadline table, or read about lender questionnaires, estoppel letters, and demand letters.
Your next Massachusetts 6D certificate could write itself.
The resale platform is free for the association. The requester pays for the document. No contract to sign.