Mass. Gen. Laws » Part II Title I Chapter 183A
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 17 (2026)

Rebuilding following casualty loss; partition upon disapproval; repair or restoration upon approval; purchase from dissenting owner

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 17. (a) Rebuilding of the common areas and facilities made necessary by fire or other casualty loss shall be carried out in the manner set forth in the by-law provision dealing with the necessary work of maintenance, repair and replacement, using common funds, including the proceeds of any insurance, for that purpose, provided such casualty loss does not exceed ten per cent of the value of the condominium prior to the casualty.

(b) If said casualty loss exceeds ten per cent of the value of the condominium prior to the casualty, and

(1) If seventy-five per cent of the unit owners do not agree within one hundred and twenty days after the date of the casualty to proceed with repair or restoration, the condominium, including all units, shall be subject to partition at the suit of any unit owner. Such suit shall be subject to dismissal at any time prior to entry of an order to sell if an appropriate agreement to rebuild is filed. The net proceeds of a partition sale together with any common funds shall be divided in proportion to the unit owners' respective undivided ownership in the common areas and facilities. Upon such sale, the condominium shall be deemed removed from the provisions of this chapter.

(2) If seventy-five per cent of the unit owners agree to proceed with the necessary repair or restoration, the cost of the rebuilding of the condominium, in excess of any available common funds, including the proceeds of any insurance, shall be a common expense, provided, however, that if such excess cost exceeds ten per cent of the value of the condominium prior to the casualty, any unit owner who did not so agree may apply to the superior court of the county in which the condominium is located on such notice to the organization of unit owners as the court shall direct, for an order directing the purchase of his unit by the organization of unit owners at the fair market value thereof as approved by the court. The cost of any such purchase shall be a common expense.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1981–2018 · leading case: Beacon Towers Condo. Trust v. Alex, 42 N.E.3d 1144 (Mass. 2016).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Beacon Towers Condo. Trust v. Alex, 42 N.E.3d 1144 (Mass. 2016). · cites it 2× “The appellee, Beacon Towers Condominium Trust (trust), is the unit owners’ organization for the Beacon Towers Condominium (condominium), an entity created pursuant to G. L. c. 183A, § 17. The condominium is comprised of three adjacent buildings in the Back Bay section of Boston,…”
Barclay v. DeVeau, 429 N.E.2d 323 (Mass. 1981). “The plaintiff argues that a proportionate interest in the unit owners’ association may be a beneficial one that includes, for example, rights in event of casualty losses (G. L. c. 183A, § 17) and the right to make and the obligation to pay for capital improvements (G.”
Scully v. Tillery, 926 N.E.2d 154 (Mass. 2010). “The required “interest” may include a “power to appoint and remove the trustees of the condominium trust” that may not be diluted; alternatively, the “proportionate interest in the unit owners’ association may be a beneficial one that includes, for example, rights in event of…”
Trs. of the Cambridge Point Condo. Trust v. Cambridge Point, LLC (Mass. 2018). “G. L. c. 183A, § 17 (b) (1). It also provides that improvements to the common areas and facilities may not be treated as a "common expense" borne collectively by the unit owners unless at least seventy-five per cent of the unit owners agree to make the 10 improvements.”
Trs. of Hunters Vill. Condo. Trust v. Gerke, 2007 Mass. App. Div. 23 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2007). “” G.L.c. 183A, §17 (b) (2). Similarly, in §18 (b) of G.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.