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

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 4 (2026)

Exclusive ownership and possession; restrictions

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 4. Each unit owner shall be entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of his unit, subject to the provisions of this section and of sections seventeen, eighteen and nineteen; provided, however, that:—

(1) No unit shall be devoted to a use prohibited in the master deed or any lease which is submitted to the provisions of this chapter;

(2) The organization of unit owners, its agent or agents shall have access to each unit from time to time during reasonable hours for the maintenance, repair or replacement of any of the common areas and facilities therein or accessible therefrom or for making emergency repairs therein necessary to prevent damage to the common areas and facilities or to another unit or units; and

(3) Each unit owner shall comply with the by-laws and with any administrative rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as either of the same may be amended from time to time, and with the lawful covenants, conditions and restrictions set forth in the master deed or in the deed to his unit and with each lease which is submitted to the provisions of this chapter.

(4) Each unit owner shall provide to the organization of unit owners and to each mortgagee holding a recorded mortgage upon the unit, within sixty days of the effective date of this subsection or at the time of acquisition of title to the unit, whichever comes later, written notice of the unit owner's name and mailing address. Thereafter, the unit owner shall provide written notice to the organization and said mortgagees of any changes in the name or mailing address previously provided by the unit owner. The organization and mortgagees may rely in good faith upon the most recent notice of name and address for the purpose of providing notices to the unit owner under this chapter or under provisions of the loan documents or condominium documents, and such notices sent in writing to the address listed in the most recent notice of name and address, if relied upon in good faith, shall be deemed sufficiently given, provided that the organization or mortgagee, as the case may be, has complied with other requirements, if any, of this chapter and the loan or condominium documents.

(5) The organization of unit owners shall provide to each mortgagee holding a recorded mortgage upon a unit, written notice of the organization's name and mailing address. The organization shall provide written notice to each such mortgagee of any changes in the name or mailing address previously provided by the organization. Each mortgagee holding a recorded mortgage upon a unit shall give written notice of the mortgagee's name and mailing address to the organization of unit owners. Thereafter, each mortgagee shall provide written notice to the organization of any changes in said name and address for the purpose of providing notices to the mortgagee under this chapter or under the provisions of the loan documents or condominium documents. The organization and mortgagees may rely in good faith upon the most recent notice of name and address for the purpose of providing notices to the organization and mortgagees, as the case may be, under this chapter or under the provisions of the loan documents or condominium documents. In addition, any first mortgagee may at any time give notice to both the unit owner and the organization of unit owners of its desire to receive notice regarding the granting of an easement or other interest or the granting or designation of a limited common area, or the taking of other action by the organization of unit owners all as provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 5. Notice to the governing body of the organization of unit owners shall be deemed notice to the organization of unit owners. Any notices sent in writing to a mortgagee or to the governing body of the organization of unit owners, as listed in the most recent notice of name and address, if relied upon in good faith, shall be deemed sufficiently given, provided that the organization or mortgagee, as the case may be, has given notice as required by this chapter.

(6) Each unit owner shall provide in writing to the organization of unit owners the name or names of any tenants or occupants of the unit, other than visitors for less than thirty days.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 30 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1975–2025 · leading case: Berish v. Bornstein, 437 Mass. 252 (Mass. 2002).
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Berish v. Bornstein, 437 Mass. 252 (Mass. 2002). “Ownership of a residential condominium involves a form of property ownership different from ownership of a house.”
Busalacchi v. McCabe, 883 N.E.2d 966 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008). · cites it 2× “Thus, “[o]wnership of a condominium unit is a hybrid form of interest in real estate, entitling the owner to both ‘exclusive ownership and possession of his unit, G. L. c. 183A, § 4, and ... an undivided interest [as tenant in common together with all the other unit owners] in…”
McDermott v. Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, P.C., 911 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D. Mass. 2012). “” Mass. Gen. L. ch. 183A, § 4. . On October 31, 2005, MEEB filed the collection suit in Lynn District Court to collect delinquent charges on unit 105 in the amount of $1,866.”
McEneaney v. Chestnut Hill Realty Corp., 650 N.E.2d 93 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). “Subject to the provisions in the master deed and the by-laws of the condominium association, the unit owner has exclusive control over his unit. G. L. c. 183A, *578 § 4. The management and control of the common areas, however, is vested in the organization of unit owners.”
Noble v. Murphy, 612 N.E.2d 266 (Mass. App. Ct. 1993). “Ownership of a condominium unit is a hybrid form of interest in real estate, entitling the owner to both “exclusive *456 ownership and possession of his unit, G. L. c. 183A, § 4, and ... an undivided interest [as tenant in common together with all the other unit owners] in the…”
Trs. of the Beechwood Vill. Condo. Trust v. United Stateslliance Fed. Credit Union, 125 N.E.3d 83 (Mass. App. Ct. 2019). “"A condominium unit owner is entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of its unit, G. L. c. 183A, § 4, and to an undivided interest in the common areas in the same proportion as the value of [its] unit compared to the aggregate value of all the units.”
Kaplan v. Boudreaux, 573 N.E.2d 495 (Mass. 1991). “A condominium unit owner is entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of his unit, G. L. c. 183A, § 4, and to an undivided interest in the common areas in the same proportion as the value of his unit compared to the aggregate value of all the units.”
Golub v. Milpo, Inc., 522 N.E.2d 954 (Mass. 1988). “G. L. c. 183A, § 4. This division between individual and common rights is basic to the theory of condominium ownership.”
Franklin v. Spadafora, 447 N.E.2d 1244 (Mass. 1983). “G. L. c. 183A, § 4 (3). Since the plaintiffs’ decisions to purchase units within the condominium were no doubt voluntary, any restrictions imposed on the plaintiffs’ rights to buy or sell property within the condominium are, for this reason, essentially self-imposed.”
Wyman v. Ayer Props., LLC, 11 N.E.3d 1074 (Mass. 2014). “The nature of condominium unit ownership supports our conclusion that claims such as those raised here do not fit into the rubric of claims intended to be covered by the rule.”
39 Joy Street Condo. Ass'n v. Bd. of Appeal, 426 Mass. 485 (Mass. 1998). “” Golub v. Milpo, Inc., 402 Mass. 397, 400, 401 (1988), citing G.”
Scully v. Tillery, 926 N.E.2d 154 (Mass. 2010). “Brookline, supra at 52-53 , this court concluded that in the “context of the entire section and the act as a whole,” the “evident intent” of the language in G. L. c. 183A, § 4, that each condominium unit owner “shall be entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of his…”
Show all 30 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 4(1) — 1 case
Calvao v. Raspallo (Mass. App. Ct. 2017).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183A, § 4(3) — 3 cases
Atanassova v. Sefner, 30 Mass. L. Rptr. 639 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2013).
Pailet v. Sakellarides, 5 Mass. L. Rptr. 721 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1996).
Halpern v. Paolini, 1992 Mass. App. Div. 8 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1992).
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