Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title III Chapter 244
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 17B (2026)

Notice of intention to foreclose; necessity; form; notice and affidavit

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 17B. No action for a deficiency shall be brought after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and forty-six by the holder of a mortgage note or other obligation secured by mortgage of real estate after a foreclosure sale by him taking place after January first, nineteen hundred and forty-six unless a notice in writing of the mortgagee's intention to foreclose the mortgage has been mailed, postage prepaid, by registered mail with return receipt requested, to the defendant sought to be charged with the deficiency at his last address then known to the mortgagee, together with a warning of liability for the deficiency, in substantially the form below, not less than twenty-one days before the date of the sale under the power in the mortgage, and an affidavit has been signed and sworn to, within thirty days after the foreclosure sale, of the mailing of such notice. A notice mailed as aforesaid shall be a sufficient notice, and such an affidavit made within the time specified shall be prima facie evidence in such action of the mailing of such notice. The notice and affidavit, respectively, shall be in substantially the following forms:

Notice of Intention to Foreclose and of Deficiency After Foreclosure of Mortgage.

To A.B. Street

You are hereby notified, in accordance with the statute, of my intention, on or after , to foreclose by sale under power of sale for breach of condition, the mortgage held by me on property on Street in in the County of dated and recorded with deeds Book page to secure a note (or other obligation) signed by you, for the whole, or part, of which you may be liable to me in case of a deficiency in the proceeds of the foreclosure sale.

Yours very truly,
C.D. Holder of said mortgage.

Affidavit.

I hereby certify on oath that on the day of (insert year) I mailed by registered mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, the notice, a copy of which appears below, directed to the persons or person at the addresses therein named which were the last addresses of such persons known to me at the time of mailing.

(Here insert copy)

Signed and sworn to before me this day of (insert year)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<\/y>

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 55 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1952–2023 · leading case: Sovereign Bank v. Sturgis, 863 F. Supp. 2d 75 (D. Mass. 2012).
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Sovereign Bank v. Sturgis, 863 F. Supp. 2d 75 (D. Mass. 2012). · cites it 12× “244, § 14; G.L. c. 244, § 17B; and G.L. c. 188, § 27 The Sturgises move to dismiss on the basis that Sovereign’s Complaint failed to allege facts establishing compliance with G.”
Eaton v. Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n, 969 N.E.2d 1118 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 3× “Thus, G. L. c. 244, § 17B, one of the foreclosure by sale sections closely related to § 14, deals with the notice required to be given as a condition to seeking a deficiency owed on a note after a foreclosure sale, and reads in part: “No action for a deficiency shall be brought .”
Carmel Credit Union v. Bondeson, 772 N.E.2d 1089 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 9× “The only question on appeal is whether a mortgage lender must prove that the borrower actually received the notice that G. L. c. 244, § 17B, requires a lender to give if it proposes to hold the borrower liable, after mortgage *558 foreclosure, for a deficiency on the mortgage…”
Seronick v. Levy Schonfeld, 527 N.E.2d 746 (Mass. App. Ct. 1988). · cites it 8× “He gave Levy, but not Schonfeld, a notice under G. L. c. 244, § 17B, of the impending foreclosure proceedings, with a warning that he would hold Levy liable for any deficiency.”
Bank of New York v. Bailey, 951 N.E.2d 331 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 2× “Bailey answered the summary process complaint, alleging in part that his home was “foreclosed without legally sufficient notice under [G. L. c. 244, § 17B].” 7 Bailey asserted in his answer that he had received all personal, business, and legal correspondence for over thirty…”
Galvin v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 852 F.3d 146 (1st Cir. 2017). “Bank had followed Massachusetts law governing notices of intention to foreclose and seek a deficiency, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 17B, by sending the Galvins a notice of its intent to foreclose and to seek a deficiency judgment in October 2014.”
Wornat Dev. Corp. v. Vakalis, 529 N.E.2d 1329 (Mass. 1988). · cites it 5× “The memoranda in support of these motions advance essentially two arguments: that Womat’s failure to give Vakalis notice under G. L. c. 244, § 17B, of its intent to foreclose and seek a deficiency bars a later deficiency action; and that Womat’s failure to determine the amount…”
JER SKW Servs., Inc. v. Gold, 689 N.E.2d 856 (Mass. App. Ct. 1998). · cites it 10× “He also concluded that the initiation of suit on the guaranties was undertaken, in part, to avoid the notice requirement of G. L. c. 244, § 17B, see note 8, infra. A judgment dismissing the complaint was entered on April 11, 1995.”
Framingham Sav. Bank v. Turk, 664 N.E.2d 472 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996). · cites it 4× “The bank did so without having given prior written notice of its intent to pursue deficiencies, as prescribed by G. L. c. 244, § 17B. A judge of the District Court, having found the deficiencies to be $68,604.”
Senior Corp. v. Perine, 452 N.E.2d 1160 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). · cites it 3× “The defendant asserted that the plaintiffs failure to comply with the notice provisions of G. L. c. 244, § 17B, 1 barred recovery in the present circumstances.”
Fed. Deposit Ins. v. Henry, 818 F. Supp. 452 (D. Mass. 1993). · cites it 3× “Upon review, there appears to be only one case in which a Massachusetts court has contemplated the application of Mass. Gen.L. ch. 244, § 17B to an out of state foreclosure proceeding.”
Culhane v. Aurora Loan Servs., 826 F. Supp. 2d 352 (D. Mass. 2011). “” See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 17B (notice of mortgagee’s inten *366 tion to foreclose and of mortgagor's liability for post-foreclosure deficiency); see also id.”
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