Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title IV Chapter 254
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 254, § 5A (2026)

Court order authorizing sale of real estate; procedure

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 5A. When the amount of a lien under section six of chapter 183A or under section 29 of chapter 183B has been established by a court, the court shall enter an order authorizing the sale of the real estate to satisfy such lien. The lienor may do all acts authorized by such order, but no sale pursuant to such order shall be effectual unless, previous to such sale, notice thereof has been published once in each of three successive weeks, the first publication to appear not less than twenty-one days before the date of such sale, in a newspaper published in the town where the land lies or, if no newspaper is published in such town, in a newspaper published in the county where the land lies, and this provision shall be implied in every court order for sale hereunder in which it is not expressly set forth. A newspaper which by its title page purports to be printed or published in such town, city or county, and having a circulation therein, shall be sufficient for the purpose.

For a lien under chapter 183A, such form shall be printed in substantially the following form:

SALE OF REAL ESTATE

UNDER GLM 183A:6

By virtue of a Judgment and Order of the ___ Court (docket no. ___) in favor of ___ against ___ establishing a lien pursuant to GLM 183A:6 on the real estate known as Unit ___ of the ___ Condominium for the purpose of satisfying such lien, the real estate will be sold at Public Auction at ___ o'clock . M. on the ___ day of ___ A.D. (insert year) at . The premises to be sold are more particularly described as follows:

Description: (Describe premises exactly as in the deed, including all references to title, restrictions, encumbrances, etc.)

Terms of sale: (State the amount, if any, to be paid in cash by the purchaser at the time and place of the sale, and the time or times for payment of the balance or the whole as the case may be.)

Other terms to be announced at the sale.

(Signed)___ ___ Lienholder

___(insert year)

For a lien under chapter 183B, such form shall be printed in substantially the following form:

SALE OF REAL ESTATE UNDER GLM 183B:29

By virtue of a Judgment and Order of the ___ Court (docket no, ___) in favor of ___ against ___ establishing a lien pursuant to GLM 183B:29 on the time-share known as ___ of the ___ for the purpose of satisfying such lien, the time-share will be sold at Public Auction at ___ o'clock .M. on the ___ day of ___ A.D. 19___ at . The premises to be sold are more particularly described as follows:

Description: (Describe premises exactly as in the deed, including all references to title, restrictions, encumbrances, etc.)

Terms of sale: (State the amount, if any, to be paid in cash by the purchaser at the time and place of the sale, and the time or times for payment of the balance or the whole as the case may be.)

Other terms to be announced at the sale.

(Signed)___ ___ Lienholder

___ 19

Such notice of sale in the above form, published in accordance with the provisions of this section, together with such other or further notice, if any, required by the court, shall be deemed a sufficient notice of the sale and the premises shall be deemed to have been sold, and the deed thereunder shall convey the premises, subject to, and with the benefit of, all restrictions, easements, improvements, outstanding tax titles, municipal or other public taxes, assessments, and first mortgages recorded prior to the recording of the complaint, whether or not reference to such restrictions, easements, improvements, outstanding tax titles, municipal or other public taxes, assessments, or first mortgages is made in the deed; but no purchaser at such sale shall be bound to complete the purchase if there are encumbrances, other than those included in the notice of the sale, which are not stated at the sale and included in the auctioneer's contract with the purchaser. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the premises shall be deemed to have been sold, and the deed thereunder shall convey the premises, as otherwise provided above but free of said first mortgages, if as of the date of such sale there are unpaid common expense assessments, costs, or reasonable attorneys' fees the lien for which is given priority over said first mortgages in subsection (c) of section six of chapter one hundred and eighty-three A. Any sale pursuant to this section shall convey the premises free of any right of redemption.

The person or entity selling, or their attorney, may cause a copy of the notice and an affidavit, stating that the requirements of the court order and of this section have been complied with, to be recorded with a note of reference thereto on the margin of the record of the complaint previously recorded, and such affidavit or a certified copy of the record thereof shall be admitted as evidence that the sale was duly executed.

For the purposes of this section, the term ''recorded'' shall mean recorded in the registry of deeds or land registration office for the county or district where the land lies.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1992–2022 · leading case: Baker v. Monga, 590 N.E.2d 1162 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992).
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Baker v. Monga, 590 N.E.2d 1162 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992). “The trustees commenced this action in the Superior Court by complaint filed on March 26, 1990, seeking to establish a lien on the unit and to obtain an order authorizing the sale of the unit under G. L. c. 254, § 5A, to satisfy the lien. The defendant filed counterclaims against…”
Wine v. Tak Hing Wu, 710 N.E.2d 618 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). · cites it 2× ““(2) Whether the Court erred in failing to issue an Order for the Sale of Real Estate pursuant to M. G. L. c. 254, § 5A after damages were established on January 19, 1996.”
Residences at Cape Ann Heights Condo. Ass'n v. Halupowski, 983 N.E.2d 739 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013). · cites it 3× “The outcome of such a suit, if successful, is an order for the sale of the unit, subject to the procedures outlined in G. L. c. 254, § 5A. Liens for common expenses hold priority over most other encumbrances on a unit, and enjoy priority over even a first mortgage for up to six…”
Wine v. Tak Hing Wu, 1996 Mass. App. Div. 157 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1996). “ing two issues were presented for appellate review: (1) Whether the court erred in failing to establish damages against Unit 4H of the Harbor Towers II Condominium in the amount assessed against Unit 4H of Harbor Towers II Condominium by the Harbor Towers II Condominium Trust;…”
Tammaro v. Haliotis, 1998 Mass. App. Div. 82 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1998). “Similarly, we cannot determine if the trial judge erred in refusing the plaintiff’s request for a G.Lc. 254, §5A order of sale because there is no indication in the record that the plaintiff ever requested such an order from the trial court.”
Britton v. Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, P.C. (D. Mass. 2022). “The order also authorized DBHA to foreclose on the property to enforce its lien in accordance with Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 254 § 5A. Id. C. Present Action2 Right before the scheduled judicial foreclosure, the first mortgagee satisfied the priority lien to preserve its interest.”
Bd. of Trs. of the 87 St. Botolph Street Condo. Trust v. Cohen, 23 Mass. L. Rptr. 225 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2007). “183A, §6(c); G.L.c. 254, §5A. In addition, the Statute empowers the Trustees to enforce as common expense assessments “any expense .”
Trs. of Hunters Vill. Condo. Trust v. Gerke, 2007 Mass. App. Div. 23 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2007). “183A, §6(c); G.L.c. 254, §5A. Nowhere in the complaint is there a reference to Gerke’s alleged conversion as the basis of the assessment of $39,437.”
Peck v. Coffman, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 697 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). “G.L.c. 254, §5A allows the Trust to collect the amount of its lien by selling the condominium unit after complying with the notice requirements of G.”
Trs. of the Sandpiper Condo. Trust v. Snell, 1994 Mass. App. Div. 43 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1994). “The complaint sought an order for the sale of real estate pursuant to G.L.c.254, §5A, but the court’s judgment did not include such order.”
Maushop Vill. Condo. Trust 3A v. Bucci, 1994 Mass. App. Div. 56 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1994). “G.L.c. 254 §5A provides for the entry of an order authorizing a sale to satisfy such a lien.”
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