Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 33 (2026)

Obsolete mortgages

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 33. A power of sale in any mortgage of real estate shall not be exercised and an entry shall not be made nor possession taken nor proceeding begun for foreclosure of any such mortgage after the expiration of, in the case of a mortgage in which no term of the mortgage is stated, 35 years from the recording of the mortgage or, in the case of a mortgage in which the term or maturity date of the mortgage is stated, 5 years from the expiration of the term or from the maturity date, unless an extension of the mortgage, or an acknowledgment or affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied, is recorded before the expiration of such period. In case an extension of the mortgage or the acknowledgment or affidavit is so recorded, the period shall continue until 5 years shall have elapsed during which there is not recorded any further extension of the mortgage or acknowledgment or affidavit that the mortgage is not satisfied. The period shall not be extended by reason of non-residence or disability of any person interested in the mortgage or the real estate, or by any partial payment, agreement, extension, acknowledgment, affidavit or other action not meeting the requirements of this section and sections 34 and 35. Upon the expiration of the period provided herein, the mortgage shall be considered discharged for all purposes without the necessity of further action by the owner of the equity of redemption or any other persons having an interest in the mortgaged property and, in the case of registered land, upon the payment of the fee for the recording of a discharge, the mortgage shall be marked as discharged on the relevant memorandum of encumbrances in the same manner as for any other mortgage duly discharged.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 32 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 2009–2024 · leading case: Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Fitchburg Capital, LLC, 28 N.E.3d 416 (Mass. 2015).

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Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Fitchburg Capital, LLC, 28 N.E.3d 416 (Mass. 2015). · cites it 10× “3 G. L. c. 260, § 33, as amended by St. 2006, c.”

Housman v. LBM Fin., LLC, 952 N.E.2d 418 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 7× “Housman, trustee of Pine Banks Nominee Trust (Pine Banks), brought an action in Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that a mortgage *214 held by the defendant, LBM Financial, LLC (LBM), on a property that Pine Banks had acquired in a foreclosure sale was discharged…”

Shamus Holdings, LLC v. LBM Fin., LLC (In Re Shamus Holdings, LLC), 409 B.R. 598 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2009). · cites it 7× “The issue presented is whether LBM’s mortgage on the Debtor’s property located at Unit C-l Foundry Condominium, 314 West Second Street, South Boston, Massachusetts (the “Foundry property”) must be considered discharged under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 33 , the Massachusetts…”

LBM Fin., LLC v. 201 Forest Street, LLC (In Re 201 Forest Street, LLC), 422 B.R. 888 (1st Cir. BAP 2010). · cites it 4× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 33 . B. Bankruptcy Code § 108(c) Section 108(c) states: [I]f applicable nonbankruptcy law, an order entered in a nonbankruptcy proceeding, or an agreement fixes a period for commencing or continuing a civil action 3 in a court other than a bankruptcy…”

Shamus Holdings, LLC v. LBM Fin., LLC (In Re Shamus Holdings, LLC), 642 F.3d 263 (1st Cir. 2011). · cites it 3× “This brings us to the Obsolete Mortgages Statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 33 . The statute requires the holder of a mortgage, on pain of forfeiture, to take action to enforce it within five years after the end of the mortgage’s stated term.”

Harvard 45 Assocs., LLC v. Allied Props. & Mortgages, Inc., 952 N.E.2d 411 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 7× “The plaintiff alleged that the mortgage had been discharged under G. L. c. 260, § 33, the “Obsolete Mortgages” statute, since the mortgage holder had failed to record the mortgage with the registry of deeds as required by the statute.”

Hayden v. HSBC Bank USA, Nat'l Ass'n, 867 F.3d 222 (1st Cir. 2017). · cites it 2× “Specifically, the Haydens challenge the district court’s dismissal of their claims that (1) HSBC cannot foreclose on their property under Mass.”

Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, 955 N.E.2d 884 (Mass. 2011). “See also G. L. c. 260, § 33 (limitations period for foreclosure proceedings).”

Harry v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc., 215 F. Supp. 3d 183 (D. Mass. 2016). “Furthermore, plaintiffs’ claim that defendants are barred from enforcing the recorded mortgage because the SOL has run is a non-starter under the plain language of M.G.L. c. 260, § 33. That statute provides that a foreclosure proceeding is *188 time-barred if more than five…”

Harry v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc., 219 F. Supp. 3d 228 (D. Mass. 2016). “Pursuant to the plain language of M.G.L. c. 260 § 33, the right to foreclose expires five years after the mortgage matures.”

Goldsmith v. LBM Fin., LLC (In re Loucheschi LLC), 496 B.R. 41 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2013). · cites it 4× “Jonathan Goldsmith, the chapter 7 trustee of the estate of Loucheschi LLC and the plaintiff in this adversary proceeding, has moved to amend the complaint to add a count seeking to void a mortgage held by the defendant LBM Financial, LLC pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 33…”

Hayden v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 956 F.3d 69 (1st Cir. 2020). “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 33 . Nothing in the text of the statute supports the Haydens' assertion - 4 - that the acceleration of the maturity date of a note affects the five-year limitations period for the related mortgage.”

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