Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title IX Chapter 60
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 60, § 53 (2026)

Taking for taxes; notice

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 53. If a tax on land is not paid within fourteen days after demand therefor and remains unpaid at the date of taking, the collector may take such land for the town, first giving fourteen days' notice of his intention to exercise such power of taking; provided, however, that where the land is Class one, residential property, as defined in section 2A of chapter 59, such notice shall: (i) be mailed to the taxpayer at their last known residence and usual place of abode or place of business; (ii) be posted upon the Class one, residential property; and (iii) be published on the town or city website; provided further, that for any properties not Class one, residential the notice may be served in the manner required by law for the service of subpoenas on witnesses in civil cases or may be published, and shall conform to the requirements of section forty. He shall also, fourteen days before the taking, post a notice so conforming in two or more convenient and public places. A notice provided pursuant to this section shall be prepared by the department of revenue, in language understandable by a least sophisticated consumer, together with a notice in the 7 most commonly spoken languages in the commonwealth, that the notice affects important legal rights and should be translated immediately.

Whenever the collector of taxes of a city or town shall have taken land therein he may, in the name and on behalf of said city or town, take immediate possession of such land and, until the tax title so acquired is redeemed, collect the rent and other income from such land, which rent and income, after the payment therefrom of all necessary expenses in the care, repair and management of such land, shall be applied on account of the taxes, assessments, rates, charges, interest and costs due said city or town on said land, with any balance remaining being paid to the person otherwise entitled thereto. Upon petition of any person having a right to redeem such tax title, the superior court for the county within which the land lies, if it adjudges justice and the circumstances so warrant, may, upon such terms as it shall deem equitable, enjoin a taking of possession under this section or command the surrender of a possession taken.

Neither said city or town nor any of its officers, agents or employees shall be liable or accountable to the owner or to any other person having an interest in such land for failure to collect rent or other income therefrom; and neither said city or town nor any of its officers, agents or employees shall be liable for injury or damage caused by the possession of land under the section to such land or to the person or property of any person.

Where the land is Class one, residential property as defined in section 2A of chapter 59 all notices sent pursuant to this section shall include a uniform notice prepared by the department of revenue, together with a notice in the 7 most common languages in the commonwealth, that this notice affects important legal rights and should be translated immediately. Such notice shall state in language understandable by a least sophisticated consumer:

(i) what taxes or other municipal costs remain unpaid;

(ii) the taxpayer's right to redeem full ownership of the property and the components of the amount required to redeem the property;

(iii) that a complaint to foreclose the tax title may be filed on or after a specific date;

(iv) that the tax title may be sold to a purchaser of tax receivables;

(v) that if a complaint to foreclose the tax title is filed and the owner does not respond by filing an answer, the court may enter an order defaulting the owner;

(vi) that if a complaint to foreclose the tax title is filed, the owner may respond by filing an answer that requests that the court set the terms by which the owner may redeem the property;

(vii) that if the property is not redeemed, the town or purchaser is entitled to receive a judgment from the land court that transfers title of the property to the town or purchaser and permanently eliminates any title rights the owner has in the property; and

(viii) that following a foreclosure of the property, the former owner shall be entitled to any excess equity in the property, upon written request to the municipality or purchaser of tax receivables, pursuant to section 64A.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1962–2024 · leading case: Hanna v. Town of Framingham, 802 N.E.2d 1061 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004).
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Hanna v. Town of Framingham, 802 N.E.2d 1061 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “Though the town may enter into possession of the property under such a tax title, and may thereafter collect any rents (net of operating expenses) generated by the property until redemption, see G. L. c. 60, § 53, the town in the *425 present case has not taken possession of the…”
Vincent Realty Corp. v. City of Boston, 378 N.E.2d 73 (Mass. 1978). “On March 19, 1971, the city, acting pursuant to G. L. c. 60, § 53, 3 made tax takings of the said properties.”
Town of Milford v. Boyd, 434 Mass. 754 (Mass. 2001). “In 1993 and 1994, the tax collector for the town placed eleven units in the complex owned by Caruso in tax title pursuant to G. L. c. 60, §§ 53 and 54, for failure to pay real estate taxes.”
Johnson v. McMahon, 182 N.E.2d 507 (Mass. 1962). · cites it 3× “On April 27, 1956, the 1955 taxes still being unpaid, the land was taken for the town by the collector in accordance with G. L. c. 60, § 53. Preliminary thereto the statutory requirements of notice by publication and posting had been complied with.”
Burrell v. Town of Marion (In Re Burrell), 346 B.R. 561 (1st Cir. BAP 2006). “The parties do not dispute that the Town’s claim for real estate taxes was secured by a lien pursuant to Massachusetts law, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 60 § 37, and the Property had been subject to a taking in accordance with state statutes, Mass.”
Noone v. Town of Palmer, 2 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D. Mass. 2014). “) See generally Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 60, §§ 53 and 54. On February 2, 2012, the Town of Palmer instituted a tax lien action against Spud Noone in the Massachusetts Land Court, seeking to foreclose all rights of redemption to the property.”
Vee Jay Realty Trust Co. v. DiCroce, 277 N.E.2d 690 (Mass. 1972). · cites it 2× “A review of our prior decisions, and especially an examination of the general statutory scheme for the assessment and collection of real property taxes, leads us to the conclusion that a mortgagee not in possession is not entitled, as a matter of right, to notice of a taking…”
Flax v. Smith, 479 N.E.2d 183 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985). “See G. L. c. 60, § 53, as amended by St. 1970, c.”
Robertson v. Town of Plymouth, 468 N.E.2d 1090 (Mass. App. Ct. 1984). “The affidavit of the Commissioner of Corporations and Taxation filed pursuant to that statute stated that the value of the land did not exceed $1,000 and that facts essential to the validity of the tax title had been adequately established.”
S/n-1 Reo Ltd. Liab. Co. v. City of Fall River, 81 F. Supp. 2d 142 (D. Mass. 1999). “On or about December 8, 1993, Fall River “took” the property by tax deed as a result of Findley’s failure to pay real estate taxes for the 1993 fiscal year pursuant to Mass. Gen. L. ch. 60, §§ 53 and 54 (the “tax taking.”
In Re Stacy, 99 B.R. 142 (D. Mass. 1989). “Relevant Statutory and Case Law A municipal tax taking is governed by the provisions of Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 60, § 53. If a tax is not paid within fourteen days of demand, the tax collector may take such land for the town.”
Town of North Reading v. Welch, 711 N.E.2d 603 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “stopped paying taxes on the locus in 1983, and on March 30, 1984, the town made a tax title taking in accordance with G. L. c. 60, §§ 53 and 54. On March 11, 1986, the town took the next statutory step, see G.”
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