Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 86, § 3 (2026)

Encroachment on public ways

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 3. If the boundaries of a public way are known or can be made certain by records or monuments, no length of possession, or occupancy of land within the limits thereof, by the owner or occupant of adjoining land shall give him any title thereto, unless it has been acquired prior to May twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and any fences, buildings or other obstructions encroaching upon such way shall, upon written notice from the county commissioners or board or officer having authority over ways in towns, be forthwith removed by the owner or occupant of adjoining land, and if not so removed said commissioners, board or officer may cause the same to be removed upon said adjoining land.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases, 1929–2004 · leading case: Paul's Lobster, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 758 N.E.2d 145 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001).

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Paul's Lobster, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 758 N.E.2d 145 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). “See G. L. c. 86, § 3 (“If the boundaries of a public way are known or can be made certain by records or monuments, no length of possession, or occupancy of land within the limits thereof, by the owner or occupant of adjoining land shall give him any title thereto .”

Driscoll v. Cnty. Commissioners, 167 N.E. 270 (Mass. 1929). “344, Part II, § 74, now G. L. c. 86, § 3, provides: “If the boundaries of a public way are known or can be made certain by records or monuments, no length of possession, or occupancy of land within the limits thereof, by the owner or occupant of adjoining land shall give him any…”

Soeder v. Cnty. Commissioners, 805 N.E.2d 1026 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). “Counsel for the County Commissioners believed they could have resolved the difficulty by acting under G. L. c. 86, § 3. The statute, besides providing that an adjoining owner like Soeder cannot by possession or occupancy acquire a title to a public way, states that “obstructions…”

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