Upcoming condo special assessments in Massachusetts: what to look for in the budget and minutes

This is general information, not legal advice. Ask your Massachusetts real estate attorney — and have counsel review the condo packet — before you rely on any budget, minute book, or 6(d) statement.

Before you offer on a Massachusetts condo, read the budget, reserve balance, and recent association minutes for large repairs that are discussed but not yet billed. A special assessment under M.G.L. c.183A can appear after you bid if reserves are thin. Request a current §6(d) statement, but treat minutes and any capital plan as early-warning tools the 6(d) alone will not replace.

This page is the how-to-spot-it companion to Condo special assessments in Massachusetts: what to ask. Pair both with the condo documents checklist.

Special assessment vs. regular condo fee vs. municipal betterment

Regular condo fee (common expenses). Under §6(a), common expenses are assessed against units (usually by percentage interest, or another method the master deed lawfully allows). Assessments must be made at least annually, based on a budget adopted at least annually. The association has a lien from the time an assessment becomes due; unit owners are personally liable for their share (§6(b)).

Special assessment. In everyday condo practice — and in Mass.gov’s RE12R07 overview — a special assessment is money needed above the current budget and reserves to replace a capital item or cover a shortfall. Chapter 183A also uses “special assessment” language in places (for example certain device costs under §10(b)(6), and exclusions from mortgage-priority amounts in §6(c)). Your master deed, trust, and by-laws control how a board or owners authorize an extra levy. Read those papers; do not assume every large project is billed the same way.

Improvements under §18. Section 18 sets owner-agreement thresholds when owners vote to make an improvement to common areas and how costs are borne. That is related to, but not identical with, every “special assessment” discussion in minutes. Ask your attorney which statute and which condo documents apply to the project you see in the packet.

Municipal betterment. Town or city betterments (sewer, sidewalk, and similar municipal charges) are a different lien family. §14 addresses how certain municipal assessments can attach to condo units. Do not confuse an association special assessment with a collector / Engineering betterment — see municipal betterments in Massachusetts.

The document pack that reveals “not yet assessed” risk

A clean feeling from listing remarks is not diligence. Massachusetts does not automatically deliver a full resale disclosure bundle to a prospective purchaser the way some other states do. You generally get papers through the seller and through negotiated contingencies — see Massachusetts condo documents before an offer.

Focus on the papers that show work discussed before it is billed.

Budget and year-to-date actuals

Ask for the current operating budget and year-to-date (or most recent) financials. Under §10(c)–(d), the organization (or its manager) must keep financial records and prepare an annual financial report (balance sheet, income and expense, funds available). Compare budgeted repair and capital lines with actual spending. Large overruns, “loan” or “engineering” lines, or a sudden jump in the proposed fee without a matching reserve contribution are yellow flags — not proof by themselves.

Reserve balance and any reserve study / capital plan

Section 10(i) requires condominiums to maintain an adequate replacement reserve fund, collected as part of common expenses and held in accounts separate from operating funds. That requirement may be modified after declarant control ends by an annual vote of 67% or more in beneficial interest under §10(m) (and a majority can later rescind the modification). Records of the replacement reserve fund are among the financial records that must be kept (§10(c)(4)(ii)).

What the statute does not do: it does not define “adequate” with a statewide percentage, and it does not require a formal engineering reserve study. If the packet has no study, write “not provided / not found” and ask the trustees what capital plan they actually use. If a study or multi-year capital plan exists, read the near-term projects against the cash on hand.

12–24 months of meeting minutes

Section 10(c)(3) requires a minute book to the extent minutes are kept, available to unit owners. As a buyer, request recent board and owner minutes through the seller. Search for roofs, elevators, masonry, windows, waterproofing, fire systems, stacks, “special assessment,” “loan,” “engineer,” “insurance,” “deductible,” and litigation. A project that is “still getting bids” or “will revisit in the fall” is often the assessment that lands after your offer is accepted.

Insurance master policy and deductible

Section 10(b)(3) authorizes the organization to obtain insurance on the common areas and facilities. Ask for the master policy declarations page and the deductible. A high deductible plus thin reserves is a classic path to a unit-owner special assessment after a claim. RE12R07 likewise flags the master policy as separate from a unit owner’s own policy — confirm what the master covers before you underwrite the risk.

The 6(d) certificate: what it does and does not freeze

Under §6(d), on written request and payment of a reasonable fee, the organization must furnish within ten business days a statement of unpaid common expenses and other sums assessed against the unit owner, including any amount claimed as mortgage-priority under §6(c). When recorded as the statute provides, that statement operates to discharge the unit from liens for other sums then unpaid. It binds the organization, its governing body, and every unit owner.

What a current 6(d) does not do:

• It does not attach the budget, reserve study, capital plan, minutes, or insurance declarations.
• It does not freeze future assessments the association has not yet levied.
• It does not replace a negotiated document-review contingency.

Always refresh the 6(d) through closing — and still read the early-warning pack above. More detail: condo special assessments and condo documents.

Offer language: document review period and updated 6(d) before closing

Because a Massachusetts Offer to Purchase can bind early, put the catch list in writing before acceptance:

1. Name the documents (budget, YTD financials, reserve balances / any study or capital plan, 12–24 months of minutes, master insurance declarations, rules, and a current or draft §6(d) statement).
2. Set a calendar review period and what happens if the packet is late or incomplete.
3. Ask your attorney whether to allocate responsibility if a special assessment is approved between offer and closing, and to require an updated 6(d) at closing that matches the settlement statement.

Statewide catch-list framing: Questions to ask before making an offer in Massachusetts.

Town examples (same questions, local packets)

Use the same budget / reserves / minutes / 6(d) workflow in Greater Boston condo markets — then open the town guide for local permit and lead context, not for a different assessment statute:

• Somerville condo buying checklist
• Brookline condo documents before an offer
• Cambridge home before-offer checklist

FAQ

Can a special assessment be approved after my offer is accepted?

Yes — if the association later lawfully levies a new common-expense or special assessment under the master deed, trust, by-laws, and c.183A, your 6(d) from offer week will not block that future bill. Ask your attorney how to allocate offer-to-closing assessment risk in the OTP / P&S, and keep reading minutes for projects already in motion.

Does a clean 6(d) mean no assessment is coming?

No. A §6(d) statement reports sums already assessed (and related unpaid amounts) as of that statement. It is not a warranty that the board will not propose a roof, elevator, or insurance-deductible assessment next month. Minutes, the budget, and reserves are the early-warning tools.

What reserve level is “enough”?

There is no single statutory dollar amount or percentage in §10(i). “Adequate” is not defined as a statewide formula, and a formal reserve study is not required by that section. Compare reserve cash to the projects in the minutes and to the master-policy deductible, and ask counsel or a condo specialist to interpret the numbers for this building.

Who pays an assessment due between OTP and closing?

Chapter 183A does not hand MA buyers a one-line statewide answer for every deal. Ask your attorney how to allocate assessments that become due after acceptance but before recording, and put the answer in the purchase documents. Refresh the 6(d) at closing so the settlement statement matches what is actually assessed.

How is this different from a municipal betterment?

An association special assessment is charged by the organization of unit owners under c.183A and the condo documents. A municipal betterment or similar town/city charge is a different assessment path; §14 addresses how certain municipal amounts can attach to units. See municipal betterments before an offer.

Get early access

Fyts is building a Massachusetts pre-offer catch list so MA buyers can see what the condo packet shows — and what is still missing — before a binding offer, including special-assessment risk that has not hit a 6(d) yet.

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