📃 Mass. Condo Law: What Is a 6(d) Certificate?

Anyone selling or buying a condo in Massachusetts should be aware of the need for a 6(d) certificate. This document comes from the condo association and it proves that the condo’s seller has paid all of his or her common charges prior to the closing. If common charges are owed on a unit when it’s sold, the new owner will be stuck with those fees.

According to M.G.L. c. 183A, Section 6(d),

A statement from the organization of unit owners setting forth the amount of unpaid common expenses and any other sums which have been assessed against a unit owner, including a statement of the amount which the organization of unit owners claims is entitled to priority with respect to any mortgage under subsection (c), shall operate to discharge the unit from any lien for other sums then unpaid when recorded in the appropriate registry of deeds; provided, however, that any statement or document issuing from an unincorporated organization of unit owners may be recorded in a registry of deeds and if so recorded shall indicate and specify therein the book and page, or document number if registered land, within such registry of the instrument from which the signatory or signatories of the statement obtained authority to sign on behalf of the unincorporated organization. The statement shall be furnished within ten business days after receipt of a written request, upon payment of a reasonable fee, and shall be binding on the organization of unit owners, the governing body of the organization of unit owners, and every unit owner; provided, however, that no fee shall be required of any mortgagee, in connection with a foreclosure of a mortgage, who has given the organization notice of its intention to foreclose a mortgage upon the unit.