Massachusetts General Provisions Relative to Real Property

§ 1 Rights of aliens

Aliens may take, hold, transmit and convey real property, and no title to real property shall be invalid on account of the alienage of a former owner.

§ 2 Conveyance of land subject to contingent remainder, executory devise or other estate in expectancy

If a contingent remainder, executory devise or other estate in expectancy is so granted or limited to a person that in case of his death before the happening of the contingency the estate would descend to his heirs in fee simple, he may, before the happening of the contingency, sell, assign or devise the land subject to the contingency.

§ 3 Contingent remainders; taking effect; limitations

A contingent remainder shall take effect, notwithstanding any determination of the particular estate, in the same manner in which it would have taken effect if it had been an executory devise or a springing or shifting use, and shall, as well as such limitations, be subject to the rule respecting remoteness known as the rule against perpetuities, exclusive of any other supposed rule respecting limitations to successive generations or double possibilities; but this section, except so far as declaratory of existing law, shall apply only to instruments executed on or after April sixth, nineteen hundred and sixteen, and to wills and codicils revived or confirmed by a will or codicil executed on or after said date.

§ 4 Land held in fee tail; liability for debts of tenant in tail

Land held in fee tail, except an estate tail in remainder, shall be liable for the debts of the tenant in tail, both in his lifetime and after his decease, as if held in fee simple; and if taken on execution or sold by executors, administrators, guardians or conservators, the creditor or purchaser shall hold such land in fee simple.

§ 5 Conveyance vesting life estate and remainder to heirs

If land is granted or devised to a person and after his death to his heirs in fee, however the grant or devise is expressed, an estate for life only shall vest in such first taker, and a remainder in fee simple in his heirs.

§ 6 Interpretation of words importing want or failure of issue

In a limitation of real or personal property by deed, will or other instrument in writing, executed after April thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, the words ''die without issue'', or ''die without leaving issue'', or ''have no issue'', or ''die without heirs of the body'', or other words importing either a want or failure of issue of any person in his lifetime or at the time of his death, or an indefinite failure of his issue, shall, unless a contrary intention clearly appears by the instrument creating such limitation, mean a want or failure of issue in the lifetime or at the time of the death of such person, and not an indefinite failure of his issue.

§ 6A ''Heirs'' and ''next of kin'' construed

In a limitation of real or personal property to a class described as the ''heirs'' or ''next of kin'' of a person, or described by words of similar import, to take effect in enjoyment upon the happening of an event within the period of the rule against perpetuities, the class shall, unless a contrary intention appears by the instrument creating such limitation, be determined as if such person died at the time of the happening of such event.

§ 7 Creation of estate in common, joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety

A conveyance or devise of land to two or more persons or to husband and wife, except a mortgage or a devise or conveyance in trust, shall create an estate in common and not in joint tenancy, unless it is expressed in such conveyance or devise that the grantees or devisees shall take jointly, or as joint tenants, or in joint tenancy, or to them and the survivor of them, or unless it manifestly appears from the tenor of the instrument that it was intended to create an estate in joint tenancy. A devise of land to a person and his spouse shall, if the instrument creating the devise expressly so states, vest in the devisees a tenancy by the entirety.

A conveyance or devise of land to a person and his spouse which expressly states that the grantees or devisees shall take jointly, or as joint tenants, or in joint tenancy, or to them and the survivor of them shall create an estate in joint tenancy and not a tenancy by the entirety. In a conveyance or devise to three or more persons, words creating a joint tenancy shall be construed as applying to all of the grantees, or devisees, regardless of marital status, unless a contrary intent appears from the tenor of the instrument.

A conveyance or devise of land to two persons as tenants by the entirety, who are not married to each other, shall create an estate in joint tenancy and not a tenancy in common.

§ 8 Conveyance to grantor and another

Real estate, including any interest therein, may be transferred by a person to himself jointly with another person in the same manner in which it might be transferred by him to another person, and a conveyance of real estate by a person to himself and his spouse as tenants by the entirety shall create a tenancy by the entirety.

§ 8A Name and address of owner; request for information; records; penalty

In any city or town which accepts this section, the assessors shall, if they have reason to believe that the name and address of the grantee of record in a transfer of real estate is not the name and address of the owner of the real estate, by written notice, request such grantee to submit the name and address of said owner within five days of the receipt of such notice. The assessors shall maintain a record of the names and addresses of such owners which shall be open to public inspection. Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section after being so notified shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.

§ 9 Conveyance by tenant for life or years of greater estate

A conveyance by a tenant for life or years which purports to grant a greater estate than he possesses or can lawfully convey shall not work a forfeiture of his estate, but shall pass to the grantee all the estate which such tenant can lawfully convey.

§ 10 Acts of owner of precedent estate upon expectant estate; effect

No expectant estate shall be defeated or barred by an alienation or other act of the owner of the precedent estate, nor by the destruction of such precedent estate by disseisin, forfeiture, surrender or merger.

§ 11 Barring of estates tail

The two preceding sections shall not prevent the barring of estates tail in the manner provided in chapter one hundred and eighty-three, nor an expectant estate from being defeated in a manner provided for or authorized by the person creating such estate.

§ 12 Fixtures annexed by life tenant; determination; removal

Fixtures annexed to the freehold by a life tenant or by his assigns may be removed during the continuance of the life estate or within a reasonable time thereafter; and in determining what are fixtures, the common law rules prevailing between a landlord and a tenant for years shall govern. This section shall not affect the right of the owner of land to make a different provision by will or otherwise as to the removal of fixtures, nor impair or affect the provisions of any will or other instrument by which an estate for life in land is created or limited.

§ 13 Repealed, 1957, 765, Sec. 2repealed

Repealed, 1957, 765, Sec. 2

§ 14 Sale of timber standing on land used by other than owner of fee

If the supreme judicial court or the probate court for the county where the land lies finds that wood or timber, standing on land the use and improvement of which belongs, for life or otherwise, to a person other than the owner of the fee therein, has ceased to improve by growth, or ought for any cause to be cut, it may appoint a trustee to sell and convey said wood or timber to be cut and carried away within a time to be limited in the order of sale, to hold and invest the proceeds thereof after paying therefrom the expenses of such sale, to pay over the income, above the taxes and other expenses of the trust, to the person entitled to such use and improvement while his right thereto continues, and thereafter to pay the principal of the fund to the owner of such land. If wood or timber has been cut as aforesaid, no more thereof shall be cut on such land by the person entitled to such use and improvement without permission from said court. Such sale, if authorized by a probate court, shall be made in the manner provided by law for the sale of real property by guardians; and if such sale is authorized by the supreme judicial court, the trustees shall give to such person as the court shall designate a bond, for the use and benefit of the persons interested in the proceeds of the sale, conditioned on the faithful discharge of the trust; and the court may remove the trustee, and appoint another in his stead.

§ 15 Proceedings affecting title to real property; recording and registration of memoranda of lis pendens; persons affected

(a) A wit of entry or other proceeding that affects the title to real property or the use and occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, shall not have any effect except against the parties thereto, their heirs and devisees and persons having actual non-record notice thereof, until a memorandum containing the names of the parties to the proceeding, the court in which it is pending, the date of the writ or other commencement thereof, the name of the town where the real property liable to be affected thereby lies and a description of the real property sufficiently accurate for identification is recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the real property lies; but this section shall not apply to attachments, levies of execution or proceedings in the probate courts, other than proceedings under equity jurisdiction. No recorded affidavit or other recorded instrument, including any affidavit under section 5B of chapter 183, suggesting that the proceeding has been commenced shall have any effect on the title to real property nor provide any notice thereof, constructive or actual, and any person acquiring an interest in the real property, other than a party to the proceeding, and heir or devisee of the party or any person having actual non-record notice thereof, shall be deemed to be without the notice, and the person's interest shall be exempt from any judgment entered in the proceeding, unless and until the instrument has been endorsed by a justice of the court in which the proceeding is pending in accordance with subsection (b). The memorandum may be dissolved at any time by recording in the registry of deeds a notice of voluntary dissolution duly executed and acknowledged by the party who executed the memorandum, by that party's successor in interest or by an attorney of record for either of the parties.

(b) Any party seeking a memorandum of lis pendens under this section shall commence the underlying proceeding by means of a verified complaint or other complaint as is required under the rules of court to include a certification by the claimant made under the penalties of perjury that the complainant has read the complaint, that the facts stated therein are true and that no material facts have been omitted therefrom. The complaint shall name as defendants all owners of record and any party in occupation under a written lease. Upon motion of a party, if the subject matter of the action constitutes a claim of a right to title to real property or the use and occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, a justice of the court in which the action is pending shall make a finding to that effect and endorse the finding upon the memorandum. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the court on its own motion may decline to endorse the memorandum of lis pendens, if the court does order the temporary equitable relief as will preserve the status quo pending further proceedings. If the memorandum is approved ex parte, it shall contain an additional finding that either (1) the defendant is not then subject to the jurisdiction of the court in that action, or (2) there is a clear danger that the defendant, if notified in advance of the endorsement of the memorandum, will convey, encumber, damage or destroy the property or the improvements thereon. A register of deeds or assistant recorder of the land court shall not accept for recording or registration a memorandum under this section, unless it contains the endorsement and is accompanied by an affidavit stating that the plaintiff or his attorney has served notice of the allowance thereof by certified mail addressed to all parties to the action.

(c) If the memorandum is approved ex parte, any party aggrieved thereby may move at any time for dissolution of the memorandum, and the court shall hear the motion forthwith and in any event not later than 3 days after the date on which notice of the motion was given to the claimant. At the hearing the claimant shall have the burden of justifying any finding in the ex parte order that is challenged by the party who is aggrieved thereby. A party may also file a special motion to dismiss the claimant's action if that party believes that the action or claim supporting the memorandum of lis pendens is frivolous. The special motion to dismiss, unless heard at the time the claimant first applied for a judicial endorsement under subsection (b), shall be heard at the same time as the hearing on the motion to dissolve the memorandum of lis pendens. If the court determines that the action does not affect the title to the real property or the use and occupation thereof or the buildings thereon, it shall dissolve the memorandum of lis pendens. The special motion to dismiss shall be granted if the court finds that the action or claim is frivolous because (1) it is devoid of any reasonable factual support; or (2) it is devoid of any arguable basis in law; or (3) the action or claim is subject to dismissal based on a valid legal defense such as the statute of frauds. In ruling on the special motion to dismiss the court shall consider verified pleadings and affidavits, if any, meeting the requirements of the Massachusetts rules of civil procedure. If the court allows the special motion to dismiss, it shall award the moving party costs and reasonable attorneys fees, including those incurred for the special motion, any motion to dissolve the memorandum of lis pendens, and any related discovery. Nothing in this section shall affect the right of the moving party to any other remedy otherwise authorized by law. All discovery proceedings shall be stayed upon the filing of the special motion pursuant to this section; but the court, on motion and for good cause shown, may order that specified discovery be conducted. The stay of discovery shall remain in effect until notice of entry of the order ruling on the special motion. In the event there are un-adjudicated claims remaining after the dismissal of any claim pursuant to which the memorandum of lis pendens was recorded, the court shall order the entry of partial judgment with respect to the claim dismissed pursuant to this section.

(d) Any party aggrieved by a ruling under subsection (c) or by the denial of an ex parte motion for a memorandum of lis pendens, may appeal pursuant to the first or second paragraphs of section 118 of chapter 231. Thirty days after the entry of an order dissolving a memorandum of lis pendens, or of an order or judgment dismissing the claimant's action as provided hereinabove, the order or judgment shall become final unless the party seeking the memorandum has filed an appeal under this paragraph and records notice thereof within the 30 day period in the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the real property lies. Attested copies of orders, judgments and notices of appeal shall refer to the book and page of the recorded memorandum and shall be accepted for recording in the registry of deeds. The recording of an attested copy of the order or judgment or of the order of dissolution, in either case without a timely appeal therefrom being filed, or of a judgment dismissing the appeal, or the recording of a voluntary dismissal of the memorandum of lis pendens as provided in subsection (a), shall be conclusive evidence that the action or proceeding which was the subject of the memorandum of lis pendens does not affect the title to the real property or the use and occupation thereof or the buildings thereon.

(e) Nothing in this section shall deprive an owner of registered land from proceeding under section 114 of chapter 185 to challenge the validity of the registration of a memorandum of lis pendens.

(f) For the purposes of this section, a proceeding arising under a statute, ordinance or by-law regulating land use, including without limitation one related to zoning or wetlands regulation, is not a proceeding that affects title to real property or the use and occupation thereof or the buildings thereon.

§ 16 Certificate of judgment, decree or final disposition; recording

At any time after final judgment or a decree in favor of the defendant, or after the discontinuance, dismissal or other final disposition, by consent of parties or otherwise, of a proceeding mentioned in the preceding section, or in case of the non-entry of the writ, petition or bill of complaint, the clerk of the court wherein such judgment, decree, discontinuance, dismissal or other final disposition is recorded, or out of which such writ issued or to which such petition or bill of complaint was addressed, shall upon demand give a certificate of the fact of such judgment, decree, discontinuance, dismissal, final disposal or non-entry, and such certificate may be recorded in the registry in which the original record mentioned in said section was made.

§ 17 Judgments or decrees; effect of recording

A judgment or decree, at law or in equity, rendered after June eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, affecting the title to real property, shall not have any effect except against the parties thereto, their heirs and devisees and persons having actual notice thereof, unless a certified copy of the record thereof has been recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies, with a memorandum of the town where the land lies and a description thereof sufficiently accurate for identification if the record of the judgment or decree does not give those particulars. If a notice of the pendency of the action has been duly recorded in the registry of deeds, the record of the judgment or decree may be made within sixty days after its rendition, and the entry of an ordinary attachment of real property in the registry of deeds shall be considered notice of the pendency of the action.

§ 17A Agreement for purchase and sale of real estate; acknowledgment; recordation

No agreement for the purchase and sale of real estate or any extension thereof shall be received for record in any registry of deeds unless such agreement or extension thereof is acknowledged by the parties agreeing to sell such real estate or one of them. No agreement for the purchase and sale of real estate which is recorded shall have any effect as against persons other than the parties thereto after the expiration of a period of ninety days from the date provided for the delivery of the deed by such agreement, or by such agreement as extended, as the case may be, unless prior to the expiration of such period an action or suit shall have been commenced to enforce such agreement and a memorandum like that described in section fifteen shall have been recorded in said registry of deeds; provided, that such agreement shall not be deemed to be extended, for the purposes of this section, by any instrument which is not recorded within ninety days from the date provided for the delivery of the deed by such agreement, or by such agreement as last previously extended.

If an individual, firm or corporation holds funds entrusted to him pursuant to a written agreement for the sale of real property and the written agreement expressly authorizes the individual, firm or corporation, as escrow agent, to continue to hold the funds in the event of a dispute between the buyer and seller concerning entitlement to the funds, no claim shall be maintained against the individual, firm or corporation, as escrow agent, whether as trustee, stakeholder or otherwise, if the escrow agent has complied with the mutual written instructions of the buyer and seller, if any, and any order or judgment of a court or final decision of an arbitrator with regard to accounting for or disbursing the funds. In an action commenced with regard to entitlement to such escrowed funds, a party to the action may file a motion seeking an order to have the funds paid into court by the escrow agent. Written notice of the motion shall be given by the moving party to all other parties and to the escrow agent. The escrow agent shall pay the funds into court within ten days of receipt of such order or within such other time as provided by the court.

§ 17B Mortgage loan application; real estate consisting of a certain dwelling house; required statements and information

Every application for a mortgage loan on 1–to–4–family residential property and occupied or to be occupied in whole or in part by the obligor on the mortgage debt shall be made on a printed form which shall contain the following 2 statements in type of at least 2 points larger than the other type used on the application:

(1) The responsibility of the attorney for the mortgagee is to protect the interest of the mortgagee.

(2) Mortgagors may, at their own expense, engage an attorney of their selection to represent their interests in the transaction.

A printed copy of the above statements shall be given to the mortgagor at the time of making the application.

§ 17B½ Variable or adjustable rate subprime loans for first-time home loan borrowers; written affirmation and counseling certificate required; approved counseling programs; violations; regulations

No mortgagee who makes a loan to a first-time home loan borrower, to be secured by a mortgage on owner-occupied, 1 to 4 family residential property in the commonwealth, shall make a subprime loan at a variable or adjustable rate of interest unless the mortgagor affirmatively opts in writing for the variable or adjustable rate subprime loan and receives certification from a counselor with a third-party nonprofit organization that the mortgagor has received counseling in person on the advisability of the loan transaction; provided, further that said third party nonprofit organization shall have been approved by: (1) the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; (2) a housing financing agency of the commonwealth; (3) the Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative; (4) or the regulatory agency which has jurisdiction over the mortgagee. The commissioner of the division of banks shall maintain a list of approved counseling programs. At or before closing such a loan, the mortgagee shall obtain evidence that the mortgagor has completed an approved counseling program. If such subprime mortgage loan is made by a mortgagee in violation of this section, the variable or adjustable rate terms of the loan shall not be enforceable and the mortgagee shall only be entitled to collect an interest rate equal to the lesser of the original interest rate, including any discounted rate, or the current adjusted interest rate throughout the remaining term of the loan. The commissioner of banks shall issue directives or guidelines or adopt regulations to administer and carry out this section and to further define the terms used in this section.

§ 17C, 17D Repealed, 2006, 63, Sec. 4Brepealed

Repealed, 2006, 63, Sec. 4B

§ 18 Entry into land; legal proceedings required to recover possession of land or tenements; jurisdiction

No person shall make an entry into land or tenements except in cases where his entry is allowed by law, and in such cases he shall not enter by force, but in a peaceable manner.

No person shall attempt to recover possession of land or tenements in any manner other than through an action brought pursuant to chapter two hundred and thirty-nine or such other proceedings authorized by law. The superior and district courts shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce the provisions of this section.

§ 19 Entry for breach of condition; certificate; recordation

If real property has been conveyed by deed on a condition therein expressed, which is not a mortgage and if proceedings based upon right of entry for breach of such conditions have not been barred by section thirty-one A of chapter two hundred and sixty, the grantor, his heirs and devisees upon breach of such condition may enter on the granted premises in order to revest the title; and a certificate of such entry, made and sworn to before any officer duly qualified to administer oaths by two competent witnesses and recorded within thirty days after such entry in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies, or a duly certified copy of the record of such certificate, shall, after the expiration of three years from such entry, be prima facie evidence of such breach and entry. If a grantor, his heirs or devisees made such entry and certificate and filed the certificate as herein required prior to June ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, said certificate or a duly certified copy of the record thereof shall have like force and effect.

No proceeding based upon any right of entry or forfeiture which arises by reason of the termination of an estate in land created prior to the second day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-six, and regarded as an estate in fee simple under section one of chapter one hundred and eighty-six shall be maintained either at law or in equity in any court unless a person having such right or his attorney, agent, guardian, conservator or parent files on or before the first day of January, nineteen hundred and sixty-six in the registry of deeds, or in the case of registered land in the registry district of the land court for the district in which the land is situated, a statement in writing, duly sworn to, describing the land and the nature of the right and the deed or other instrument creating it, and where it may be found if recorded or registered, and in case of registered land naming the holder or holders of the outstanding certificate of title and stating the number of said certificate, and in case of land not registered naming the person or persons then appearing of record to own the fee subject to such right, or shown by the records of the tax assessors at the last prior assessment date to be the owner or owners thereof. Such statement shall be received and recorded or registered upon payment of the fee required by law, and shall be indexed in the grantor index under the person or persons so named, and in case of registered land, noted on the certificate of title. The register and assistant recorder shall also keep a separate list of such statements.

This section shall apply to all such rights whether or not the owner thereof is a corporation or a charity or a government or governmental subdivision, or is under any disability or out of the commonwealth, and it shall apply notwithstanding any recitals in deeds or other instruments heretofore or hereafter recorded.

This section shall not apply to any leasehold estate which has less than fifty years of its term unexpired, or to any leasehold estate mentioned in section one of said chapter one hundred and eighty-six, where rent due under a written instrument has been paid or tendered to the owner of the reversion within a period of twenty years prior to the first day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven.

§ 20 Right of entry or action for recovery of real property; descent or discontinuance

No descent or discontinuance shall take away or defeat any right of entry or of action for the recovery of real property.

§ 21 Encumbrances upon real property; duty of grantor to inform grantee

If real property upon which any encumbrance exists is conveyed by deed or mortgage, the grantor, in whatever capacity he may act, shall before the consideration is paid, by exception in the deed or otherwise make known to the grantee the existence and nature of such prior encumbrance so far as he has knowledge thereof.

§ 22 Encumbrance of record; liability for removal

Whoever conveys real property by a deed or mortgage which contains a covenant that it is free from all encumbrances shall, if it appears by a public record that an actual or apparent encumbrance, known or unknown to him, exists thereon, be liable in an action of contract to the grantee, his heirs, executors, administrators, successors or assigns, for all damages sustained in removing the same.

§ 23 Conditions or restrictions; term of years; applicability

Conditions or restrictions, unlimited as to time, by which the title or use of real property is affected, shall be limited to the term of thirty years after the date of the deed or other instrument or the date of the probate of the will creating them, except in cases of gifts or devises for public, charitable or religious purposes. This section shall not apply to conditions or restrictions existing on July sixteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, to those contained in a deed, grant or gift of the commonwealth, or to those having the benefit of section thirty-two.

§ 23A Proceedings relating to building restrictions; limitation of actions

No action, suit, or proceeding shall be maintained either at law or in equity in any court to recover damages or to compel the removal, alteration, or relocation of any structure by reason of any violation of any private restriction or condition in the nature of a restriction by which the use of real property is affected in regard to: (a) building set-back requirements from front, side, or rear property lines, (b) the size, type, number of dwelling units, or number of stories of any structure, (c) the addition of any porch, garage, sign, bay window or similar addition, or the location or construction of any driveway, fence or wall, or (d) the materials used or the expenditures made for construction, unless such action, suit, or proceeding is commenced within six years next after the completion of such building, addition, or other construction.

For the purposes of this section, the record of assessment of any house or other structure for taxation shall be prima facie evidence of the completion of such house or structure by the first day of January of the year of assessment.

This section shall not be construed as extinguishing, limiting or abridging any defense against any such action, suit or proceeding which would otherwise be available nor as affecting sections nineteen to twenty-three, inclusive, or sections twenty-four to thirty, inclusive.

§ 23B Restrictive covenants based on race, religion, national origin or sex; validity; exception

A provision in an instrument relating to real property which purports to forbid or restrict the conveyance, encumbrance, occupancy, or lease thereof to individuals of a specified race, color, religion, national origin or sex shall be void. Any condition, restriction or prohibition, including a right of entry or a possibility of reverter, which directly or indirectly limits the use for occupancy of real property on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex shall be void, excepting a limitation on the basis of religion on the use of real property held by a religious or denominational institution or organization or by an organization operated for charitable or educational purposes which is operated, supervised or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization.

§ 23C Solar energy systems; installation or use; restrictive provisions

Any provision in an instrument relative to the ownership or use of real property which purports to forbid or unreasonably restrict the installation or use of a solar energy system as defined in section one A of chapter forty A or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy shall be void.

§ 23D Community residences for persons with disabilities; restrictive provisions

Any restriction, reservation, condition, exception, or covenant in any subdivision plan, deed or other instrument of or pertaining to the transfer, sale, lease or use of property which would permit residential use of property but would prohibit a community residence for disabled persons shall, to the extent of such prohibition, be void.

§ 24 Defects, irregularities or omissions in deeds; curative period

When any owner of land the title to which is not registered, or of any interest in such land, signs an instrument in writing conveying or purporting to convey his land or interest, or in any manner affecting or purporting to affect his title thereto, and the instrument, whether or not entitled to record, is recorded, and indexed, in the registry of deeds for the district wherein such land is situated, and a period of ten years elapses after the instrument is accepted for record, and the instrument or the record thereof because of defect, irregularity or omission fails to comply in any respect with any requirement of law relating to seals, corporate or individual, to the validity of acknowledgment, to certificate of acknowledgment, witnesses, attestation, proof of execution, or time of execution, to recitals of consideration, residence, address, or date, to the authority of a person signing for a corporation who purports to be the president or treasurer or a principal officer of the corporation, such instrument and the record thereof shall notwithstanding any or all of such defects, irregularities and omissions, be effective for all purposes to the same extent as though the instrument and the record thereof had originally not been subject to the defect, irregularity or omission, unless within said period of ten years a proceeding is commenced on account of the defect, irregularity or omission, and notice thereof is duly recorded in said registry of deeds and indexed and noted on the margin thereof under the name of the signer of the instrument and, in the event of such proceeding, unless relief is thereby in due course granted.

§ 25 Indefinite references; effect; application

No indefinite reference in a recorded instrument shall subject any person not an immediate party thereto to any interest in real estate, legal or equitable, nor put any such person on inquiry with respect to such interest, nor be a cloud on or otherwise adversely affect the title of any such person acquiring the real estate under such recorded instrument if he is not otherwise subject to it or on notice of it. An indefinite reference means (1) a recital indicating directly or by implication that real estate may be subject to restrictions, easements, mortgages, encumbrances or other interests not created by instruments recorded in due course, (2) a recital or indication affecting a description of real estate which by excluding generally real estate previously conveyed or by being in general terms of a person's right, title or interest, or for any other reason, can be construed to refer in a manner limiting the real estate described to any interest not created by instruments recorded in due course, (3) a description of a person as trustee or an indication that a person is acting as trustee, unless the instrument containing the description or indication either sets forth the terms of the trust or specifies a recorded instrument which sets forth its terms and the place in the public records where such instrument is recorded, and (4) any other reference to any interest in real estate, unless the instrument containing the reference either creates the interest referred to or specifies a recorded instrument by which the interest is created and the place in the public records where such instrument is recorded. No instrument shall be deemed recorded in due course unless so recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the real estate affected lies as to be indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record of the real estate affected at the time of the recording. This section shall not apply to a reference to an instrument in a notice or statement permitted by law to be recorded instead of such instrument, nor to a reference to the secured obligation in a mortgage or other instrument appearing of record to be given as security, nor in any proceeding for enforcement of any warranty of title.

§ 26 Land use or construction restrictions subject to this section and Secs. 27 to 30; definitions; sufficiency of description; presumptions

All restrictions on the use of land or construction thereon which run with the land subject thereto and are imposed by covenant, agreement, or otherwise, whether or not stated in the form of a condition, in any deed, will or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land or in any order of taking shall be subject to this section and sections twenty-seven to thirty, inclusive, except (a) restrictions in leases, mortgages and other security instruments, (b) restrictions in orders of taking by the commonwealth or a political subdivision or public instrumentality thereof made before January first, nineteen hundred and seventy and (c) conservation, preservation, agricultural preservation, and affordable housing restrictions, as defined in section thirty-one which have the benefit of section thirty-two, and other restrictions held by any governmental body, if the instrument imposing such conservation, preservation, agricultural preservation, affordable housing or other restriction is duly recorded and indexed in the grantor index in the registry of deeds or registered in the registry district of the land court for the county or district wherein the land lies so as to affect its title, and describes the land by metes and bounds or by reference to a recorded or registered plan showing its boundaries. ''Governmental body'', as referred to in this section and sections thirty-two and thirty-three, means the United States or the commonwealth, acting through any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards or agencies, or any political subdivision or public instrumentality thereof or any public authority or any quasi-public entity or any instrumentality created pursuant to chapter forty F, whether acting for its own account, or as agent or designee for or assignees of any private individual or private entity which has been required to place such restriction in its chain of title as a condition to receiving financial or other assistance from the United States or the commonwealth, acting through any of its departments, divisions, commissions, boards or agencies, or any political subdivision or public instrumentality thereof or any public authority or any quasi-public entity or any instrumentality created pursuant to said chapter forty F.

For the purposes of this section and sections twenty-seven to thirty, inclusive:—

1. ''Subject parcel'' or ''subject land'' means land upon which such a restriction is imposed.

2. ''Benefited land'' means land for the benefit of which such a restriction is imposed.

3. ''Public records'' shall be limited to records filed in the registries of deeds, probate courts and the land court and its registry districts.

4. A description of land shall be sufficient if it specifies the city or town in which the land lies and the place of record in the public records where there is a recorded or registered plan or instrument giving the boundaries of the land and identifies the land with reference to said plan or instrument and, if the land is registered, specifies the certificate or certificates of title thereof.

5. Restrictions may be deemed imposed as part of a common scheme if imposed of record on various parcels in such manner that each owner is entitled to enforce the restrictions against the other parcels, although there may be variations in the restrictions among the various parcels.

Unless the instrument imposing the restriction provides otherwise, it is to be presumed that a restriction imposed as part of a common scheme is enforceable for the benefit of any land only when such land either (a) is bounded by a street by which the subject parcel is bounded or (b) lies in a block surrounded by the same streets as the subject parcel, or (c) is contiguous to said block except for streets or ways.

§ 27 Restrictions imposed after December 31, 1961; limitations on enforceability; extension of period

No restriction imposed after December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and sixty-one shall be enforceable:—

(a) unless the person seeking enforcement (1) is a party to the instrument imposing the restriction and it is stated to be for his benefit or is entitled to such benefit as a successor to such party, or (2) is an owner of an interest in benefited land which either adjoins the subject parcel at the time enforcement is sought or is described in the instrument imposing the restriction and is stated therein to be benefited, and

(b) after thirty years from the imposition of the restriction, unless (1) the restriction is imposed as part of a common scheme applicable to four or more parcels contiguous except for any intervening streets or ways, and provision is made in the instrument or instruments imposing it for extension for further periods of not more than twenty years at a time by owners of record, at the time of recording of the extension, of fifty per cent or more of the restricted area in which the subject parcel is located, and an extension in accordance with such provision is recorded before the expiration of the thirty years or earlier date of termination specified in the instrument and names or is signed by one or more of the persons appearing of record to own the subject parcel at the time of such recording, and in case of such recording, twenty years, or the specified extension term if less than twenty years, has not expired after the recording of any such extension without the recording of a further like extension; or (2) in the case of any other restriction, a notice of restriction is recorded before the expiration of the thirty years, and in case of such recording, twenty years have not expired after the recording of any notice of restriction without the recording of a further notice of restriction.

A notice of restriction under this section shall not extend the period of enforceability unless it (a) is signed by a person then entitled of record to the benefit of the restriction and describes his benefited land, if any, (b) describes the subject parcel, (c) names one or more of the persons appearing of record to own the subject parcel at the time, and (d) specifies the instrument imposing the restriction and its place of record in the public records.

§ 28 Restrictions imposed before January 1, 1962; limitations on enforceability; extension of period

No restriction imposed before January first, nineteen hundred and sixty-two shall be enforceable after the expiration of fifty years from its imposition unless a notice of restriction is recorded before the expiration of such fifty years or before January first, nineteen hundred and sixty-four, whichever is later, and in case of such recording, twenty years have not expired after the recording of any notice of restriction without the recording of a further notice of restriction.

A notice of restriction under this section shall not extend the period of enforceability unless (a) it meets the requirements specified by the last paragraph of section twenty-seven, or (b) the restriction was imposed as part of a common scheme applicable to four or more parcels contiguous except for any intervening streets or ways and the notice (1) is signed by a person then entitled of record to the benefit of the restriction and describes his benefited land, if any, (2) describes the subject parcels to be affected, and (3) specifies the way or ways, public or open to public use, upon which each such parcel abuts, or nearest to which it is located and its street number, if any, and (4) specifies the instrument imposing the restriction and its place of record in the public records. The holder of record of a recorded mortgage upon any land may sign a notice under this section in place of the owner thereof if the notice specifies the mortgage and its place of record in the public records and names one or more of the persons appearing of record to own the land at that time.

§ 29 Notice or extension of restriction; prerequisites

No notice or extension of restriction under sections twenty-seven or twenty-eight shall be effective against a subject parcel (a) if its title is registered, unless the notice or extension is noted on the certificate or certificates of title thereof or (b) if its title is not registered, unless (1) the notice or extension is indexed in the grantor index under the names of the persons named therein as owners of the subject parcel, (2) if the instrument imposing the restriction is recorded at a registry of deeds, the notice or extension is noted on the margin of the record of the instrument, and (3) if the instrument imposing the restriction is a will, a duplicate or certified copy of the notice or extension is filed with the records of the probate of the will. No notice under clause (b) of section twenty-eight shall be effective unless indexed in a special index which each register shall maintain arranged alphabetically by city or town and within each city or town, by the ways named, in which are listed the books and pages of record of the notices of restriction and of the instruments therein specified as creating them. Where an instrument imposes more than one restriction a notice or extension may, if it so specifies, apply only to a particular restriction or restrictions. A notice under section twenty-seven or twenty-eight may be given with respect to any number of parcels subject to the restriction and may be joined in by the owners of any number of parcels having the benefit thereof and may be signed in behalf of any person by an attorney or agent and on behalf of any person under disability by a guardian, conservator or parent. No notice given under section twenty-seven or twenty-eight shall entitle any person to enforce a restriction other than the person giving the notice and his successors in title, nor entitle anyone to enforce a restriction if at the time of recording of the notice the restriction is for any reason no longer enforceable.

§ 30 Enforceability of restrictions; presumptions and prerequisites; temporary injunction

No restriction shall in any proceeding be enforced or declared to be enforceable, whether or not the time for recording a notice or extension under section twenty-seven or twenty-eight has occurred, or such a notice or extension has been recorded, unless it is determined that the restriction is at the time of the proceeding of actual and substantial benefit to a person claiming rights of enforcement. There shall be a presumption that no restriction shall be of such actual and substantial benefit except in cases of gifts or devises for public, charitable or religious purposes, if any part of the subject land lies within a city or town having a population greater than one hundred thousand persons unless (1) such restriction at the time it was imposed is not more burdensome as to requirements for lot size, density, building height, set back, or other yard dimensions than such requirements established by restriction or restrictions applicable to the land of the persons for whose benefit rights of enforcement are claimed; or (2) such restriction is part of a common scheme applicable to four or more parcels contiguous except for any intervening streets or ways to land of the grantor or other premises purported to be benefited thereby; or (3) unless such restriction is in favor of contiguous land of the grantor. No restriction determined to be of such benefit shall be enforced or declared to be enforceable, except in appropriate cases by award of money damages, if (1) changes in the character of the properties affected or their neighborhood, in available construction materials or techniques, in access, services or facilities, in applicable public controls of land use or construction, or in any other conditions or circumstances, reduce materially the need for the restriction or the likelihood of the restriction accomplishing its original purposes or render it obsolete or inequitable to enforce except by award of money damages, or (2) conduct of persons from time to time entitled to enforce the restriction has rendered it inequitable to enforce except by award of money damages, or (3) in case of a common scheme the land of the person claiming rights of enforcement is for any reason no longer subject to the restriction or the parcel against which rights of enforcement are claimed is not in a group of parcels still subject to the restriction and appropriate for accomplishment of its purposes, or (4) continuation of the restriction on the parcel against which enforcement is claimed or on parcels remaining in a common scheme with it or subject to like restrictions would impede reasonable use of land for purposes for which it is most suitable, and would tend to impair the growth of the neighborhood or municipality in a manner inconsistent with the public interest or to contribute to deterioration of properties or to result in decadent or substandard areas or blighted open areas, or (5) enforcement, except by award of money damages, is for any other reason inequitable or not in the public interest.

Nothing herein shall prevent a court from issuing a temporary injunction or restraining order pending determination of enforceability of a restriction.

§ 31 Restrictions, defined

A conservation restriction means a right, either in perpetuity or for a specified number of years, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land or in any order of taking, appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural, scenic or open condition or in agricultural, farming or forest use, to permit public recreational use, or to forbid or limit any or all (a) construction or placing of buildings, roads, signs, billboards or other advertising, utilities or other structures on or above the ground, (b) dumping or placing of soil or other substance or material as landfill, or dumping or placing of trash, waste or unsightly or offensive materials, (c) removal or destruction of trees, shrubs or other vegetation, (d) excavation, dredging or removal of loam, peat, gravel, soil, rock or other mineral substance in such manner as to affect the surface, (e) surface use except for agricultural, farming, forest or outdoor recreational purposes or purposes permitting the land or water area to remain predominantly in its natural condition, (f) activities detrimental to drainage, flood control, water conservation, erosion control or soil conservation, or (g) other acts or uses detrimental to such retention of land or water areas.

A preservation restriction means a right, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land or in any order of taking, appropriate to preservation of a structure or site historically significant for its architecture, archeology or associations, to forbid or limit any or all (a) alterations in exterior or interior features of the structure, (b) changes in appearance or condition of the site, (c) uses not historically appropriate, (d) field investigation, as defined in section twenty-six A of chapter nine, without a permit as provided by section twenty-seven C of said chapter, or (e) other acts or uses detrimental to appropriate preservation of the structure or site.

An agricultural preservation restriction means a right, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominately in their agricultural farming or forest use, to forbid or limit any or all (a) construction or placing of buildings except for those used for agricultural purposes or for dwellings used for family living by the land owner, his immediate family or employees; (b) excavation, dredging or removal of loam, peat, gravel, soil, rock or other mineral substance in such a manner as to adversely affect the land's overall future agricultural potential; and (c) other acts or uses detrimental to such retention of the land for agricultural use. Such agricultural preservation restrictions shall be in perpetuity except as released under the provisions of section thirty-two. All other customary rights and privileges of ownership shall be retained by the owner including the right to privacy and to carry out all regular farming practices.

A watershed preservation restriction means a right, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land appropriate to retaining land predominantly in such condition to protect the water supply or potential water supply of the commonwealth, to forbid or limit any or all (a) construction or placing of buildings; (b) excavation, dredging or removal of loam, peat, gravel, soil, rock or other mineral substance except as needed to maintain the land and (c) other acts or uses detrimental to such watershed. Such watershed preservation restrictions shall be in perpetuity except as released under the provisions of section thirty-two. All other customary rights and privileges of ownership shall be retained by the owner, including the right to privacy.

An affordable housing restriction means a right, either in perpetuity or for a specified number of years, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition in any deed, mortgage, will, agreement, or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land appropriate to (a) limiting the use of all or part of the land to occupancy by persons, or families of low or moderate income in either rental housing or other housing or (b) restricting the resale price of all or part of the property in order to assure its affordability by future low and moderate income purchasers or (c) in any way limiting or restricting the use or enjoyment of all or any portion of the land for the purpose of encouraging or assuring creation or retention of rental and other housing for occupancy by low and moderate income persons and families. Without in any way limiting the scope of the foregoing definition, any restriction, easement, covenant or condition placed in any deed, mortgage, will, agreement or other instrument pursuant to the requirements of the Rental Housing Development Action Loan program or the Housing Innovations Fund program established pursuant to section three of chapter two hundred and twenty-six of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-seven or pursuant to the requirements of any program established by the Massachusetts housing partnership fund board established pursuant to chapter four hundred and five of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-five, including without limitation the Homeownership Opportunity Program, or pursuant to the requirements of sections twenty-five to twenty-seven, inclusive, of chapter twenty-three B, or pursuant to the requirements of any regulations or guidelines promulgated pursuant to any of the foregoing, shall be deemed to be an affordable housing restriction within the meaning of this paragraph.

§ 32 Effect, enforcement, acquisition, and release of restrictions

No conservation restriction, agricultural preservation or watershed preservation restriction as defined in section thirty-one, held by any governmental body or by a charitable corporation or trust whose purposes include conservation of land or water areas or of a particular such area, and no preservation restriction, as defined in said section thirty-one, held by any governmental body or by a charitable corporation or trust whose purposes include preservation of buildings or sites of historical significance or of a particular such building or site, and no affordable housing restriction as defined in said section thirty-one, held by any governmental body or by a charitable corporation or trust whose purposes include creating or retaining or assisting in the creation or retention of affordable rental or other housing for occupancy by persons or families of low or moderate income shall be unenforceable on account of lack of privity of estate or contract or lack of benefit to particular land or on account of the benefit being assignable or being assigned to any other governmental body or to any charitable corporation or trust with like purposes, or on account of the governmental body the charitable corporation or trust having received the right to enforce the restriction by assignment, provided (a) in case of a restriction held by a city or town or a commission, authority or other instrumentality thereof it is approved by the secretary of environmental affairs if a conservation restriction, the commissioner of the metropolitan district commission if a watershed preservation restriction, the commissioner of food and agriculture if an agricultural preservation restriction, the Massachusetts historical commission if a preservation restriction, or the secretary of housing and livable communities if an affordable housing restriction, and (b) in case of a restriction held by a charitable corporation or trust it is approved by the mayor, or in cities having a city manager the city manager, and the city council of the city, or selectmen or town meeting of the town, in which the land is situated, and the secretary of environmental affairs if a conservation restriction, the commissioner of the metropolitan district commission if a watershed preservation restriction, the commissioner of food and agriculture if an agricultural preservation restriction, the Massachusetts historical commission if a preservation restriction, or the secretary of housing and livable communities if an affordable housing restriction.

Such conservation, preservation, agricultural preservation, watershed preservation and affordable housing restrictions are interests in land and may be acquired by any governmental body or such charitable corporation or trust which has power to acquire interest in the land, in the same manner as it may acquire other interests in land. The restriction may be enforced by injunction or other proceeding, and shall entitle representatives of the holder to enter the land in a reasonable manner and at reasonable times to assure compliance. If the court in any judicial enforcement proceeding, or the decision maker in any arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution enforcement proceeding, finds there has been a violation of the restriction or of any other restriction described in clause (c) of section 26 then, in addition to any other relief ordered, the petitioner bringing the action or proceeding may be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in the action proceeding. The restriction may be released, in whole or in part, by the holder for consideration, if any, as the holder may determine, in the same manner as the holder may dispose of land or other interests in land, but only after a public hearing upon reasonable public notice, by the governmental body holding the restriction or if held by a charitable corporation or trust, by the mayor, or in cities having a city manager the city manager, the city council of the city or the selectmen of the town, whose approval shall be required, and in case of a restriction requiring approval by the secretary of environmental affairs, the Massachusetts historical commission, the director of the division of water supply protection of the department of conservation and recreation, the commissioner of food and agriculture, or the secretary of housing and livable communities, only with like approval of the release.

No restriction that has been purchased with state funds or which has been granted in consideration of a loan or grant made with state funds shall be released unless it is repurchased by the land owner at its then current fair market value. Funds so received shall revert to the fund sources from which the original purchase, loan, or grant was made, or, lacking such source, shall be made available to acquire similar interests in other land. Agricultural preservation restrictions shall be released by the holder only if the land is no longer deemed suitable for agricultural or horticultural purposes or unless two-thirds of both branches of the general court, by a vote taken by yeas and nays, vote that the restrictions shall be released for the public good. Watershed preservation restrictions shall be released by the holder only if the land is deemed by the commissioner of the metropolitan district commission and the secretary of environmental affairs to no longer be of any importance to the water supply or potential water supply of the commonwealth or unless two-thirds of both branches of the general court, by a vote taken by yeas and nays, vote that the restrictions shall be released for the public good.

Approvals of restrictions and releases shall be evidenced by certificates of the secretary of environmental affairs or the chairman, clerk or secretary of the Massachusetts historical commission, or the commissioner of food and agriculture, or the secretary of housing and livable communities or the city council, or selectmen of the town, as applicable duly recorded or registered.

In determining whether the restriction or its continuance is in the public interest, the governmental body acquiring, releasing or approving shall take into consideration the public interest in such conservation, preservation, watershed preservation, agricultural preservation or affordable housing and any national, state, regional and local program in furtherance thereof, and also any public state, regional or local comprehensive land use or development plan affecting the land, and any known proposal by a governmental body for use of the land.

This section shall not be construed to imply that any restriction, easement, covenant or condition which does not have the benefit of this section shall, on account of any provisions hereof, be unenforceable. Nothing in this section or section thirty-one and section thirty-three shall diminish the powers granted by any general or special law to acquire by purchase, gift, eminent domain or otherwise to use land for public purposes.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit the department of public utilities or the department of telecommunications and cable from authorizing the taking of easements for the purpose of utility services provided that (a) said department shall require the minimum practicable interference with farming operations with respect to width of easement, pole locations and other pertinent matters, (b) the applicant has received all necessary licenses, permits, approvals and other authorizations from the appropriate state agencies, (c) the applicant shall compensate the owner of the property in the same manner and the same fair market value as if the land were not under restriction.

§ 33 Public restriction tract index

Any city or town may file with the register of deeds for the county or district in which it is situated a map or set of maps of the city or town, to be known as the public restriction tract index, on which may be indexed conservation, preservation, agricultural preservation, watershed preservation and affordable housing restrictions and restrictions held by any governmental body. Such indexing shall indicate sufficiently for identification (a) the land subject to the restriction, (b) the name of the holder of the restriction, and (c) the place of record in the public records of the instrument imposing the restriction. Maps used by assessors to identify parcels taxed, and approximate boundaries without distances, shall be sufficient, and, where maps by parcels are not available, addition to other maps of approximate boundaries of restricted land shall be sufficient. If the names of the holders and the instrument references cannot be conveniently shown directly on the maps, they may be indicated by appropriate reference to accompanying lists. Such maps may also indicate similarly, so far as practicable, (a) any order or license issued by a governmental body entitled to be recorded or registered, (b) the approximate boundaries of any historic or architectural control district established under chapter forty C or any special act, ordinance or by-law where a certificate of appropriateness may be required for exterior changes, (c) any landmark certified by the Massachusetts historical commission pursuant to section twenty-seven of chapter nine, (d) any other land which any governmental body may own in fee, or in which it may hold any other interest, and (e) such additional data as the filing governmental body may deem appropriate.

Whenever any instrument of acquisition of a restriction or order or other appropriate evidence entitled to be indexed in a public restriction tract index is at the option of the holder of the right to enforce it submitted for such indexing, the register shall make, or require the holder of the right to enforce the restriction or order or interest to make, appropriate additions to the tract index.

The maps shall be in such form that they can be readily added to, changed, and reproduced, and shall be a public record, appropriately available for public inspection. If any governmental body, other than a city or town in which the land affected lies, holds a right to enforce a restriction or order or an interest entitled to be indexed in a public restriction tract index for any city or town which has not filed such an index, or if the secretary of environmental affairs or the Massachusetts historical commission or the commissioner of food and agriculture or the secretary of housing and livable communities approves a conservation or preservation restriction or agricultural or watershed preservation restriction or affordable housing restriction held by a charitable corporation or trust so entitled, and the city or town does not within one year after written request to the mayor or selectmen file a sufficient map or set of maps for the purpose, the holding governmental body or approving secretary, or commission may do so.

The registers of deeds, or a majority of them, may from time to time make and amend rules and regulations for administration of public restriction tract indexes, and the provisions of section thirteen A of chapter thirty-six shall not apply thereto. No such rule, regulation or any amendment thereof shall take effect until after it has been approved by the attorney general. New tract indexes may be filed, from time to time, upon compliance with such rules and regulations as may be necessary to assure against omission of prior additions and references still effective.

§ 33A, 33B Repealed, 2008, 521, Sec. 3repealed

Repealed, 2008, 521, Sec. 3

§ 34 Good faith purchasers of interests in real estate from trustees; binding effect on trust; recording conditions

Any recordable instrument purporting to affect an interest in real estate executed by any person or persons who, in the records of the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the real estate lies, are or appear to be the trustees of a trust shall be binding on the trust in favor of a purchaser or other person relying in good faith on such instrument, notwithstanding (a) inconsistent provisions of the trust, unless said trust is recorded in said registry of deeds, with the place of recording referred to in some instrument in the chain of title to the real estate affected, (b) any amendment, revocation, removal or resignation of trustee, appointment of additional trustee, or other matter affecting the trust, unless the same is recorded in said registry of deeds and noted on the margin of said trust in said registry, or (c) any inadequacy in the consideration recited. As used in this section the term ''trust'' shall not include a trust under a will.

§ 35 Trustee's certificate; requirements; effect

Notwithstanding section 25 to the contrary, a certificate sworn to or stated to be executed under the penalties of perjury, and in either case signed by a person who from the records of the registry of deeds or of the registry district of the land court, for the county or district in which real estate owned by a nontestamentary trust lies, appears to be a trustee thereunder and which certifies as to: (a) the identity of the trustees or the beneficiaries thereunder; (b) the authority of the trustees to act with respect to real estate owned by the trust; or (c) the existence or nonexistence of a fact which constitutes a condition precedent to acts by the trustees or which are in any other manner germane to affairs of the trust, shall be binding on all trustees and the trust estate in favor of a purchaser or other person relying in good faith on the certificate. The certificate most recently recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the real estate lies shall control.