There are two title systems for real estate in Massachusetts. The first is recorded land, whose records are filed in and maintained by the Registry of Deeds in the county in which the property is located. The second is registered land, whose documents are filed with and maintained by the Massachusetts Land Court. The vast majority (about 90%[1]) of real estate in Massachusetts falls under the recorded land category, but you may own a piece of registered land at some point in your lifetime, if you don’t already.
Land Court History
The Land Court came into being on October 1, 1898, due to a variety of issues such as missing heirs and deeds, fires in local registries destroying records, and the like, all of which made it difficult, if not impossible, to establish title to real estate. The Land Court was originally called the Court of Registration and is a system by which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, following an exhaustive title search by a court-appointed title examiner, certifies title to real estate.
Each owner in the chain of title to registered property is given a certificate number on which all of the encumbrances (e.g., liens, mortgages, easements) or rights affecting the property are listed. [2],[3] Unlike other trial courts in Massachusetts whose jurisdiction is limited to certain geographical areas (e.g., individual counties), the Land Court has statewide jurisdiction.
Even though it might sound appealing to have title to your real estate certified by the state, transferring title and generally dealing with registered land can be cumbersome, expensive and time consuming because of the processes required by the Land Court. If you own multiple pieces of real estate, it’s possible that they are a mix of recorded and registered land, so depending on how you plan on using the property, you may need to record documents with both the Registry of Deeds and the Land Court, incurring additional time and expense.
Changes Due to the Affordable Homes Act
If you have registered land and want to withdraw it from registration, the good news is that Governor Maura Healey signed the Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act (“AHA”) on August 6, 2024. Most notably, the AHA made a change to M.G.L. c. 185, which allows owners of registered land to voluntarily withdraw their property from registration without needing to meet certain requirements.
Prior to the AHA, a registered landowner could withdraw their property from registration for only the following reasons:
- The land comprised less than the total area of a single parcel or of two or more contiguous parcels in common ownership;
- The land was less than 10% of the area conveyed under the original certificate of title, with the remainder already having been conveyed out;
- The land was, or would be, converted to a condominium under G.L. c. 183A or a timeshare under G.L. c. 183B;
- The land was improved with an occupied building that was not, or was not used in connection with, a 1–4 family residential dwelling; or
- For good cause, including, but not limited to, economic hardship by reason of the land being registered.
Because of the changes in the AHA, a registered landowner no longer has to meet any of these five requirements in order to withdraw their property from registration.
Withdrawing from Registration
In order to deregister property, the landowner needs to complete and file a Complaint for Voluntary Withdrawal and a Notice of Voluntary Withdrawal (the “Notice”), as well as other court documents, and provide certain documentation depending on the type of ownership of the property (e.g., the requirements are different for an individual versus a limited liability company).
Once the necessary documentation is filed with the Court, notice is given to interested parties, and provided no objections are submitted, the Land Court will approve and endorse the Notice within 30 days of receipt of all required documentation, unless the Court finds good cause to extend that timeframe. The Notice then needs to be recorded with the Registry of Deeds for the county in which the property lies.
The provision permitting voluntary withdrawal took effect last month, February 2025. If you would like help with withdrawing your property from the Land Court registration system, because you’ve run into issues with registered land in the past, you’re concerned about the time it takes to transfer registered property, or for any reason at all, please contact one of our experienced real estate attorneys for a consultation.
[1] https://massrods.com/hampden/faqs-land-court-frequently-asked-questions/
[2] https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-nature-and-evolution-of-title
[3] https://www.mass.gov/info-details/a-brief-history-of-the-land-court