Massachusetts Easement and Eminent Domain Laws (2026)

In Massachusetts, a prescriptive easement takes twenty years: G.L. c. 187, § 2 provides that no one acquires a right of way or other easement by adverse use "unless such use or enjoyment is continued uninterruptedly for twenty years." For government takings, the state's eminent domain chapters (G.L. c. 79, 79A and 80A) contain no post-Kelo limit on taking property for economic development; a taking runs through chapter 79, which vests title when the order of taking is recorded and generally gives the owner three years to petition the Superior Court over damages (c. 79, §§ 3, 16).

Two other rules shape most Massachusetts disputes: registered (Land Court) land cannot be burdened by prescription at all (G.L. c. 185, § 53), and an owner can stop a prescriptive easement from forming by posting or serving a statutory notice (G.L. c. 187, § 3). For other states, see our guide to easement laws by state.

Information last verified on October 19, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Massachusetts statutes (chiefly G.L. chapters 79, 79A, 80A, 183, 184, 185 and 187), the Massachusetts Constitution, and decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) and Appeals Court on private easements and on condemnation of private property. It does not cover adverse possession of title (see Massachusetts squatters' rights and adverse possession), condominium or homeowners' association covenants, zoning or regulatory takings, federal condemnation (see our national guide to eminent domain laws by state), or local bylaws and ordinances.

How Long Does a Prescriptive Easement Take in Massachusetts?

Twenty years. Chapter 187, section 2 is the controlling statute:

"No person shall acquire by adverse use or enjoyment a right or privilege of way or other easement from, in, upon or over the land of another, unless such use or enjoyment is continued uninterruptedly for twenty years." (G.L. c. 187, § 2)

The elements come from case law. The SJC described a prescriptive easement of access as one that "could be obtained by uninterrupted, open, notorious and adverse use for twenty years over the land of the defendant" (Ryan v. Stavros, 348 Mass. 251 (1964)). The Appeals Court set out the elements and the standard of proof in Boothroyd v. Bogartz, 68 Mass. App. Ct. 40 (2007): a claimant may be entitled to a prescriptive easement "if it is shown by clear proof of a use of the land in a manner that has been (a) open, (b) notorious, (c) adverse to the owner, and (d) continuous or uninterrupted over a period of no less than twenty years."

The same opinion adds two points that often decide cases:

• Burden. The claimant "bears the burden of proof on each and every element."
• Same route, same purpose. Quoting the SJC's decision in Hoyt v. Kennedy, 170 Mass. 54 (1898), the court repeated that a way by prescription "must be confined substantially to the same route, and to substantially the same purpose for which the way was designed originally, unless the way is one for all purposes."

On permission, the SJC has stated the principle "that, where the use of the land is actual, open, and exclusive for a period of twenty years, the nonpermissiveness of the use may be inferred" (Totman v. Malloy, 431 Mass. 143 (2000)).

Registered land is immune

Land registered through the Land Court cannot be burdened this way. Chapter 185, section 53 provides: "No title to registered land, or easement or other right therein, in derogation of the title of the registered owner, shall be acquired by prescription or adverse possession." Our guide to Massachusetts property records explains how to search registry records for a parcel.

Public land

Statutes also bar prescription over many public holdings. No person may acquire "any rights by prescription or adverse possession" in commonwealth land under the control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (G.L. c. 132A, § 3B) or in land held in the name of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (G.L. c. 161A, § 52). The twenty-year limit on actions by the commonwealth also does not bar an action by the commonwealth or a political subdivision to recover land or interests in land "held for conservation, open space, parks, recreation, water protection, wildlife protection or other public purpose" (G.L. c. 260, § 31).

Prescriptive easement vs. adverse possession

Adverse possession of title also runs twenty years, under a different statute: an action to recover land must be brought within twenty years after the right of action or entry first accrued, with an exception for land held by a nonprofit land conservation corporation or trust for conservation, parks, recreation, water protection or wildlife protection purposes (G.L. c. 260, § 21). An easement gives a right to use land; adverse possession transfers ownership. See Massachusetts squatters' rights and adverse possession for title claims and the Massachusetts statute of limitations guide for other filing deadlines.

How to Stop Someone From Getting a Prescriptive Easement

Massachusetts gives landowners a statutory notice. Under G.L. c. 187, § 3, an owner who "apprehends that a right of way or other easement in or over his land may be acquired by custom, use or otherwise" may give notice in one of two ways:

• Posting (stops everyone). A copy of the notice is posted "in a conspicuous place upon the premises for six successive days, and such posting shall prevent the acquiring of such easement by use for any length of time thereafter."
• Service (stops named people). A copy is served on a particular person or persons "as provided by law for the service of an original summons in a civil action."

Proof matters. Section 3 provides that a certificate by an officer qualified to serve civil process that the notice was served or posted, "if made upon the original notice and recorded with it, within three months after the service or posting, in the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the land lies, shall be conclusive evidence of such service or posting." A notice from the owner's agent, guardian or conservator "shall have the same effect as a notice from the owner himself."

The notice has a consequence for the owner as well. Section 4 makes it "a disturbance of the easement to which it relates entitling the person claiming such easement to an action for the purpose of trying the right; and if he prevails, he shall be entitled to full costs although he recovers only nominal damages." In practice, a notice can prompt the user to sue to establish the easement.

What If My Land Is Landlocked in Massachusetts?

Chapter 187, the easement chapter, contains no procedure for a landlocked owner to petition for a private way across a neighbor's land. The courts apply the common-law easement by necessity, which turns on the intent of the parties to the deed that cut the parcel off.

The SJC explained the presumption in Kitras v. Town of Aquinnah, 474 Mass. 132 (2016): "It is the presumed intent of the parties that when a parcel of land becomes landlocked as a result of a conveyance the land conveyed included rights of access." The court described this as a presumption devised "to assist the inquiry into the intent of the parties."

The SJC listed what must be shown first: "(1) unity of title; (2) severance of that unity by a conveyance; and (3) necessity arising from the severance, most often when a lot becomes landlocked," and "[t]he necessity must have existed at the time of the division." The presumption "is construed with strictness," and the parties opposing the easement "may rebut the presumption by presenting evidence that at the time of conveyance the parties did not intend to create rights of access." In Kitras itself, the court held the presumption rebutted and concluded that "no easements by necessity exist."

Necessity is part of that inquiry for implied easements generally. In Cheever v. Graves, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 601 (1992), the Appeals Court held that the plaintiffs "made no showing of reasonable necessity, because they failed to show that, at the time Webster Academy Corporation conveyed Lot 10, it had no other waterfront access," and so "failed to sustain their burden to prove the existence of an implied easement."

Two limits apply. No right of way by necessity is implied under a conveyance of registered land (G.L. c. 185, § 53). And the presumption looks back to the conveyance that created the landlocked parcel, so the deed history matters.

Express Easements, Private Ways and Utility Lines

An easement is an interest in land, and the statute of frauds bars an action "upon a contract for the sale of lands, tenements or hereditaments or of any interest in or concerning them" unless the contract or a memorandum of it is in writing and signed by the party to be charged (G.L. c. 259, § 1).

Several statutes address specific situations:

• Utility lines in private ways. Owners abutting a private way who have deeded rights of ingress and egress have "the right by implication" to install pipes, conduits and other facilities for gas, electricity, telephone, water and sewer service in the way, "provided such facilities do not unreasonably obstruct" it and the use does not "interfere with or be inconsistent with the existing use by others" of the way (G.L. c. 187, § 5).
• Who owns the road. A deed to land abutting a public or private way is construed to include the grantor's fee interest in the way, unless the grantor keeps other land abutting it (in which case the division line or center line rules of the statute apply) or the deed shows a different intent by an express exception or reservation "and not alone by bounding by a side line" (G.L. c. 183, § 58).
• Light and air. Windows overlooking a neighbor's land do not, "by the mere continuance of such windows," create an easement of light or air that would prevent the neighbor from building (G.L. c. 187, § 1).
• Solar access. An easement of direct sunlight may be acquired "by express grant or covenant, or by a solar access permit as set forth in section nine B of chapter forty A" (G.L. c. 187, § 1A).
• Conservation restrictions. A conservation, agricultural preservation or watershed preservation restriction held by a governmental body or a qualifying conservation charity is not unenforceable for lack of privity of estate or contract or lack of benefit to particular land, subject to the conditions stated in G.L. c. 184, § 32.

Can an Easement Be Moved?

Yes, within limits set by the SJC. In M.P.M. Builders, LLC v. Dwyer, 442 Mass. 87 (2004), the court adopted section 4.8(3) of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes as Massachusetts law:

"Unless expressly denied by the terms of an easement, as defined in § 1.2, the owner of the servient estate is entitled to make reasonable changes in the location or dimensions of an easement, at the servient owner's expense, to permit normal use or development of the servient estate, but only if the changes do not (a) significantly lessen the utility of the easement, (b) increase the burdens on the owner of the easement in its use and enjoyment, or (c) frustrate the purpose for which the easement was created."

The court added that, absent agreement between the two owners, "the servient estate owner should seek a declaration from the court that the proposed changes meet the criteria in § 4.8 (3)." Chapter 187 has no relocation provision.

Repairs to a shared private way

Chapter 84 provides a proprietors' meeting for repairs. Where four or more persons are the proprietors and rightful occupants of a private way, three of them may apply in writing to a district court clerk, the city or town clerk, or a justice of the peace to call a proprietors' meeting, and the clerk or justice may issue a warrant for it. The meeting may decide "what repairs of the way or bridge are necessary and the proportion of money and of labor and materials to be furnished by each proprietor and occupant for such repairs" (G.L. c. 84, § 12). A proprietor or occupant who refuses or neglects to comply with that vote, when required by the surveyor, is liable to the surveyor in contract for that share "with ten per cent interest thereon" (§ 13). Cities and towns may also adopt ordinances or bylaws for "making temporary repairs on private ways" (G.L. c. 40, § 6N).

How Does an Easement End in Massachusetts?

The SJC has noted its earlier statements that an "express easement can be extinguished only by grant, release, abandonment, estoppel or prescription" (Cater v. Bednarek, 462 Mass. 523 (2012), quoting Emery v. Crowley, 371 Mass. 489 (1976)).

Abandonment is a question of intent. In Desotell v. Szczygiel, 338 Mass. 153 (1958), the SJC repeated its earlier statement that "abandonment of an easement, whether acquired by grant or prescription, cannot be found unless it clearly appears that such abandonment was intended by the owner," accepted that "nonuse of itself, no matter how long continued, will not work an abandonment," and held that nonuse for many years plus a failure to clear the way of trees and brush "falls far short of establishing abandonment." Chapter 187 sets no period of nonuse after which an easement ends.

Adverse use by the burdened owner. In the same case the SJC stated that "[a]cts of a servient tenant incompatible with the existence of an easement, extending over the twenty year period required for prescription," extinguish the easement. The use must be wrongful: it "must either interfere with a use under the easement or have such an appearance of permanency as to create a risk of the development of doubt as to the continued existence of the easement."

Eminent Domain in Massachusetts

For how other states handle takings, see our national guide to eminent domain laws by state.

The Massachusetts takings guarantee is in article X of the Declaration of Rights: "whenever the public exigencies require that the property of any individual should be appropriated to public uses, he shall receive a reasonable compensation therefor." Amendment article XXXIX lets the legislature, by special act, authorize the taking of more land than a highway or street project needs, "provided, however, that the land and property authorized to be taken are specified in the act and are no more in extent than would be sufficient for suitable building lots on both sides of such highway or street."

Chapter 79 is the main procedure. No real estate may be taken for public use by the formal vote or order of a board of officers "except under this chapter or chapter eighty A," and no damages are assessed for a taking or injury by authority of law except under those chapters (G.L. c. 79, § 45). Chapter 80A is an older alternative court-petition procedure, not a post-Kelo reform.

Can Massachusetts Take Property for Private Development?

Massachusetts did not respond to Kelo with a statutory limit in its eminent domain chapters: chapters 79, 79A and 80A contain no restriction on takings for economic development. A 2025 proposal to amend the constitution so that a taking "for private commercial or economic development" would not be a public use (H.67) was reported ought not to pass and placed on file on May 1, 2025. In Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a taking under an economic development plan that "unquestionably serves a public purpose" satisfies the federal public use requirement, and noted that "nothing in our opinion precludes any State from placing further restrictions on its exercise of the takings power."

Two Massachusetts rules still bear on private-benefit takings:

• Bad faith. The SJC held in Pheasant Ridge Associates Ltd. Partnership v. Town of Burlington, 399 Mass. 771 (1987), that bad faith "is not limited to action taken solely to benefit private interests. It includes the use of the power of eminent domain solely for a reason that is not proper, although the stated public purpose or purposes for the taking are plainly valid ones."
• Urban renewal. An urban renewal agency may take by eminent domain under chapter 79 or 80A any property "found by it to be necessary or reasonably required to carry out the purposes of" chapter 121B (G.L. c. 121B, § 11(d)). The chapter's definition of a "decadent area" covers an area detrimental to the community because of deteriorated buildings and also "because of a substantial change in business or economic conditions" or because "diversity of ownership, irregular lot sizes or obsolete street patterns make it improbable that the area will be redeveloped by the ordinary operations of private enterprise" (§ 1). For a "decadent, substandard or blighted open area," § 47 requires the consent of the state department and municipal officers and a public hearing with registered-mail notice to owners of record; a person aggrieved by the agency's determination may petition the SJC or the Superior Court sitting in Suffolk County for certiorari within thirty days after publication of the notice of the determination, and that petition "shall be the exclusive remedy for such purpose."

Utilities, power lines and pipelines

Under G.L. c. 164, § 72, "the energy facilities siting board may by order authorize" an electric, distribution, generation or transmission company, or another entity, "to take by eminent domain under chapter 79 such lands or such rights of way or widening thereof or other easements therein necessary for the construction and use" of a line along the route the board prescribes.

A natural gas pipeline company may petition the energy facilities siting board for the right to take by eminent domain under chapter 79 the lands, rights of way, easements or other interests needed for a pipeline along the route in the board's order, after notice and a public hearing; if the company does not "enter upon and construct such line upon the land so taken within 1 year thereafter, its right under such taking shall cease and terminate" (G.L. c. 164, § 75C). Oil pipeline companies (§ 69S) and electric or gas companies for certain facilities and bulk power supply substations (§ 69R) may petition the board when they are unable to reach agreement with the landowners.

Recent change (March 1, 2026). Petitions to take land for transmission lines (§ 72), natural gas pipelines (§ 75C) and section 69R facilities went to the Department of Public Utilities until March 1, 2026, when St. 2024, c. 239, §§ 72, 75 and 76 moved them to the energy facilities siting board.

How a Massachusetts Taking Works

Order of taking. The board of officers with authority to take, "having first complied with all the preliminary requirements prescribed by law," adopts an order of taking that describes the land, states the interest taken and states the purpose (G.L. c. 79, § 1).

Notice of intent (takers other than the commonwealth, counties, cities and towns). No property or easement may be taken without the owner's consent "unless notice of intent to take such property is given to the owner of such property at least thirty days prior to the date of the actual taking." This section "shall not apply to takings on behalf of the commonwealth, county, city or town." It also does not apply to takings authorized by the department of telecommunications and energy, except that notice of the hearings required by G.L. c. 164, § 72 must be sent to the owners of any property to be taken (G.L. c. 79, § 5C). Section 5C still names that department, not the energy facilities siting board that now authorizes section 72 takings.

Farmland. Property used for agriculture or farming may not be taken, and no easement may be taken on it, without the owner's consent "except after a hearing by the board" at which the owner may show that other land, not used for farming and without occupied buildings, is available for the public use (G.L. c. 79, § 5B). If the board accepts that evidence as valid, it "shall exempt said property from the taking." Section 5B does not apply to takings on behalf of the commonwealth, takings for highway purposes, or takings authorized by the department of telecommunications and energy (in which notices of the chapter 164, section 72 hearings must be sent to all interested parties).

Title vests on recording. On recording the order, title to the interest taken vests in the taking body "and the right to damages for such taking shall thereupon vest in the persons entitled thereto unless otherwise provided by law." If the occupant refuses entry after thirty days' written notice by registered mail or posting, the board may issue a warrant directing the sheriff to take possession (G.L. c. 79, § 3).

The award. For a taking on behalf of a public body, the board that adopts the order of taking awards, at the time of adoption, "the damages sustained by every person in his property by reason of such taking" (G.L. c. 79, § 6). For a railroad, the county commissioners award damages, and for another private corporation the city aldermen or town selectmen do, on a petition filed within one year of recording (§ 7).

Appraisal before the award. An award of damages "shall not be made until at least one appraisal has been made" on behalf of the taking authority and filed, unless every person entitled to damages asked in writing for the taking to proceed first (G.L. c. 79, § 7A).

Notice of taking. Immediately after the right to damages vests, the board must notify every person whose property was taken or who is otherwise entitled to damages, "including every mortgagee of record," and state the time within which the person may petition the Superior Court (G.L. c. 79, § 7C).

Written offer within 60 days. Before 60 days pass after recording, the board must "offer in writing to every person entitled to damages on account of such taking a reasonable amount which such board is willing to pay," either in full settlement or as a payment pro tanto. Accepting it pro tanto is "without prejudice to or waiver or surrender of any right to claim a larger sum" (G.L. c. 79, § 8A). The reverse also applies: if the court later assesses damages below the pro tanto payment, the petitioner must refund the difference "plus costs and interest" (§ 8A), and section 7G sets the same refund rule, with six percent interest, for a payment or a withdrawn deposit. A settlement under section 39 is "in full satisfaction of all damages for such taking with interest thereon and taxable costs, if any."

Payment and enforcement. A check for awarded damages must issue within 60 days after the right to damages vests or within 15 days after a demand, as the board determines (§ 7B). A person adversely affected by a failure to comply with the notice, appraisal, offer or payment sections may petition for a writ of mandamus and recover the damages caused by the noncompliance, with costs, though the noncompliance does not affect the validity of the taking proceedings (§ 10A).

Time to move out. A person using the property as a dwelling or place of business when the order is made cannot be required to vacate it "until four months after notice of such taking has been given to him" under section 7C (G.L. c. 79, § 8B). A tenant or lessee not entitled to section 7C notice gets the same four months, running from written notice of the taking given by certified mail, by personal service, or by an attested copy left at the tenant's usual place of abode (for a Massachusetts resident) or at the premises (§ 8B).

Deadlines to petition for damages

These deadlines are short relative to how long a taking project can run. If no Superior Court petition under section 14 is filed in time, the award "shall be final" (G.L. c. 79, § 41).

A failure to give the notice of taking does not by itself extend these periods, except as section 16 provides (§ 7C).

Petitions under section 14 are filed in the superior court of the county where the property lies, and on request of any party the court must advance the case "so that it may be heard and determined with as little delay as possible" (G.L. c. 79, §§ 14, 34). A judge of the Superior Court hears the case with "one trial before a jury, unless all parties waive trial by jury and file a written agreement requesting a trial without a jury," and the jury views the premises if either party asks (§ 22).

How Is Just Compensation Calculated in Massachusetts?

Damages "shall be fixed at the value thereof before the recording of the order of taking" (G.L. c. 79, § 12). In a partial taking, the award includes "damages for all injury to the part not taken caused by the taking or by the public improvement for which the taking is made," and "there shall be deducted the benefit accruing to the part not taken unless it was stated in the order of taking that betterments were to be assessed."

Injury without a taking. For a parcel injured when no part of it is taken, only injury "special and peculiar to such parcel" counts (§ 12).

Taxes. If the property will be exempt from taxation in the taker's hands, damages include the share of that fiscal year's tax allocable to the days after the taking, plus the next fiscal year's tax if the taking falls between January 1 and June 30 (§ 12).

Buildings and trees. The owner may remove trees and structures on the land taken that are not included in the taking; damages include their value so far as they enhance the value of the land, less their value for removal (§ 13).

Interest. Damages bear interest "from the date on which the right to damages under this chapter vested until paid," at the rate the section sets, except that an award stops bearing interest once payable unless the payer fails to pay on demand (G.L. c. 79, § 37). Where the owner took a pro tanto payment or received a written offer, interest is recovered only on the amount by which the final damages exceed it (§ 8A).

Damage without a formal taking. When real estate "has been taken for the public use or has been damaged by the construction, maintenance, operation, alteration, repair or discontinuance of a public improvement or has been entered for a public purpose" without a formal vote or order, "the damages therefor may be recovered under this chapter" (G.L. c. 79, § 10). This is the Massachusetts route for what other states call inverse condemnation.

Abandoned easement takings. If an easement or other interest less than the fee taken by eminent domain is abandoned before damages are finally determined, the abandonment "may be considered in reduction of damages" (G.L. c. 79, § 43).

Costs, Attorney Fees and Relocation

Costs. In a section 14 proceeding, if damages are increased over the award (or no award was made and the petitioner is found entitled to damages), the petitioner "shall recover costs, which shall be taxed as in actions at law; otherwise he shall pay costs" (G.L. c. 79, § 38). After a pro tanto payment or written offer, taxable costs accruing afterward are recoverable by the petitioner if the adjudicated damages exceed that payment or offer, "otherwise the petitioner shall be liable for and pay such costs" (§ 8A). Neither section provides for attorney fees.

Under the chapter 80A procedure, a respondent awarded more than the estimate in the taking order recovers costs as in actions at law, and otherwise is liable for them; if the petition is dismissed, respondents get costs plus indemnity for loss and damages under section 11 (G.L. c. 80A, § 13).

Relocation. A lawful occupant displaced by a taking is paid reasonable and necessary moving expenses within the commonwealth, "but in no event more than the amounts permitted by the provisions of chapter seventy-nine A" (G.L. c. 79, § 6A). Chapter 79A, section 7 provides:

• Moving and business payments. Actual reasonable moving expenses, actual direct losses of tangible personal property (not more than the reasonable cost of relocating it) and reasonable expenses in searching for a replacement business or farm. A household displaced from a dwelling may instead take a moving allowance of up to $300 plus a $200 dislocation allowance, and a qualifying business or farm may instead take a fixed payment equal to its average annual net earnings, "not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars" (§ 7(I)).
• Homeowners. For a person who owned and occupied the dwelling for at least 180 days before the initiation of negotiations, an additional payment "not in excess of fifteen thousand dollars" toward the cost of a comparable replacement dwelling, increased mortgage interest and closing costs, paid only if the person buys and occupies a decent, safe and sanitary replacement dwelling within one year after final payment for the old dwelling or the move, whichever is later (§ 7(II)).
• Other occupants. For a person not eligible for that payment who lawfully occupied the dwelling for at least 90 days before the initiation of negotiations, a payment toward four years of increased rent for a comparable replacement dwelling, or toward a down payment, that may not exceed $4,000 (§ 7(III)).

These determinations follow the regulations issued under chapter 79A "unless otherwise provided by federal law." A person who disagrees with an eligibility or amount decision may have the claim reviewed by the displacing agency and then by the bureau of relocation, whose disposition "shall be final." On a federally assisted project, the federal Uniform Act payments apply, currently up to $41,200 for a 90-day homeowner-occupant and $9,570 for rental or down payment assistance (49 C.F.R. §§ 24.401(b), 24.402); the national guide covers the federal rules.

Massachusetts Easement and Eminent Domain Rules at a Glance

Related Pages

• Easement laws by state
• Eminent domain laws by state
• Massachusetts squatters' rights and adverse possession
• Massachusetts property records
• Massachusetts statute of limitations

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Massachusetts easement and eminent domain law. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific property or taking, contact a lawyer licensed in Massachusetts.

Last updated: October 19, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get a prescriptive easement in Massachusetts?

Twenty years. G.L. c. 187, § 2 bars acquiring an easement by adverse use unless the use is continued uninterruptedly for twenty years, and the Appeals Court requires clear proof that the use was open, notorious, adverse and continuous, with the claimant bearing the burden on each element (Boothroyd v. Bogartz, 2007).

Can you get a prescriptive easement over registered land in Massachusetts?

No. G.L. c. 185, § 53 provides that no easement or other right in registered land, in derogation of the registered owner's title, shall be acquired by prescription or adverse possession.

How do I stop someone from getting a prescriptive easement in Massachusetts?

G.L. c. 187, § 3 lets an owner have a notice of intent to prevent the easement posted in a conspicuous place on the premises for six successive days, which prevents acquisition by use by anyone, or served on particular persons like an original summons. An officer's certificate recorded with the notice in the registry of deeds within three months is conclusive evidence of the posting or service. Under § 4 the notice entitles the person claiming the easement to bring an action to try the right.

What if my land is landlocked in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts relies on the common-law easement by necessity. Where a conveyance severed land of a common owner and left a parcel landlocked, and the necessity existed at that time, the SJC presumes the parties intended the land conveyed to include rights of access; the presumption is construed strictly and can be rebutted by evidence that the parties did not intend access, as it was in that case (Kitras v. Town of Aquinnah, 2016). No right of way by necessity is implied under a conveyance of registered land (G.L. c. 185, § 53).

Can my neighbor move my easement in Massachusetts?

Under M.P.M. Builders, LLC v. Dwyer (2004), unless the easement's terms expressly deny it, the owner of the burdened land may make reasonable changes to its location or dimensions at its own expense, but only if the change does not significantly lessen the easement's utility, increase the burdens on the easement holder, or frustrate its purpose. Without agreement, the burdened owner should seek a court declaration first.

Can Massachusetts take property for private development?

Chapters 79, 79A and 80A of the General Laws contain no post-Kelo limit on takings for economic development, and urban renewal agencies may take property needed to carry out urban renewal in decadent or blighted areas, which chapter 121B defines to include areas affected by a substantial change in business or economic conditions (G.L. c. 121B, §§ 1, 11, 47). A 2025 proposed constitutional amendment declaring such takings not a public use (H.67) was placed on file. The SJC has held that a taking is in bad faith when made solely for an improper reason, even if its stated public purposes are valid (Pheasant Ridge, 1987).

How long do I have to challenge an eminent domain award in Massachusetts?

A petition to the Superior Court for assessment of damages may be filed within three years after the right to damages vested (G.L. c. 79, § 16). An owner who did not receive notice at least 60 days before that period ends has six months from the taking of possession or actual notice, whichever comes first. Takings for a railroad or another private corporation also allow a one-year petition for an award to the county commissioners or the city aldermen or town selectmen (§ 7), though a Superior Court petition is available whether or not one was filed (§ 14), and a timely suit contesting the right to take allows a petition within six months after that suit is finally determined (§ 18).

Does Massachusetts pay attorney fees in eminent domain cases?

The cost provisions of G.L. c. 79 award costs taxed as in actions at law: the petitioner recovers them if the damages are increased over the award, and otherwise pays them (§ 38), and costs after a written offer follow whether the adjudicated damages exceed that offer (§ 8A). Neither section provides for attorney fees.

Can a utility take an easement for power lines in Massachusetts?

Under G.L. c. 164, § 72, the energy facilities siting board may by order authorize an electric, distribution, generation or transmission company, or another entity, to take by eminent domain under chapter 79 the lands, rights of way or easements needed for a line along the route the board prescribes. Section 5C's 30-day notice of intent does not apply to takings authorized by the department of telecommunications and energy; in those takings, notice of the hearings required by chapter 164, section 72 must be sent to the owners of the property to be taken (G.L. c. 79, § 5C). Section 5C still names that department rather than the siting board.