Condominiums and subdivision control - by Saul Feldman

Saul Feldman, Feldman Law Office

Pursuant to Section 15 of Chapter 183A, the Massachusetts Condominium Statute, “The subdivision control law shall not apply to the division of a building into units.” Chapter 183A went into effect in June 1963. Section 15, unlike many other sections, has never been amended.

As often said, our primitive first generation condominium statute has its limitations. However, Chapter 183A is merely an enabling statute. Whatever is not specifically prohibited is permitted. Therefore, I have been able to expand the scope of Section 15 to cover the division of a lot into phases and units.

Based on this, I have been able very often over the past five decades to use the condominium form of ownership to form a condominium on a single lot where a local planning board has refused to allow a subdivision.

The phases are shown as dotted lines on the condominium site plan. As each phase is added to the condominium, a phasing amendment describing the phase and an amended site plan showing the phase is duly recorded at the Registry of Deeds.

The title insurance companies have always agreed to provide title insurance. The concept is tried and true as it should be.

Saul Feldman is a real estate attorney with Feldman Law Office, Boston, Mass.