Bill > S1500

This bill amends Chapter 62 of the General Laws to clarify how real estate taxes and other charges are handled for homeowners' associations, which are entities responsible for managing communities where membership is mandatory for parcel owners and where unpaid assessments can lead to a lien on the property. Specifically, it defines "common areas and facilities" as shared real property and facilities owned or leased by the association, and "parcel" as a distinct lot or unit within the community that can be sold separately and is subject to mandatory association membership and assessments. The bill establishes that each parcel within a homeowners' association, along with its share of common areas and facilities, will be treated as an individual parcel for real estate tax purposes, but the common areas themselves will not be taxed as a separate parcel. Furthermore, other charges like betterment assessments, sewer use charges, and water rates, if not real estate taxes, can be assessed to the homeowners' association, with any resulting liens attaching to individual parcels based on their proportional interest in the common areas as stated in the master deed.