Selling landlocked land in Massachusetts

How Massachusetts law handles land with no road access

Massachusetts has no landlocked-owner petition right. Selectmen or a city council may lay out a private way for inhabitants, and damages are paid under chapter 79. Courts are strict about implied easements by necessity.

Statutory route: Private way laid out by selectmen, road commissioners or city council.

Common-law route: Easement by necessity recognized only as a rebuttable presumption of intent when a grantor creates a landlocked parcel; no public policy basis (Kitras v. Town of Aquinnah, Mass. 2016).

Law: M.G.L. c. 82, ss. 21 to 24. Court routes take time and cost money. Ask a local attorney.

Your options as a landlocked owner

• Ask a neighbor to sell or grant an access easement, in writing and recorded.
• Offer the land to the neighbor who borders it. They are often the most natural buyer.
• Use the Massachusetts legal route above to create access, then sell.
• Sell as-is to a cash buyer who accepts land without access.

Massachusetts land at a glance

• Average farm real estate value: $15,200 per acre (2026, USDA).
• Average property tax on farmland: about $101.57 per acre per year (2022 Census of Agriculture).
• Transfer tax: Deed excise tax of $2.28 per $500 of consideration, or $4.56 per $1,000 (0.456%), in every county except Barnstable. In Barnstable County, the state rate is $1.71 per $500 and a county excise adds $1.53, for $3.24 per $500 (0.648%). Nantucket and the Martha's Vineyard land bank towns also charge a 2% land bank fee on most transfers.
• Seller disclosure: Massachusetts has no general seller disclosure statute, so no form is required for vacant land. The lead paint notice applies only to residential premises built before 1978 (c. 111, s. 197A). Silence alone is not fraud under Swinton v. Whitinsville Savings Bank (1942), but a seller must not misrepresent material facts.

These are statewide averages, not an appraisal. See selling land in Massachusetts for county values, or try the land value estimator.

How a cash sale handles this

Liberty Acres is a family-owned cash land buyer. We buy land anywhere in the US, in any condition, including land with back taxes, inherited land and land with no road access. We pay back taxes and all closing costs, use no agents and charge no commissions, and close through a title company, escrow company or real estate attorney who pays you by wire or check.

Common questions