Additional Information:

Can a home owners association legally shut the water off to one of it’s members for non payment of its dues for a shared well? One member owes back fees of over a thousand dollars for their part of a shared well, can the water use be legally shut off to them for non payment by the association?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

No, this is called “self-help” and is not allowed.  If the Association or any individual member who cuts essential services to another unit owner would be potential liable for damages.  Many homeowners have fallen behind with their mortgages but no lender would seek to have water, heat or electricity cut off to enforce a debt, not because banks are nice but because the tactic is illegal.

The Greater Boston Condominium Association attorneys at WSJ serve the Brookline, Massachusetts community including the neighborhoods of Brookline Village, Aspinwall Hill, Chestnut Hill, Cleveland Circle, Coolidge Corner, Longwood medical, and Washington Square.