How to declare your property a Homestead

To declare your property a Homestead, you must fill out the Declaration of Homestead form, and record it with the Registry of Deeds for your County district.  

Forms are now on line for your convenience:

Declaration of Homestead (1 page .pdf, 55 Kb)

Declaration of Homestead - Elderly (1 page .pdf, 55 Kb)

This legal document must be filed out in its entirety, signed by all parties (who own the land) in front of a Notary Public, notarized, and recorded.  To record this instrument for property located in Townsend, you can go to the Middlesex Southern District Registry Of Deeds in Cambridge, or you can mail it along with the fee payment.

The recording fee is $35.00.  Make Checks payable to "Registry of Deeds".

If mailing, send to:

Eugene C. Brune, Register of Deeds
Southern Middlesex District Registry of Deeds
208 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA  02141
617-679-6300 

If you're going to the Registry, call for hours, and leave plenty of time: the parking is tough and the recording line can be very long.

Do you have questions about the Homestead Act?  Click here for Homestead Questions and Answers

Assessors' Office

Phone 978-597-1706