In Fairhaven, Waterfront Means Two Different Sets of Paperwork

Your title insurance and deed describe the upland lot you are buying, the same as any property in town. What they generally do not resolve is anything built out over tidal water: a dock, a pier, a bulkhead, a seawall. In Massachusetts, structures over flowed tidelands typically require a separate state license under Chapter 91, the Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act, issued by the Department of Environmental Protection, not by the town and not by your title company.

A dock can be standing, used for years, and still be unpermitted or operating under an expired license. That is not a title defect your lender's title search is built to catch, and it is not something a home inspector checks either. It is a separate question that has to be asked directly: is there a current Chapter 91 license for every structure over the water, and does it transfer with the sale or does it need to be reissued to the new owner.

An unpermitted dock does not necessarily stop a sale, but it changes what a buyer is actually agreeing to take on. Bringing a structure into compliance after the fact can mean a survey, an application, and a timeline measured in months, not weeks, so this is a question worth raising before an offer, not after an inspection.

I live on Buzzards Bay and go through this exact question with every waterfront buyer before an offer goes in, because it is the kind of detail that is invisible on a listing sheet and expensive to discover later. I am Susan Gorden Ryan, and if you are considering a waterfront property anywhere in Fairhaven, get in touch and I will walk the paperwork with you before you fall for the view.