Breed-specific bans are illegal in Massachusetts. MGL c.140 §157 bars every Plymouth County town from regulating dogs by breed. No town may ban pit bulls; a dog is regulated only for its own dangerous behavior.
Massachusetts prohibits breed-specific legislation statewide. MGL c.140 §157 states plainly that no city or town shall regulate dogs in a manner specific to breed, so Brockton, Plymouth, Wareham, and every other Plymouth County community are barred from banning or restricting pit bulls, Rottweilers, or any breed. Regulation is behavior-based: a town may declare an individual dog a nuisance or dangerous only after specific conduct, then impose leashing, muzzling, or secure confinement on that dog. Private landlords and insurers may still restrict breeds by contract, since the statute limits only municipal ordinances.
A breed-based town ordinance is preempted and unenforceable under MGL c.140 §157. A dog is restricted only through the individual dangerous-dog hearing process based on its own behavior.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations at all, and where a bylaw to...
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. On your own lawn a yard-sale sign is generally fine, but a si...
Plymouth County, MA
Towns, not Plymouth County, regulate signs, through zoning bylaws authorized by MGL c.40A. Those bylaws must stay content-neutral: after Reed v. Town of Gilb...
Plymouth County, MA
Rental registration and inspection are local powers, not county ones. The State Sanitary Code under MGL c.111 §127A lets each town's board of health enforce ...
Plymouth County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Plymouth County town can add one. A landlord ends a tenancy at will with 30 days' written noti...
Plymouth County, MA
Rent control is illegal across every Plymouth County community. Massachusetts voters banned it in 1994 through Question 9, now codified as MGL c.40P §4: no c...
See how Plymouth County's breed restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.