Haverhill, MA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Section 120-1 charges the Inspector of Buildings with examining, or causing to be examined, all buildings on which work is being done under Chapter 120, as often as practicable, and requires the Inspector to examine every building under application to be moved, raised, razed, enlarged, altered, restored, built upon, or reported to be unsafe or dangerous, keeping a record of each examination. Section 120-2 gives the Inspector a broad right of entry: so far as necessary to perform these duties, the Inspector may enter any building or premises without charge, fee or restriction to examine and inspect it, order the suspension of any building operation that does not conform to the chapter's requirements, or order repairs or alterations needed to bring it into conformance or make it safe.

No person may prevent or obstruct the Inspector from entering a building or premises in the performance of these duties, continue building operations after the Inspector has directed a written suspension, or refuse, fail or neglect to make repairs the Inspector has directed in writing. Section 120-4 requires the Inspector to keep a full and complete record of every permit issued, including the owners, lessees, occupants, architects and builders involved and the date of the permit, along with a record of every notice and certificate issued, to whom, for what purpose, and a record of all inspection visits, the reasons for each, and the results.

Together these sections establish the full inspection cycle Haverhill's Inspectional Services division runs on every project from application through completion, tying entry authority, inspection duty and recordkeeping into one enforceable chain.