Boston, MA Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

2(A)(3) of the Code of Ordinances spells out this intake duty in three parts. First, the Commissioner must receive all complaints of violations, in or about places of human habitation, of any statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation enacted for the preservation of health or safety in or about those places, meaning a tenant or neighbor can bring a complaint directly to the Housing Inspection function of the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) rather than needing to identify the exact code section first. Second, complaints that turn out to concern the Boston Building Code or the Boston Fire Prevention Code must be referred in writing to the Building Commissioner or Fire Commissioner, with written contact maintained between the offices, so a report does not stall because it landed with the wrong division.

Third, the Commissioner must inspect places of human habitation and enforce the health-preservation laws found there. 2(B) clarifies that responsibility for enforcing the Building Code and Fire Prevention Code themselves remains with the Building and Fire Commissioners, with the Housing Inspection Department's Enforcement Division authorized to assist in unifying action on complaints the Commissioner receives. This structure traces back to the 1981 abolition of the separate Building Department and Housing Inspection Department, whose powers were folded into ISD, so the complaint-receiving duty described here is now carried out through ISD's Housing Inspection Division.