Brockton, MA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

City Code § 4-23(a) requires all rental units to be inspected at least once every three years. To build the rotating inspection plan, the Public Health Division (PHD) draws on inspection records, court records, documented constituent complaints, and information from the problem property task force to prioritize properties by neighborhood. Owners may request PHD conduct the inspection, or engage an 'authorized' non-PHD inspector who meets the qualifications in § 4-20, defined as a Massachusetts Registered Sanitarian, Certified Health Officer, Certified Home Inspector, or someone trained and certified through PHD's own program.

Annual comprehensive inspections already performed by the Brockton Housing Authority's leased housing program or another Section 8 administering entity can satisfy the three-year requirement if PHD accepts them as substantially equivalent. PHD performs periodic and random audit inspections of no less than five percent of the authorized (non-PHD) inspections filed with it, checking for accuracy. Fees for PHD inspections, set in § 4-24(d), run $50 per unit for buildings of one to three units and $75 per unit for larger buildings and condominiums, with a $50 per-unit fee for any second or later inspection.

Authorized private inspectors may not charge more than 133 percent of the city's own inspection fee for the same service, and every inspection, whether by PHD or an authorized inspector, requires a sworn statement.