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Cambridge, MA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Some Restrictions

Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Enforcing agency: Inspectional Services Department
Standard reinspection window: 5 days after deadline
Emergency reinspection window: 24 hours after deadline
Legal basis: 105 CMR 410 (State Sanitary Code)
Notice after reinspection: Served within 5 days
Governing chapter: Cambridge Municipal Code Ch. 8.60

Summary

Cambridge's Inspectional Services Department must physically reinspect a rental unit after ordering repairs under the State Sanitary Code: within five days for standard violations, and within twenty-four hours when the condition threatens health or safety. The reinspection decides whether a fine attaches under the city's administrative citation program.

The Inspectional Services Department shall, within five days after the dates for compliance specified in an order to repair issued pursuant to 105 CMR 410.830, make an on-site inspection to determine whether there has been compliance with its order. This inspection shall be made within twenty-four hours of the dates for compliance specified in an order, however, if one or more of the violations or conditions cited in the order to repair are determined to be conditions which may endanger the health or safety, and well-being of the occupant(s) as defined in 105 CMR 410.750.

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Full Breakdown

020(D)). 750. 040(C)-(D)). 040(E)-(F)). 050(A)-(C)). 110).

Violations & Fines

Missing the reinspection-triggered repair deadline results in a fine under § 8.60.060 and repeated notice to the owner, occupants and mortgagee. ISD's five-day (or twenty-four-hour) reinspection window is mandatory, not discretionary, under § 8.60.040(B); a late or skipped reinspection does not excuse an owner from the underlying repair order, and further inspections continue until compliance is documented and filed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How fast must Cambridge reinspect a rental unit after a repair order?

Inspectional Services must make an on-site reinspection within five days of the compliance date in the repair order. If any cited condition may endanger an occupant's health or safety under 105 CMR 410.750, that reinspection window shrinks to twenty-four hours.

What happens after the reinspection?

If ISD finds the violations fixed, it notes that on the administrative citation, files it, and serves copies on the owner, occupants and mortgagee within five days. If violations remain, ISD notes the failure and assesses a fine under the city's fine schedule in § 8.60.060.

Who is legally responsible for running Cambridge's rental inspection program?

The Inspectional Services Department, which Cambridge Municipal Code § 8.60.020(D) designates as the city's health authority under Chapter 84 of the Acts and Resolves of 1983, charged with enforcing the State Sanitary Code and inspecting rental units for compliance.

Can a landlord delay the reinspection?

Only by requesting an extension hearing and showing a good-faith effort backed by two written repair estimates. Cambridge will not grant an extension if the owner was already fined for the same or a similar violation in that unit within the prior twelve months.

Sources & Official References

[1]Cambridge Municipal Code (General Code) § 8.60.040

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