Haverhill, MA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Rather than writing its own list of habitability requirements, Haverhill's rental permit ordinance incorporates the Commonwealth's standard by reference. Section 200-1 requires the Board of Health to inspect a vacant or soon-to-be-reoccupied rental unit to determine whether it conforms to, in the ordinance's own words, "the General Laws of the Commonwealth, more particularly, 'The Sanitary Code, Article II, Minimum Standard of Fitness for Health under Human Habitation,' adopted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health," along with any applicable local ordinances. Only after that inspection confirms compliance can the landlord, managing agent or person in possession secure the rental permit needed before reoccupancy.

Section 200-2 reinforces that the permit is a habitability certification, not a paperwork formality: it is a violation, carrying a $200 fine, for anyone to be allowed to live in a unit without having received a rental permit certifying fitness for human habitation from the Board of Health, Division of Code Enforcement. Each additional day that a unit is occupied without that certification is treated as a new $200 offense. Section 200-4 adds an ongoing layer on top of the turnover check: tenants are made responsible for keeping the unit in satisfactory condition, and the Board of Health may run periodic inspections to confirm that condition is being maintained between turnovers, rather than waiting for the next vacancy.