Building Safety in Massachusetts (2026)

Owners of Boston rental units built before 1978 must comply with the Massachusetts Lead Law (MGL Ch. 111 §§189A-199B)…

Lowell's historic housing stock triggers the Massachusetts Lead Law requiring full de-leading of pre-1978 homes where…

Under MGL c.111 s.197A, pre-1978 Newton homes with children under 6 must be de-leaded; sellers and landlords must…

Under MA Lead Law (MGL c.111 s.197A), Somerville owners must delead or apply interim control to any pre-1978 unit where…

Waltham rental properties built before 1978 must comply with the Massachusetts Lead Law (MGL c.111 s.197A), requiring…

Lawrence requires anyone removing, scraping or deleading lead paint in a structure to get a permit from the board of…

Springfield adopts the Massachusetts State Lead Poisoning and Control Code, 105 CMR 460, by reference as controlling…

Boston charges separately for installing a sprinkler system and for the mandatory annual retest. The Commissioner of…

Brockton's fire prevention code requires automatic sprinkler systems in basements over 2,500 square feet used to store…

Revere accepted G.L. c. 148, § 26I on June 13, 1996, requiring automatic sprinkler systems in newly built or…

Somerville accepted Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 148, § 26I, requiring automatic sprinklers in any new or substantially…

A child care facility in Brockton serving more than ten children, as defined under state law, must clear far larger…

Newton treats a day care center serving more than 10 children as a distinct land use under Sec. 6.3.4, subject to…

Boston requires every vacant, unguarded building open to unauthorized entry to have all door and window openings closed…

New construction and major renovations in Somerville must go fossil fuel-free under the city's Specialized Energy Code…

Boston's Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) forces large buildings to report energy and…

Newton requires any large redevelopment triggering a special permit to design to a recognized green building rating…

Brockton has adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code, 780 CMR Appendix 115.AA, as Article V of Chapter 4, making…

Cambridge requires large development projects to meet a certified green building standard before they can get a permit…

Lawrence has locally adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code, 780 CMR Appendix 115.AA, as the energy-efficiency…

Revere adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code, 780 CMR Appendix 115.AA, as its own local requirement effective…

Quincy, Massachusetts requires every sober house in Norfolk County to certify functioning carbon monoxide detectors…

Boston Code § 9-1.4(B)(4) requires every property owner to provide and maintain a functioning carbon monoxide detector…

Fall River requires short-term rental operators to submit a Fire Department Certificate of Compliance confirming smoke…

Springfield law makes it unlawful to operate a short-term rental without a working smoke detector, carbon monoxide…

Worcester caps what the fire department can charge for the carbon monoxide alarm inspection state law requires, from…

Boston requires a building permit before any roof deck on a residential structure can be used, backed by a structural…

Before any building or structure in Brockton is erected, constructed, altered or moved, the owner must file a permit…

Chelsea requires a building permit before construction work begins, with fees set by the director of municipal…

Fall River requires a permit before starting most building work, and doubles the standard fee if construction…

Leominster charges twenty-two dollars for the first thousand dollars of estimated building work and seven dollars per…

No building or structure in Lynn can be erected, moved, added to, or structurally altered without a Building Permit…

No building in New Bedford may be constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, removed, demolished or have its use…

Revere Municipal Code § 15.04.010 blocks the inspector of buildings from issuing any building permit until the…

Somerville does not write its own list of permit triggers: City Code § 9-131 adopts the entire Massachusetts State…

Springfield requires a paid permit before erecting, altering, repairing, demolishing, or adding to any building or…

Taunton requires a permit before any construction, addition, alteration, repair, demolition or foundation work covered…

Boston requires the Commissioner of Inspectional Services to approve or disapprove every electrical wiring or fixture…

Brockton requires written permission from the inspector of wires before connecting any interior wiring to an outside…

Cambridge requires an electrical permit before work starts, and starting first triples the fee under Municipal Code §…

Chelsea requires anyone doing electrical work in the city to obtain a permit from the electrical inspector within five…

Fall River requires an individual permit for most electrical installations, issued only to state-certified electricians…

Lawrence adopts the National Electrical Code for all wiring work and requires a permit and inspection before any…

Leominster bars anyone from connecting power to a wiring system, moving or adding to wiring, or installing new…

Quincy, Massachusetts (Norfolk County) requires a written permit from the Inspector of Wires before any building…

Revere requires an outside electrical disconnection device on new construction, substantial renovations, service…

No one may install, alter, repair, or remove electrical wiring in Springfield without first applying to the Department…

All electrical work in Taunton requires a permit administered under City Code § 250-3, enforced by the Inspector of…

Installing, altering, or repairing plumbing anywhere in Boston requires a permit from the Commissioner of Inspectional…

Brockton charges $75 for a single-family plumbing permit plus $10 per fixture, requires the permit be filed before work…

Cambridge charges permit fees for all plumbing and gas fitting work under City Code Chapter 15.12, with new plumbing…

Chelsea enforces plumbing work under the Massachusetts state plumbing code, 248 CMR 2.00 et seq., which Code of…

Fall River requires a City permit for plumbing and gas work under Code § 10-121, with fees of $43 plus $12 per fixture…

Anyone doing plumbing work in Leominster must be registered or licensed by the state examiners of plumbers, and a…

Revere Municipal Code § 15.04.020 bars the plumbing, gas, and electrical inspectors from issuing a permit until the…

Springfield adopts the Massachusetts State Plumbers and Gas Fitters Code, 248 CMR, by reference as the controlling…

Every plumbing job in Taunton needs a permit under City Code § 250-1, and the Inspector of Plumbing appointed under §…

Boston forces periodic structural inspection of exterior walls on buildings over 70 feet or classified high-rise, and…

Cambridge's Inspectional Services Department follows a fixed repair-and-reinspection cycle for State Sanitary Code…

Before any building permit issues in Brockton, the superintendent of buildings must route the application through…

Fall River requires anyone finishing permitted work to notify the Inspectional Services Division, which must inspect…

In Revere, the building inspector examines plans, buildings and premises to check zoning-title compliance, and can…

Somerville's inspector of buildings and assistants may enter any building or premises on showing a badge of office to…

Springfield charges 150% of the state code's Table 106 fee for a certificate of inspection and will not let a building…