Massachusetts Mold, Pests, Heat & AC Rules
Massachusetts rules on mold, pests, heat & ac for renters and landlords, with the statute or official page behind each answer. Last verified: 2026-10-23.
Short answer: Yes, under the State Sanitary Code. Owners must keep buildings and structural elements watertight and free from excess moisture or the appearance of mold. 105 CMR 410.500(A)(1), (B); 410.510; 410.420(A); 410.630(A)(18); 410.020 ('Chronic Dampness')
The rules in Massachusetts
| Mold | Yes, under the State Sanitary Code. Owners must keep buildings and structural elements watertight and free from excess moisture or the appearance of mold. After leaks or flooding, the owner must dry all surfaces within 48 hours of being notified or of the end of the event, whichever is sooner. No room may be used for habitation if it is subject to excess moisture. Code violations are enforced by the local board of health, and any violation not otherwise listed is deemed a condition that may endanger health or safety. Occupants must use building elements with reasonable care. No statute requires mold disclosure to tenants. The revised Sanitary Code took effect May 12, 2023. Tenants can request a board-of-health inspection (105 CMR 410.600). |
|---|---|
| Pests & bed bugs | Set by the State Sanitary Code. In buildings with 2 or more units (and rooming houses), the owner must keep the building free from infestation and is responsible for extermination, including bed bugs. In single-unit residences, the occupant is responsible unless the owner failed to maintain the structure to keep pests out. Owners must inspect each unit for pests before a new tenancy and keep documented results. Occupants must keep units sanitary and give access and follow preparation instructions for pesticide treatments. Commercial applicators must give 48 hours' written pre-notification. Failure to keep premises pest-free is a condition deemed to endanger health or safety. The pre-tenancy pest inspection requirement is new in the 2023 revision. Source: 105 CMR 410.550; 410.630(A)(17) |
| Heat | Yes. The owner must heat every habitable room and bathroom from September 15 through May 31: at least 68°F from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and at least 64°F from 11:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. Temperature is measured 5 feet above the floor, more than 5 feet from an exterior wall. A local board of health may shorten the season, ending it no earlier than May 15 or starting it no later than September 30. Failure to provide required heat is a condition deemed to endanger health or safety. The 2023 code ended the season May 31 (formerly June 15). Who pays for heating fuel is set by the lease and other Sanitary Code provisions. |
| Air conditioning | No statewide requirement to provide air conditioning. The Sanitary Code does set a ceiling: during the heating season, the heating system may not cause the temperature in any room to exceed 78°F. The 78°F limit applies to heat from the building's heating system, not to hot weather. Source: 105 CMR 410.180(B) |
| Smoke and CO detectors | Owners of one- and two-family homes must install approved smoke detectors (monitored battery-powered or hard-wired 'primary power') on each level of habitation and the basement, at the base of stairways to the next floor, and outside each separate sleeping area. Owners of buildings with three to five units must install them outside each sleeping area, plus interconnected hard-wired detectors in common hallways and basements. The local fire chief enforces these rules. The section read does not assign battery replacement or testing between landlord and tenant. Source: G.L. c. 148, §26E |
Related questions
- Does a landlord have to fix mold?
- Who pays for pest control and bed bugs in a rental?
- Does a landlord have to provide heat?
- Does a landlord have to provide air conditioning?
Massachusetts vs. neighboring states
| State | Mold | Pests & bed bugs | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | Yes, under the State Sanitary Code. Owners must keep buildings and structural elements watertight and free from excess moisture or the appearance of mold. After leaks or flooding, the owner must dry all surfaces within 48 hours of being notified or of the end of the event, whichever is sooner. No room may be used for habitation if it is subject to excess moisture. Code violations are enforced by the local board of health, and any violation not otherwise listed is deemed a condition that may endanger health or safety. Occupants must use building elements with reasonable care. No statute requires mold disclosure to tenants. 105 CMR 410.500(A)(1), (B); 410.510; 410.420(A); 410.630(A)(18); 410.020 ('Chronic Dampness') | Set by the State Sanitary Code. In buildings with 2 or more units (and rooming houses), the owner must keep the building free from infestation and is responsible for extermination, including bed bugs. In single-unit residences, the occupant is responsible unless the owner failed to maintain the structure to keep pests out. Owners must inspect each unit for pests before a new tenancy and keep documented results. Occupants must keep units sanitary and give access and follow preparation instructions for pesticide treatments. Commercial applicators must give 48 hours' written pre-notification. Failure to keep premises pest-free is a condition deemed to endanger health or safety. 105 CMR 410.550; 410.630(A)(17) | Yes. The owner must heat every habitable room and bathroom from September 15 through May 31: at least 68°F from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and at least 64°F from 11:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. Temperature is measured 5 feet above the floor, more than 5 feet from an exterior wall. A local board of health may shorten the season, ending it no earlier than May 15 or starting it no later than September 30. Failure to provide required heat is a condition deemed to endanger health or safety. 105 CMR 410.180(A), (C), (D); 410.630 |
| Connecticut | No statute — general habitability/repair duty applies. Connecticut has no mold-specific disclosure or remediation law for rentals. The landlord must comply with the tenement-house law and all building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety, and make all repairs needed to keep the premises fit and habitable. Stricter local codes take precedence. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-7(a)(1)-(2), (b) | Connecticut has a detailed bed-bug statute. The tenant must promptly tell the landlord orally or in writing about a known or suspected infestation. Within five business days the landlord must inspect (or have a qualified inspector inspect) the unit and contiguous units it owns, and if bed bugs are found, begin effective treatment within five business days. The landlord pays for inspection and treatment; the tenant pays to prepare the unit and must cooperate, and can be liable for extra treatments caused by knowing, unreasonable noncompliance. The landlord may not rent a unit it knows or suspects is infested, must disclose current infestations in the unit or contiguous units before renting, and on request must give the date of the last clean inspection. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-7a | Yes. The landlord must supply reasonable heat, unless the building is not required by law to have heating or the heat is generated by equipment in the tenant's exclusive control or supplied by a direct utility connection, and must keep heating facilities in good and safe working order. If the landlord fails to supply heat for reasons within its control, the tenant may give notice and buy heat and deduct the cost from rent, or get substitute housing if not restored within 48 hours. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-7(a)(4), (6), 47a-13 |
| New Hampshire | No statute — general habitability standards apply. The state minimum housing standards do not mention mold but prohibit related conditions such as roofs or walls that leak consistently and defective internal plumbing or sewage back-ups. RSA 48-A:14, II and IV | The landlord may not maintain premises infested by insects and rodents without a periodic inspection and eradication program, or infested by bed bugs without a periodic inspection and remediation program (remediation = substantially reducing bed bugs for at least 60 days). The landlord must investigate a tenant's report of insects, bed bugs, or rodents within 7 days and take reasonable measures to remediate. Tenants may not refuse access for emergency pest entry or, on 48 hours' written notice, for a bed-bug check when an adjacent, above, or below unit has bed bugs, and must follow reasonable written preparation instructions given at least 72 hours before treatment. RSA 48-A:14, I and I-a; RSA 540-A:3, IV-a, V-a to V-c | Yes. Heating facilities must be properly installed, safely maintained, in good working condition, and capable of heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms to an average of at least 65°F; when the landlord supplies heat as part of the rent, rooms must actually be kept at a minimum average of 65°F. No heating season is specified. A landlord may not willfully interrupt heat or other utility service except temporarily for repairs or emergencies. RSA 48-A:14, XI; RSA 540-A:3, I |
| New York | No statewide mold statute — the warranty of habitability applies. Every residential lease includes a non-waivable warranty that the premises are fit for human habitation and free of conditions dangerous, hazardous, or detrimental to life, health, or safety. N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b | In multiple dwellings, the owner must keep the building and its lot, yards, and passages clean and free from vermin, dirt, filth, and garbage; tenants are answerable for conditions they cause. Failure to rid an apartment of an insect infestation is an example of a breach of the warranty of habitability. No statewide bed-bug disclosure statute. N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 80; N.Y. Mult. Resid. Law § 174; N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 235-b | Yes, in multiple dwellings: from October 1 through May 31, the owner must heat all living areas to at least 68°F from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when it is below 55°F outside, and at least 55°F from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. when it is below 40°F outside. Local regulations may require higher temperatures. N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 79; N.Y. Mult. Resid. Law § 173 |
| Rhode Island | No statute — general habitability/repair duty applies. Rhode Island has no mold disclosure, remediation or exposure-standard law for rentals; the landlord must comply with building and housing codes affecting health and safety and 'make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.' R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-22(a)(1)-(2) | Under the state Housing Maintenance and Occupancy Code, the occupant of a single-unit dwelling is responsible for extermination of insects, rodents and other pests, and an occupant in a multi-unit building is responsible when only that occupant's unit is infested. The owner is responsible when the infestation is caused by the owner's failure to keep the building rodent-proof or reasonably insect-proof, and whenever two or more units or shared/public areas are infested. No bed-bug-specific statute. R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-24.3-6(i) | Yes. The landlord must supply reasonable heat as required by the state housing code (or stricter local code) between October 1 and May 1. Heating facilities must be capable of heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet compartments to at least 68°F, measured 18 inches above the floor, under average winter conditions. Exceptions: buildings not required to be equipped for heat, and units where the tenant controls a heating installation on a direct utility connection. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-18-22(a)(6), 45-24.3-9(1) |
| Vermont | No mold-specific statute, but the state Rental Housing Health Code requires every rental unit to be kept free from the regular or periodic appearance of standing water or excessive moisture that may result in visible mold growth, and bars use of humidifiers in ways that raise relative humidity above 60%. The landlord's statutory warranty of habitability requires premises that are safe, clean, fit for habitation and compliant with building, housing and health regulations; the warranty cannot be waived. 9 V.S.A. § 4457(a)-(b); Vermont Rental Housing Health Code §§ 8.2, 10.3 | Yes, by health code. The owner must keep common spaces free from infestation (pests or bed bugs) and exterminate there, and must exterminate inside a unit when the infestation is caused by the owner's failure to maintain the building or exists in two or more units. Rooming-house owners are responsible for all rooms. The tenant must keep the unit free from infestation and pay for extermination when the infestation is caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the unit (except where the owner is responsible as above). Extermination must remove harborage and food sources and use treatments such as spraying, fumigating, heat treating or trapping. Vermont Rental Housing Health Code §§ 4.7, 4.15, 6.1-6.3 | Yes. The landlord must ensure heating facilities capable of safely providing a reasonable amount of heat, and a landlord who provides heat under the lease must supply a reasonable amount at all times (summer rentals and hunting camps excepted). The Rental Housing Health Code requires heating facilities whenever the outside temperature is below 55 degrees F, able to maintain at least 65 degrees F in all habitable rooms, kitchens and bathrooms (measured 3 feet above the floor and 3 feet from an exterior wall) without overheating one room to heat another; unvented fuel-fired space heaters are prohibited. 9 V.S.A. § 4457(c); Vermont Rental Housing Health Code §§ 7.1-7.5 |
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Massachusetts Mold, Pests, Heat & AC Rules FAQ
Does a landlord have to fix mold in Massachusetts?
Yes, under the State Sanitary Code. Owners must keep buildings and structural elements watertight and free from excess moisture or the appearance of mold. After leaks or flooding, the owner must dry all surfaces within 48 hours of being notified or of the end of the event, whichever is sooner. No room may be used for habitation if it is subject to excess moisture. Code violations are enforced by the local board of health, and any violation not otherwise listed is deemed a condition that may endanger health or safety. Occupants must use building elements with reasonable care. No statute requires mold disclosure to tenants. (105 CMR 410.500(A)(1), (B); 410.510; 410.420(A); 410.630(A)(18); 410.020 ('Chronic Dampness'))
Who pays for pest control and bed bugs in Massachusetts?
Set by the State Sanitary Code. In buildings with 2 or more units (and rooming houses), the owner must keep the building free from infestation and is responsible for extermination, including bed bugs. In single-unit residences, the occupant is responsible unless the owner failed to maintain the structure to keep pests out. Owners must inspect each unit for pests before a new tenancy and keep documented results. Occupants must keep units sanitary and give access and follow preparation instructions for pesticide treatments. Commercial applicators must give 48 hours' written pre-notification. Failure to keep premises pest-free is a condition deemed to endanger health or safety. (105 CMR 410.550; 410.630(A)(17))
Does a landlord have to provide heat in Massachusetts?
Yes. The owner must heat every habitable room and bathroom from September 15 through May 31: at least 68°F from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and at least 64°F from 11:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. Temperature is measured 5 feet above the floor, more than 5 feet from an exterior wall. A local board of health may shorten the season, ending it no earlier than May 15 or starting it no later than September 30. Failure to provide required heat is a condition deemed to endanger health or safety. (105 CMR 410.180(A), (C), (D); 410.630)
Does a landlord have to provide air conditioning in Massachusetts?
No statewide requirement to provide air conditioning. The Sanitary Code does set a ceiling: during the heating season, the heating system may not cause the temperature in any room to exceed 78°F. (105 CMR 410.180(B))
Who is responsible for smoke detectors in a rental in Massachusetts?
Owners of one- and two-family homes must install approved smoke detectors (monitored battery-powered or hard-wired 'primary power') on each level of habitation and the basement, at the base of stairways to the next floor, and outside each separate sleeping area. Owners of buildings with three to five units must install them outside each sleeping area, plus interconnected hard-wired detectors in common hallways and basements. The local fire chief enforces these rules. (G.L. c. 148, §26E)
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.