Powers and Duties.
Boston Municipal Code § 9-1.2
in effect9-1.2 Powers and Duties.
(A) (1) The Commissioner of Housing Inspection, shall have the powers and perform the duties, from time to time, conferred or imposed on a Board of Health by M.G.L. Chapter 83, Section 12 and Chapter 111, Section 127, by Chapter 111, Sections 122, 123, 124 and 125 insofar, but only insofar, as said Sections 122, 123, 124 and 125 apply to places of human habitation, and by Chapter 111, Sections 127A and 127B insofar, but only insofar, as said Sections 127A and 127B relate:
(a) To enforcing so much of the commonwealth’s Sanitary Code, being 105 CMR 400 and 410, as concerns standards of fitness for places of human habitation, housing and sanitation standards for farm labor camps and requirements for the disposal of sanitary sewage in unsewered areas; and
(b) To adopting such public health regulations, not inconsistent with the commonwealth’s Sanitary Code or other provisions of law, as in the opinion of the Commissioner of Housing Inspection may be necessary to make and keep all places of human habitation fit for such habitation.
(2) The Commissioner of Housing Inspection shall also have the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed upon the Board of Health of the city, or the Health Commissioner of the City, by Sections 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of Chapter 382 of the Acts of 1885, as amended, by Chapter 185 of the Acts of 1897, by Chapter 219 of the Acts of 1897, as amended, by Section 128 of Chapter 550 of the Acts of 1907, as amended, and by Section 116 or any other provision of the commonwealth’s Building Code, being 780 CMR.
(3) It shall further be the duty of the Commissioner of Housing Inspection:
(a) To receive all complaints of violations, in or about places of human habitation, of any and all statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations enacted for the preservation of health or safety in or about places of human habitation;
(b) To refer in writing to the Building Commissioner or the Fire Commissioner, as the case may be, for investigation and prosecution all complaints of violations of the Boston Building Code and the Boston Fire Prevention Code and to maintain written contact with said Commissioners with respect thereto; and
(c) To inspect places of human habitation and enforce therein the provisions of law specified in the preceding sentences of this Section and all other statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations enacted for the preservation of health in or about such places.
(B) It shall remain the duty and responsibility of the Building and Fire Commissioners, respectively, to enforce compliance with the Boston Building Code and the Boston Fire Prevention Code. To aid them in discharging such duty but without any lessening of their respective responsibilities, the Enforcement Division of the Housing Inspection Department may offer them, and they may accept, assistance designed to unify action upon complaints received by the Commissioner of Housing Inspection.
(Ord. 1968 c. 10 § 1; Rev. Ord. 1961 (Sup. 1971) c. 16A § 2; CBC 1975 Ord. T9 § 2; CBC 1985 9-1.2)
Cross-reference:
M.G.L. Chapter 83, Section 12; M.G.L. Chapter 111, Sections 122—125, 127A and 127B; St. 1885 c. 382 § § 13, 14, 19, 22; St. 1897 c. 185; St. 1897 c. 219; St. 1907 c. 550 § 128; St. 1938 c. 479 § 116; St. 1962 c. 314; Ord. 1959 c. 3; Ord. ss 9-1.3; Ord. Section 11-4
Source: City of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Municipal Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/boston/latest/boston_ma/0-0-0-5654Fetched: 11/8/2026