Bed Bug Answers

Boston · the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code

Bed bug law in Boston. Who’s responsible, and how to report it.

Boston renters are protected by one of the stronger frameworks in the country — the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code — and by a city inspection service that must act fast. In a building of two or more units the owner must exterminate, and a bed bug complaint triggers an inspection within 24 hours. Here is what applies in Boston, sourced. For the broader state analysis, see the Massachusetts page.

What Massachusetts law requires

105 CMR 410.550

The owner exterminates — in 2+ unit buildings

In a dwelling with two or more units, the owner is responsible for keeping it free of insect pests and for exterminating them. (In a single-family home the tenant generally pays for their own extermination, though the owner must keep the place sound.) MA State Sanitary Code

105 CMR 410.820

Inspection within 24 hours

On a complaint of an insect infestation, the local Board of Health or Inspectional Services must inspect within 24 hours — unusually fast. If bed bugs are found, the owner is served with an order to exterminate. MA State Sanitary Code

The Boston route

Inspectional Services (ISD)

In Boston, bed bug complaints go to the city’s Inspectional Services Department, which enforces the Sanitary Code and issues the extermination order. City of Boston ISD

How to report bed bugs in Boston

  1. Notify your landlord in writing

    Report it to the owner or manager in writing and keep a copy. Start with our what-to-do-tonight guide and log the dates and photos — the evidence matters if the city gets involved.

  2. If it isn’t handled, call the city

    File a complaint with Boston’s Inspectional Services Department (or dial 311). A code inspector will examine the unit — perimeters, furniture, mattress and box-spring seams — within 24 hours of an insect-infestation complaint. City of Boston ISD · MA

  3. Let the order do the work

    If an infestation is confirmed, the owner is ordered to exterminate. The Massachusetts page covers rent-withholding rules and who pays — check it before withholding anything.

Where this comes from

  • Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health — Protocols for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs in Multiunit Housing; State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410.550 and 410.820. mass.gov
  • City of Boston — Inspectional Services Department — bed bug protocols and complaints. boston.gov
  • Massachusetts habitability law — see the Massachusetts analysis.

Reviewed against state and city guidance on . Confirm the current code and city process before relying on it. This is sourced guidance, not legal advice.