Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XVI Chapter 111
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 111, § 127A (2026)

State sanitary code; adoption; enforcement; jurisdiction; speedy trial

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 127A. Said department shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, public health regulations to be known as the state sanitary code, which may provide penalties for violations thereof not exceeding five hundred dollars for any one offence or not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or up to two years in a house of correction for violations involving the improper disposal of infectious or physically dangerous medical or biological waste. Said code shall become effective and have the force of law upon filing with the state secretary or at such later date as may be specified by the department. The code shall deal with matters affecting the health and well-being of the public in the commonwealth in subjects over which the department takes cognizance and responsibility, including, but not limited to, standards of fitness for human habitation, housing and sanitation standards for farm labor camps, standards for recreational camps for children, standards for swimming pools, bathing beaches, family type camp grounds, and sanitation standards for food service establishments; provided, however, that single-purpose classes, workshops, clinics or programs sponsored by municipal recreation departments, or neighborhood playgrounds designed to serve primary play interests and needs of children, as well as affording limited recreation opportunities for all people of a residential neighborhood, whether supervised or unsupervised, located on municipal or non-municipal property, whether registration is required or participation is on a drop-in basis, shall not be deemed to be recreational camps for children. Nothing contained in the code shall be in conflict with any general or special law. This section shall not be deemed to limit the right of any board of health to adopt such rules and regulations as, in its opinion, may be necessary for the particular locality under its jurisdiction; provided, such rules and regulations do not conflict with the laws of the commonwealth or the provisions of the code. Said code may provide for the demolition, removal, repair or cleaning by local boards of health and, in the cities of Boston, Worcester and Cambridge, by the commissioner of housing inspection, of any structure which so fails to comply with the standards of fitness for human habitation or other regulations in said code, as to endanger or materially impair the health or well-being of the public. Said code or a supplement thereto shall designate those conditions which, when found to exist upon inspection of residential premises, shall be deemed to endanger or materially impair the health or safety of persons occupying the premises. This designation shall not be construed as prohibiting an inspector or other authorized person from certifying that any other violation or combination or series of violations of said code or other applicable laws, ordinances, by-laws, rules or regulations may endanger or materially impair the health or safety of said persons when such certification is otherwise appropriate.

Local boards of health shall enforce said code in the same manner in which local health rules and regulations are enforced, but, if any such local boards fail after the lapse of a reasonable length of time to enforce the same, the department may in like manner enforce said code against any violator. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce the provisions of said code and any actions brought to enforce said provisions shall be advanced for speedy trial.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 23 cases, 1970–2019 · leading case: McKenna v. Begin, 362 N.E.2d 548 (Mass. App. Ct. 1977).
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McKenna v. Begin, 362 N.E.2d 548 (Mass. App. Ct. 1977). · cites it 2× “729 , 737 (1971). [3] The board cited the following minor violations: loose and falling plaster in a bedroom, falling ceiling plaster and a leaking pipe in the bathroom, missing plaster and peeling ceiling paint in the kitchen and falling plaster and leaking roof in a common…”
Boston Hous. Auth. v. Hemingway, 293 N.E.2d 831 (Mass. 1973). · cites it 2× “Both the enabling statute (G.L.c. 111, § 127A) and the Code (Art. I, Reg.”
Consol. Cigar Corp. v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 364 N.E.2d 1202 (Mass. 1977). “Pursuant to G. L. c. 111, § 127A, the department promulgated regulations which define farm labor camps as: “[A]ny tract of land, including all buildings, vehicles, and other structures located thereon, any part of which contains sleeping facilities made available in connection…”
Perez v. Boston Hous. Auth., 400 N.E.2d 1231 (Mass. 1980). “The judge below found at successive stages of the action that many of the units and common facilities of BHA housing were in substandard conditions in violation of the State Sanitary Code (see G. L. c. 111, § 127A). In order to right the wrong and provide a remedy, the judge…”
Negron v. Gordon, 366 N.E.2d 241 (Mass. 1977). “These regulations were promulgated pursuant to G. L. c. 111, § 127A. 2 As required by Mass.”
Berman & Sons, Inc. v. Jefferson, 396 N.E.2d 981 (Mass. 1979). “111, § 127A, for the current version), imposed on the landlord a duty to maintain an apartment in habitable condition, so the landlord could fairly expect and be expected to keep his rented premises habitable. Moreover, the Legislature had created tenant’s remedies for private…”
Fairbairn v. Plan. Bd. of Barnstable, 360 N.E.2d 668 (Mass. App. Ct. 1977). “(c) One of the reasons given by the board of health for its adverse recommendation with respect to the entire plan was that the plaintiffs had failed to prove to the board’s satisfaction that certain of the lots shown on the plan would meet one or more of the requirements of art.”
Haas v. Breton, 387 N.E.2d 138 (Mass. 1979). “6 A private citizen may, of course, initiate criminal proceedings under G. L. c. 111, § 127A, in much the same way as can an administrative agency, by filing a sworn complaint.”
Ruiz v. Pelson Realty Trust, 13 Mass. L. Rptr. 346 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2001). · cites it 2× “The danger of injury or death resulting from substandard conditions in premises rented for dwelling purposes that render it unfit for human habitation is no less for a tenant who is on the premises than it is for a guest.”
Commonwealth v. Racine, 363 N.E.2d 500 (Mass. 1977). “The effect of this provision is, as the defendant concedes, to empower the director of the lead paint program to act under G. L. c. 111, § 127A, and promulgate “rules and regulations as, in its opinion, may be necessary.”
Bd. of Appeals of N. Andover v. Hous. APPEALS, 357 N.E.2d 936 (Mass. App. Ct. 1976). · cites it 2× “Our conclusion that the State Building Code and the statutory provisions for enforcement by local building inspectors do not oust the committee of jurisdiction is buttressed by the way the Hanover case dealt with sewage disposal controlled by the State Sanitary Code (see G.L.c.…”
Gordon v. Fay, 413 N.E.2d 1094 (Mass. 1980). “2 If true, the factual allegations would constitute a breach of the State Sanitary Code adopted pursuant to G. L. c. 111, § 127A. See 105 Code Mass. Regs.”
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