Heat Check: What Landlords Need Before September 16

Heating Season Starts September 16: What Every Massachusetts Landlord Should Have Ready

Massachusetts heating season runs from September 16 through June 14, and the requirements aren't a suggestion. Under the State Sanitary Code, occupied units must stay at 68°F between 7am and 11pm, and 64°F overnight. Hot water needs to run between 110°F and 130°F year-round. If a Board of Health complaint comes in over a no-heat issue, the code expects a good-faith response within 24 hours.

With three weeks until the season starts, now is the window to get ahead of it rather than find out about a problem on the first cold night.

A few things worth doing before September 16:

Test the system now, not later

A furnace or boiler that hasn't run since spring can reveal problems in a test run that would otherwise show up as a 6am emergency call in October. This is far easier to fix on a Tuesday afternoon than a Friday night.

Confirm detectors are current

Smoke alarms in most Massachusetts units now need to be photoelectric with sealed, non-removable long-life batteries, and CO detectors need to be present and working. Many cities also require a fire department inspection at tenant turnover, worth checking with your local fire department if you have a unit turning over this fall.

Know the availability rule

A 2023 update to the Sanitary Code requires landlords, or a designated contact, to post reachable contact information and check it at least twice daily. It's an easy one to overlook, since it's newer than most of the code and doesn't get talked about as much as the temperature minimums, but it's an active requirement.

Have a response plan, not just a phone number

When a tenant reports no heat, the clock on that 24-hour window starts the moment they tell you, not when it's convenient to look into it. Knowing ahead of time who you're calling for emergency furnace repair beats scrambling for a vendor while a tenant is cold.

None of this is complicated, but all of it is easier handled in mid-September than mid-January. A little preparation now avoids most of the calls that turn into genuine emergencies later.