Salem, Mass., Code of Ordinances § 2-705 (2025) § 2-705

(a) Purpose. To ensure that all rental units within the city are fit for human habitation and meet the requirements of the sanitary code, all rented dwelling units, apartments, or tenements, other than those in a hotel or motel or otherwise exempted from this ordinance, shall be required to obtain a certificate of fitness at least every three years and every time a new tenant occupies a rental unit.
(1) Three-year inspection requirement. Every three years, each rental unit shall be inspected to ensure compliance with the state sanitary code and city ordinances. The three-year inspection requirement shall not apply to any owner-occupied unit.
(2) Inspection upon change of tenancy. Each rented dwelling unit, apartment, or tenement, shall be subject to inspection whenever they are vacated by the occupant thereof or prior to such vacancy. The owner or lessor of such residential property shall be responsible for notifying the board of health of such vacancy and for scheduling an inspection required by this section. A change in tenancy shall not include circumstances where the change results in an owner becoming the new occupant of the unit.
(3) Short-term rentals. A certificate of fitness shall also be required for any owner of residential property who rents or leases a dwelling or any portion of a dwelling on a short-term basis pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Ordinance. "Short-term" shall be defined as a rental or rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days in one calendar year. Owners who intend to offer such short-term rentals to tourists must notify the board of health to register the property as such and schedule an inspection to receive a certificate of fitness. This registration and certificate must be renewed every year or upon a change in ownership, but not upon any change in the short-term tenancy.
(4) Problem property. Any rental dwelling unit, apartment, or tenement located at an address to which the police department has been called to not fewer than four times within the preceding 12 month period for any incident involving any arrestable offense including, but not limited to, disturbing the peace, trespassing, underage drinking or assault; or where the inspectional services department and/or the board of health have received no fewer than four sustained complaints within the preceding 12 month period, may be deemed a "problem property" and subject to annual inspection at the discretion of the director of inspectional services or the board of health agent.
(b) Certification required; fee. Such unit must be inspected and certified by the board of health or its agents as meeting 105 CMR 410.000, State Sanitary Code, Chapter II, Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation, as promulgated and from time to time amended by the state department of public health. The fee for such an inspection shall be $50.00 per unit.
(c) Refusal of certification. If, after any inspection by the board of health or its agents pursuant to this section, an inspector refuses to issue a certificate of fitness, such inspector shall issue a written order or copy of the inspection form setting forth the violations of chapter 11 of the state sanitary code existing in the unit, which must be corrected before a certificate of fitness may be issued. It shall be the responsibility of the owner or lessor receiving such order to notify the board of health when such violations have been corrected. The initial inspection fee shall cover the cost of the initial inspection and one re-inspection of the unit. An additional fee of $50.00 shall be imposed for the third and any subsequent inspections.
(d) Time of inspections. The board of health or its agents shall make such an inspection within ten working days of notification from the owner as to a change of tenancy or the intent to establish a short-term rental. If the inspection shall not have been made within ten working days, the owner or lessor may proceed to rent the unit provided the owner arranges for an inspection to occur within 30 days of notification. The health agent, in consultation with the director of inspectional services, shall establish a schedule for the inspections required under this provision.
(e) Posting of certificate. Upon issuance of such certificate, it shall be posted in a conspicuous place in which the unit is located or a copy of it shall be given to any person occupying the unit. For short-term rentals, proof of a current certificate shall be included in any listing of the property.
(f) Appeal procedure. The appeal procedure from any decision of the board of health shall be same as that set forth in chapter 11 of the state sanitary code.
(g) Records. Owners shall keep a register listing the names of tenants and dates of tenancy for the previous five years, including any short-term tenants, and make such record available for to the board of health inspector upon request. The owner's register shall not be retained by the board of health and shall not be a public record under the law. Whether or not a certificate of fitness has been issued by the board of health for a particular unit shall be a matter of public record.
(h) Penalties. Any owner or lessor of such property used for dwelling purposes failing to comply with this section shall be subject to a fine of $50.00 each and every day that they allow any person to live, occupy, or inhabit the premises without having received a certificate of fitness from the board of health for a particular unit upon a change in tenancy or upon failure to comply with the inspection requirement.
(i) Certification requirement limited. Absent a change in tenancy or ownership, no rented dwelling unit, apartment, or tenement shall be required to be certified for occupancy more than once in any consecutive three-year period, unless the property has been determined by the director of inspectional services or the board of health agent to meet the criteria for designation as a problem property so as to be subject to annual inspection.
(j) Exemptions. Exemptions from this section shall include property owned and managed by the city housing authority. Also exempted from this section is property consisting of 100 or more rental units that is subject to periodic inspections by the state housing finance agency, the Metropolitan Housing Assistance Program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and/or the city housing authority. Any new construction completed less than five years prior to the date on which the rented dwelling unit, apartment, or tenement becomes vacant shall not be required to be inspected under this section unless it has been designated as a problem property as provided above.
(k) Right to inspect. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the board of health reserves the right to inspect any dwelling unit, apartment, or tenement in accordance with the provisions of the state sanitary code.
(l) Other remedies. This section shall not be construed to impair any common law or statutory cause of action or legal remedy therefrom of any person for injury or damage arising from any violation of this section or from other law.
(m) Subpoena power for investigative purposes. The Salem Board of Health is hereby authorized to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses, or the production of records, documents, and other pertinent evidence, in relation to its investigations for potential non-compliance with the provisions set forth in this section. Upon the failure of any person to comply with a subpoena issued pursuant to these regulations and not vacated or modified, the Commission may apply to the Superior Court for an order requiring compliance.