Who Enforces the MA Home Inpection Law
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The new Massachusetts home inspection law is creating a lot of questions for Realtors, brokers, buyers, and sellers. One of the biggest questions is:
Who is actually enforcing the law? The answer may surprise you.
Right now, there is no single agency directly enforcing the Massachusetts home inspection waiver law. But that does not mean agents can ignore it.
This law is real. And Realtors who do not follow it could face serious legal and licensing problems.
What Is the Massachusetts Home Inspection Law?
Since October 15, 2025, buyers in Massachusetts are no longer allowed to tell sellers or listing agents that they will waive a home inspection before an offer is accepted.
Sellers and listing agents are also not allowed to push buyers to waive a home inspection.
This means:
- Buyers cannot include home inspection waivers in offers
- Buyer agents cannot tell listing agents a buyer will skip the inspection
- Sellers cannot ask buyers to waive inspections
- Listing agents cannot encourage buyers to remove inspection protections
The goal of the law is to create a fairer process for home buyers in competitive markets.
Why This Matters to Realtors
Many Realtors are asking if the law really matters since there is no direct enforcement agency.
The answer is yes.
The real risk comes from lawsuits.
In a hot market with multiple offers, a buyer who loses a bidding war may later discover that another buyer waived the inspection. If that happens, the losing buyer could sue everyone involved.
That could include:
- The listing agent
- The buyer agent
- The brokerage
- The seller
This is especially dangerous if proper forms were not signed or if anyone encouraged inspection waivers behind the scenes.
Massachusetts 93A Violations Are a Big Deal
According to the law, violations may trigger a Chapter 93A claim.
For Realtors in Massachusetts, this is serious.
A 93A violation can lead to:
- Triple damages
- Attorney fees
- Expensive lawsuits
- Licensing complaints
Even if an agent thought they were helping their client win a deal, the legal risk is huge.
This is why brokers and team leaders need to educate agents now.
Realtors Must Use the Required Forms
The law also requires specific disclosures and forms.
If agents fail to provide the required form, it may become a licensing issue with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons.
That means agents could face:
- Complaints to the licensing board
- Investigations
- Disciplinary action
- Damage to their reputation
The paperwork matters just as much as the conversations happening during negotiations.
What Listing Agents Should Tell Sellers
Many sellers still want buyers to waive inspections because they believe it makes the deal stronger.
But under the new Massachusetts law, sellers cannot require that anymore.
Listing agents should clearly explain the law to every seller before accepting offers.
Sellers need to understand that they may carry major legal responsibility if they pressure buyers to waive inspections.
This is one reason why using the state-approved form is so important.
You Do Not Have to Agree With the Law to Follow It
Many real estate professionals do not agree with the new home inspection law.
Some believe it makes transactions harder. Others believe it limits negotiation strategies in competitive markets.
But personal opinions do not change the legal requirements.
As Realtors, brokers, and industry professionals, we still have to follow the law.
The safest path is simple:
- Follow the rules
- Use the forms
- Educate your clients
- Avoid risky conversations about waiving inspections
How Realtors Can Protect Their Business
The Massachusetts real estate market is still competitive in many areas. That means agents may feel pressure to push boundaries to help clients win deals.
That is a mistake.
Protecting your license and your brokerage should always come first.
Here are a few best practices for Realtors using AI, automation, and modern real estate systems:
Train Your Team
Broker owners should regularly train agents on the Massachusetts home inspection law and compliance requirements.
Keep Communication Clean
Avoid emails, texts, or verbal conversations suggesting buyers should waive inspections.
Use the Correct Forms
Always provide and document the required forms during the transaction process.
Educate Sellers Early
Explain the legal risks before offers start coming in.
Stay Updated on Massachusetts Real Estate Laws
Laws and regulations can change quickly. Realtors who stay informed protect both their clients and their business.
Final Thoughts
The Massachusetts home inspection law is now part of doing business in real estate.
Even without a direct enforcement agency, lawsuits and licensing complaints are very real risks.
For Realtors, brokers, and sellers, the best move is to stay compliant, follow the law, and use the required forms correctly.
A single transaction handled the wrong way could create major legal and financial problems.
Real estate agents who focus on professionalism, transparency, and compliance will protect their reputation and build stronger businesses for the long term.
Anthony Lamacchia:
Who is the enforcer of the new Massachusetts Home Inspection law? This question has come up a lot over the last week, so I wanted to address it. I had a lengthy conversation with our General Counsel, Attorney Michael McDonough, and we discussed all the possibilities. Number one, there is no actual agency enforcing this specific law.
So what does that mean? Does that mean you should just say, oh forget it, I won’t follow it? No, it doesn’t. It’s a law. We realtors need to follow it.
Here’s what’ll happen. In multiple offer situations, and we’re back to the season that there’s going to be a lot of them because there are less buyers than sellers, there will be cases, I am sure, that a buyer will lose out. And it might be a savvy buyer.
Maybe it will be a buyer who’s an attorney. And they’ll sue because they’ll feel that something nefarious happened. And when they sue, they will find out that the buyer who won the property waived their home inspection, or perhaps the seller demanded that the home inspection was waived.
We all know since October 15, 2025, this is not allowed. Buyers are not allowed to make it known in their offer or in their communications with a listing agent if they’re going to be waiving or not doing the home inspection. Not allowed.
We also know, based on the law, that the seller is not allowed to say to a buyer’s agent or a buyer, I’ll only consider the offers that are waiving home inspection. Or in a multiple offer situation, I’ll only look at the ones that are waiving home inspection. That is against the law now.
Truthfully, myself, I don’t agree with the law. I’m not happy with the law. I think it’s ridiculous.
I think the home inspectors and their lobbying team did a phenomenal job getting to our lawmakers in Massachusetts that don’t understand how things work in the practical world. And this slid through, and one page that it was in, in the housing bill back in August of 24. And that’s how this law came about.
So I’m not here to defend the law or stand on a hill and talk up the law. I’m here as a broker owner of a large firm and owner of Crush It and Real Estate to explain it to you. So again, there will be a buyer that sues.
The buyer that sues will find out that maybe the seller said don’t include it. Maybe the buyer said we’re not doing it. Maybe the listing agent and buyer agent didn’t do their job and get this mandatory form signed.
Maybe that wasn’t done. When they find out one of the three or more things, they will sue and they will have an immediate 93A action, okay? The law is very clear that it’s an automatic 93A violation, which means that the aggrieved party is going to possibly be able to get triple damages plus attorney’s fees. This is a big deal.
Broker owners, realtors that are out there, if and when this happens to you, you will really regret participating in it. That’s why I call on all broker owners to do their job and educate their agents so that they know this should not be done. Now, the other thing that the law says is if the form is not provided, the regulations say it may constitute a violation of real estate licensing law.
So whoever that plaintiff is and that hypothetical buyer that I mentioned, they will undoubtedly also report this to the licensing board once they find these things out, and the agent will be in major trouble, and their brokerage will have a real problem on their hands as well. So once again, let’s be good practitioners. Let’s adhere to the law, whether we agree with it or not.
We all know that in day-to-day life, there are laws, there are regulations that we don’t agree with. This happens to be one of them. I think this is ridiculous.
I think it’s unnecessary, but it’s the law. So I, as a leader in the real estate industry, and I have my own company and a training organization, am going to, of course, encourage people to follow the law. So to you realtors out there who are still waiving home inspections, you’re making a mistake, and you’re breaking the law.
To you, listing agents who are still demanding and pushing people around and saying, don’t include a home inspection clause, you’re breaking the law. To home sellers, I have news for you. The onus is on you.
Go look at the law. You can see everything about it on the page that we created, mahomespectionlaw.com. Go look at that. And you will see that the onus is on the seller.
No one will get hurt more than the seller and maybe slightly secondarily or equally listing agent. Those are the people that are going to get in major trouble. So if you’re a listing broker, brokerage, listing agent, and you are not explaining this to your sellers, and you’re not using this form, which explains it, you’re making a big mistake.
As much as I don’t like the law and totally disagree with it and disagree with the governor signing it, I will say the regulatory side in the state of Massachusetts did a pretty good job dumbing it down and making it as practical as possible. Making something that’s very unrealistic and impractical to use practical. And that’s when they come out with this form.
So let’s follow it. Let’s work together as we should. Let’s be good practitioners.
And let’s do our job. Thank you. Good luck.
Happy home buying. Happy home selling. And happy home selling to all the realtor friends out there.
Stay tuned to Crush It In Real Estate and to my Instagram page. Thank you.
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