reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 111 § 126 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 126 - Location of Privy Vaults

Section 126. If the city council of a city, or a town having a population of more than one thousand, accepts this section, or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, no privy vault shall be constructed upon premises connected with a common or private sewer or abutting on a public or private street, court or passageway in which there is a common sewer opposite thereto, without permission in writing having first been obtained from the board of health. And if, in the opinion of said board, a privy vault so situated is injurious to the public health, it shall declare the same a nuisance and forbid its continuance, and the three preceding sections shall apply thereto.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127 - Regulations Relative to House Drainage

Section 127. The board of health of a city or town may make and enforce regulations for the public health and safety relative to house drainage and connection with common sewers, if such a sewer abuts the estate to be drained. Master plumbers and journeymen licensed under chapter one hundred and forty-two shall be exempt from any such regulation relative to license qualifications, but shall be subject to all other regulations. Whoever violates any such regulation shall forfeit not more than one hundred dollars.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127a1/2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127a1/2 - Requirement of Personal Flotation Devices for Municipal and Recreational Programs and Camps for Minor Children; Determination of Swimming Ability

Section 127A1/2. (a) The department of public health shall adopt rules or regulations requiring municipal and recreational programs and camps for minor children under its jurisdiction to have a system in place to have Coast Guard approved personal flotation devices of Type I, II or III available to non-swimmers and at-risk swimmers who will be present in a swimming or diving area, excluding swimming pools, wading pools and other artificial bodies of water.  (b) A determination shall be made of each minor's swimming ability at the first swimming session at municipal and recreational programs and camps in order to identify and classify non-swimmers and at-risk swimmers. Minors attending a municipal or recreational program or camp shall then be confined to swimming areas consistent with the limits of their swimming skills or to swimming areas requiring lesser skills than those for which they have been classified.  (c) No municipal or recreational program or camp for minor children shall refuse, decline or otherwise prohibit a parent, guardian or person with custody of a minor from providing a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device of Type I, II or III to such municipal or recreational program or camp to be used by the minor for the duration of the minor's attendance at such camp.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127c - Petition for Violation of Sanitary Code; Requisites

Section 127C. If the condition of any building or any part thereof used for residential purposes is in violation of the standards of fitness for human habitation established under the state sanitary code, as provided by section one hundred and twenty-seven A, or in violation of any board of health standards, a petition may be filed by any affected tenant or by the board of health, or, in the cities of Boston, Worcester and Cambridge, by the commissioner of housing inspection, in a district court, housing court, or superior court. The petition shall state that the premises have been inspected by the board of health or other appropriate inspection agency and that the condition of said premises has been found to be in violation of the state sanitary code; that such condition may endanger or materially impair the health or well-being of any tenant therein; and that said condition was not substantially caused by the tenant or any other person acting under his control.  An affected tenant may also file a petition in such court without stating that such premises have been found by an appropriate inspection agency to be in violation of any such standards, provided that he states (a) facts sufficient to demonstrate a likely violation of the state sanitary code which may endanger or materially impair the health or well-being of any tenant in the building or premises occupied by such tenant, (b) that the conditions in question were not substantially caused by such tenant or any person acting under his control and (c) that a request for inspection of such premises was made to the appropriate inspecting agency at least twenty-four hours prior to the filing of the petition and that there has been no inspection.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127d - Entry Fee; Notice Upon Offending Owner

Section 127D. The entry fee for a petition under section one hundred and twenty-seven C shall be two dollars. Upon the filing of such a petition, an order of notice shall issue requiring the owner of record to appear at a time not later than fourteen days after the issuance of said order of notice, to file an answer to the matters alleged in the petition including therein the names and addresses of any mortgagees or lienors of record known to the owner of record, and to submit to a hearing thereon.  Such order of notice shall be served at least seven days before the return day thereof, by any officer qualified to serve civil process by delivering to the respondent an attested copy thereof, or, by leaving such copy at his last and usual place of abode, or, at the address to which the rent is sent or delivered, or, if the respondent is a corporation, service may also be made in the manner provided by law or by leaving an attested copy thereof at the last and usual place of abode of the president, treasurer or clerk of the corporation, or in such other manner as the court may direct.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127e - Copy of Report of Investigation; Admissibility in Evidence

Section 127E. A copy of the report of the investigation by the department of public health or the board of health, or, in the cities of Boston, Worcester and Cambridge, the commissioner of housing inspection, certified as a true copy by the custodian of the records of such agency shall be admissible in any proceeding brought under section one hundred and twenty-seven C without further authentication, and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127f - Court Order Regarding Rental Payments; Disbursement of Funds; Receiver

Section 127F. If the court finds after hearing that the facts are as alleged in said petition, it may by written order authorize the petitioner or any other affected tenant to pay to the clerk of the court the fair value of the use and occupation of the premises, or such installments thereof from time to time as the court may direct; provided the court finds that any such violation may endanger or materially impair the health, safety or well-being of such tenant and that such payments are necessary to remedy the condition constituting the violation; and that said tenant is not in arrears in his rent, taking into account any abatement of rent due to the existence of such violations, or if he is in arrears is willing to pay any arrearage into the court as ordered. A person occupying the premises shall not be considered to be in arrears in his rent when the amount of rent the landlord alleges in good faith to be due is equal to or less than the amount of any counterclaim that said person may bring in good faith against the landlord, including any damages owed because of a breach of warranty or a violation of any other law. In determining said fair value, the court may be guided by any findings issued by the department or any other agency concerned with the condition of residential premises and any other evidence relative to the effect of violations of such standards upon the use and occupation of residential premises. Any order of the court shall be forthwith sent by the clerk of court to any and all mortgagees and lienors of record as the court deems proper under the circumstances.  The court may direct the clerk by written order to disburse all or any portion of the rental payments received by him to the respondent for the purpose of effectuating the removal of the violation. The court may also direct the clerk to make such other disbursements of the rental payments to the respondent or to any other person as in the judgment of the court will permit the owner to maintain the property.  When the violation is removed, the court shall direct that the balance of funds, if any, remaining with the clerk be paid to the respondent. The court may render judgment for costs in its discretion.  In lieu of or in addition to any relief that may be provided under this section, the court may appoint a receiver under section one hundred and twenty-seven I.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127g - Removal From District to Superior or Housing Court; Transmittal of Rents and Removal Fees

Section 127G. At any time after thirty days from the date of a district court's order authorizing the making of rental payments into court under section one hundred and twenty-seven F, upon application of any party and upon payment of a removal fee of five dollars, the clerk of the district court shall remove the case to the superior or housing court for further proceedings therein in the same manner and to the same extent as if the petition had originally been brought in said court. The clerk of court shall forthwith transmit any rents held by him, as the result of a written order issued under section one hundred and twenty-seven F together with the removal fee, to the clerk of the superior or housing court.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127j (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127j - Petition by Receiver to Apply for Financial Assistance; Notice and Hearing; Financial Assistance; Lien

Section 127J. A receiver may petition the court for leave to apply for financial assistance from the commonwealth to supplement funds otherwise available from rents, if he deems that the rents are insufficient to effectuate the necessary repairs or rehabilitation. Seven days' notice of a hearing on said petition shall be given to the respondent as well as any mortgagees or lien holders of record. The court, after hearing, may, by decree, authorize the receiver to apply for such financial assistance, if it finds such assistance is necessary, that it is in a reasonable amount and that the sum required to repair and rehabilitate the premises is not so excessive as to constitute an imprudent and unreasonable expenditure to accomplish the purpose.  Application for financial assistance shall be made to the department of public health in such manner and on such forms as may be prescribed by said department.  Said department may expend for such assistance such sums as may be appropriated therefor.  The receiver shall return any unused portion of any sums received by him to the commonwealth. The balance owed by the receiver to the commonwealth shall, together with interest thereon at the rate of six per cent per annum, constitute a debt due the commonwealth, upon the rendering of an account therefor to the owner of record, and shall be recoverable from such owner in an action of contract. Any such debt, including interest thereon, shall constitute a lien on the property involved, if a notice of such lien is recorded on behalf of the commonwealth in the proper registry of deeds within ninety days after the debt becomes due.  Any proceeding under this section may be advanced for speedy trial.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127k (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127k - Agreement to Waive Enforcement of Sanitary Code; Validity

Section 127K. Any provision of a lease or other rental agreement relating to real property whereby a lessee, tenant or occupant enters into a covenant, agreement or contract, by the use of any words whatsoever, the effect of which is to waive the benefits of any provision of section one hundred and twenty-seven C to one hundred and twenty-seven I, inclusive, shall be deemed to be against public policy and void.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127n (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127n - Actions by Tenants Against Owners of Residential Premises; Joinder of Certain Other Persons as Parties; Liability; Exception

Section 127N. In actions brought under this chapter against owners of residential premises a tenant may, prior to a hearing on the merits, move to join the following persons as parties: any individual, trust or corporation, partnership, association or other person who, acting alone or with another, has the authority to decide whether to rehabilitate, or sell or otherwise dispose of the premises, with or without record title or recorded interest. Such person shall not be joined, however, if its decision-making authority is derived solely from its position as a fiduciary if such person has never personally had any financial or possessory interest in the premises.  If the court finds that the owner may be unable for financial reasons or otherwise to perform any act or pay any liability that may be ordered if judgment is entered for the tenant, the court shall allow the motion joining any such person. The owner and any person so joined shall be jointly and severally liable for taking any action or paying any damages ordered by the court; provided, however, that the provisions of this section regarding the liability of persons other than owners shall not apply to two and three family owner-occupied residential premises.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127o (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127o - Conveyance of Real Estate With Intent to Evade Nuisance Provisions; Penalty

Section 127O. Any person who conveys a parcel of real estate with the intent to evade a notice or order, issued pursuant to sections one hundred and twenty-two to one hundred and twenty-seven B, inclusive, and sections one to three A, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and thirty-nine, section six to nine, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and forty-three, the state sanitary code, the state building code, or chapter forty A, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a house of correction or jail for not more than one year, or both.  The amount of consideration or the relationship of the grantor to the grantee shall be evidence of such intent to evade a notice or order under the provisions of this section.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 127p (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 127p - Land Covered by Subdivision Plan; Application of State Environmental Code

Section 127P. Whenever a person has submitted a subdivision plan, or a preliminary subdivision plan which is followed within seven months by a definitive plan, or a plan referred to in section eighty-one P of chapter forty-one, the land shown on such plan shall be governed by provisions of the state environmental code, or of the provisions of local board of health regulations which differ from said code, which are in effect at the time of first submission of said plan. Said provisions shall apply during the time such plan is being processed, including the time required to pursue or await the determination of an appeal relative to said plan. If such plan is approved, or if it is found such approval under the subdivision control law is not required, such provisions shall apply for a period of three years from the date of the endorsement of such approval or from the endorsement that approval under the subdivision control law is not required.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 128a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 128a - Filling of Sites of Demolished or Removed Buildings

Section 128A. The board of health may adopt and, from time to time, revise regulations requiring that the site of a demolished or removed building or structure be levelled to uniform grade by a sanitary fill proper to prevent rodent harborage and other insanitary conditions.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 128g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 128g - Farm Labor Camps; Inspection; Certificate; Complaints

Section 128G. The department shall annually inspect all farm labor camps as defined in the state sanitary code, or, in lieu thereof, may delegate any such annual inspection to a local board of health. When such inspection is so delegated, the local board of health shall make its inspection and file its report with the department within thirty days of notice of such delegation. If a farm labor camp after inspection conforms with the requirements of said code the department shall issue a certificate of occupancy which shall be posted upon one or more of the buildings comprising such camp. No such camp shall be opened in any year unless a current certificate of occupancy has been so posted. Any such certificate may be revoked for any violation of said code which the department after inspection determines exists. Complaints in writing of violations of the sanitary code, whether filed with the local board of health or the department, shall be investigated by the department as soon as practicable but in any event within thirty days after such filing. If any such complaint is filed with the local board of health said board shall forthwith forward said complaint to the department. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit or restrict the powers and duties of local boards of health.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 128h (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 128h - Migrant Workers; Educational and Recreational Opportunities; Locomotion; Visitation Rights; Regulations; Injunctive Relief

Section 128H. The department of public health shall, as a part of its inspection of a site for a farm labor camp, determine what educational and recreational opportunities may be available for migrant workers, and shall, as far as is practical, encourage the development of such opportunities in cooperation with local and state agencies. The department shall protect the right of the migrant worker to enter and leave the premises of the employer during the period of his employment, and shall include in its certificate of occupancy a notification to the worker that such right exists, notwithstanding any contract provision to the contrary. A worker living in quarters apart from the living quarters of his employer shall have reasonable rights of visitation in his living quarters outside of regular working hours and the certificate of occupancy issued by the department shall include notification, in English and in Spanish, of said rights. The department shall establish, by promulgation of regulations, such minimum standards relating to the rights of visitation under this section as will ensure the adequate protection of said rights. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity upon petition brought by the department in the name of the commonwealth to restrain and enjoin violations of this, or of section one hundred and twenty-eight G, or regulations promulgated thereunder.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 129 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 129 - Removal or Destruction of Nuisance on Conviction of Owner

Section 129. If a person is convicted on an indictment for a common nuisance injurious to the public health, the court may order the nuisance to be removed or destroyed at the expense of the defendant, under the direction of the board of health.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 130 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 130 - Enjoining Nuisance

Section 130. The superior court, either before or pending a prosecution for a common nuisance affecting the public health, may enjoin the maintenance of such nuisance until the matter is decided or the injunction dissolved.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 131 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 131 - Compulsory Examination of Premises; Complaint; Warrant

Section 131. If the board considers it necessary for preservation of life or health to enter any land, building or premises, or go on board a vessel within its town, to examine into and destroy, remove or prevent a nuisance, source of filth or cause of sickness, and the board, or any agent thereof sent for that purpose, is refused such entry, any member of the board or such agent may make complaint to a justice of any court of record or to a magistrate authorized to issue warrants, who may thereupon issue a warrant, directed to the sheriff or any of his deputies, to such member or agent of the board, or to any constable of such town, commanding him to take sufficient aid and at any reasonable time repair to the place where such nuisance, source of filth or cause of sickness complained of may be, and to destroy, remove or prevent the same, under the direction of the board.
MA Gen L ch 111 § 142a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVI - Public Health|Chapter 111 - Public Health|Section 142a - Pollution or Contamination of Atmosphere; Prevention; Regulations; Violation; Enforcement

Section 142A. The department of environmental protection, referred to in this section and in sections one hundred and forty-two B through one hundred and forty-two M, inclusive, as the department may from time to time adopt regulations, pursuant to this section and sections one hundred and forty-two B through one hundred and forty-two M, inclusive, to prevent pollution or contamination of the atmosphere. Whoever violates any such regulation or any permit or plan approval or order issued thereunder: (a) shall be punished for each violation by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both such fine and imprisonment; or (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each violation. Each day or part thereof that such violation occurs or continues shall be a separate violation. The civil penalty may be assessed in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in the superior court. The commonwealth may also bring an action for injunctive relief in the superior court for any such violation, and the superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin such violation and to grant such further relief as it may deem appropriate.