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Massachusetts’s New Home Inspection Rules Effective October 2025: What Changed, Who’s Affected, and How to Stay Compliant

6 minutes

Effective October 15, 2025, Massachusetts adopted a new framework that changes how offers are written, reviewed, and accepted in residential real estate transactions. The rule bars sellers and listing agents from using home inspection waivers as leverage at the offer stage and requires a specific disclosure form early in the deal. The goal is simple: protect buyers’ right to a meaningful inspection without turning every transaction into a fight.

Key Takeaways

  • Sellers and listing agents cannot condition acceptance of an offer on a buyer’s agreement to waive or limit a home inspection.
  • Sellers cannot accept an offer that includes a pre-offer inspection waiver.
  • A stand-alone disclosure form is required by the first written contract and must include specific language acknowledging the buyer’s inspection right.
  • Contract terms cannot “render a home inspection meaningless,” for example, by unreasonably restricting scheduling or blocking the buyer’s ability to walk away based on the results.
  • Enforcement has teeth: violations by professionals can be an “unfair or deceptive act or practice” under Chapter 93A and can trigger licensing consequences. Homeowners in isolated private sales are not treated as acting in a business context.

What Changed and Where the Rules Live

Massachusetts created 760 CMR 74.00 (Residential Home Inspection Waivers) under authority granted by the Affordable Homes Act (St. 2024, c. 150) and M.G.L. c. 143, § 101. The stated purpose of the regulation is to protect health, safety, and welfare by stopping offers that hinge on inspection waivers and by requiring seller disclosure of the buyer’s right to inspect.

Two Core Prohibitions

  • No conditioning acceptance on a waiver. The regulation states a seller or agent “shall not condition the acceptance of an offer… on the Prospective Purchaser’s agreement to waive… a Home Inspection.”
  • No acceptance of pre-offer waivers. A seller or agent “shall not accept an offer… [that] would require the purchaser to waive… a Home Inspection.”

The Required Disclosure Form

By the first written contract (offer or P&S, whichever comes first), the seller or listing agent must deliver a separate form containing a key phrase: “Seller warrants and represents that the agreement to purchase is not… contingent upon waiver… of Buyer’s choice to obtain a Home Inspection.” Both sides sign it. Keep the signed form with the deal file.

“Render a Home Inspection Meaningless” Is Prohibited

The definitions section bars tactics that frustrate an inspection’s purpose, including “unreasonably limiting the Prospective Purchaser’s ability to schedule, receive, and review a Home Inspection,” or barring the buyer from declining to proceed based on results, subject to reasonable thresholds and deposit refund limits agreed by the parties. Draft with this definition in mind.

Buyers Can Still Waive, But Only After Acceptance and by Their Own Choice

Once the offer is accepted and the disclosure has been given, a buyer “may subsequently waive” an inspection, but the decision must be “not influenced or required by the Seller or the Seller’s Agent.” Do not coach, direct, or hint. Document that any post-acceptance waiver was buyer initiated.

Exemptions Are Narrow and Specific

The prohibitions do not apply to:

  • Deals with a relative of the seller or a former spouse under a judgment.
  • Foreclosure and deed-in-lieu transfers and certain lien release reconveyances.
  • Estate planning transfers to relatives, including via trust.
  • Pre-completion sales of new construction where the first contract is signed before substantial completion and the seller gives a one-year written warranty that covers systems and structure.
  • Contracts signed on or before October 15, 2025.

Confirm facts before invoking any exemption and document the file.

Enforcement: Chapter 93A and Licensing Exposure

The regulation ties compliance to consumer protection and licensing regimes.

  • Failure to comply with the disclosure requirement “shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice… under M.G.L. c. 93A, § 2” when done in a business context, such as by a broker or salesperson. Other violations may constitute a 93A violation when done in a business context. Homeowners and buyers in an “isolated sale of a private home” are not treated as acting in a business context.
  • A broker or salesperson’s violation may be grounds for discipline under 254 CMR 2.00 and 254 CMR 3.00. Build procedures, training, and forms with this in view.

Practical Guidance to Stay Compliant and Competitive

For Sellers and Listing Agents

  1. Remove pre-offer waiver pressure from your process. Do not request or encourage up-front waivers, and do not accept offers that contain them. Screen incoming offers for noncompliant language.
  2. Deliver the state-required disclosure on time, every time. Use a dedicated template. Get both signatures at the first written contract and retain it in the file.
  3. Draft timelines that keep the inspection meaningful. Provide reasonable access and a workable inspection window. Avoid terms that would “render a home inspection meaningless.” If you negotiate thresholds or deposit refund limits, keep them reasonable and explicit.
  4. Document buyer-initiated post-acceptance waivers. If a buyer later chooses not to inspect, note that the decision was unprompted by you or your client.
  5. Train your team and update checklists. Add an offer intake checklist, an inspection rights script, and a contract review step that flags any problematic clauses. This is both a compliance and risk management exercise under 93A.

For Buyers and Buyer’s Agents

  1. Plan the inspection timeline early. Line up inspectors when you prepare to offer so the window after acceptance is realistic.
  2. Keep offer language clean. Do not include any pre-offer statement that you intend to waive an inspection. Compete on price, certainty, and terms, not by signaling a pre-offer waiver.
  3. Use the disclosure as a checkpoint. Confirm the form is signed and filed with the first written contract.
  4. Decide only after acceptance. If you choose to waive, do so only after the required disclosure and without seller or agent influence. Keep a brief, buyer-signed note for the file.

FAQs

Does the law force buyers to obtain an inspection?
No. A buyer can still decide to skip an inspection, but only after acceptance and receipt of the required disclosure, and only without seller or agent influence.

Can a seller accept an offer that mentions an intent to waive inspection?
No. Sellers cannot accept an offer that requires or signals a pre-offer waiver. Remove those terms or reject the offer.

Who faces 93A risk?
People acting in a business context, especially brokers and salespersons. Homeowners and buyers in a one-off private sale are not treated as acting in a business context for these provisions.

Cole Law Partners Can Help

Contact Cole Law Partners, a Massachusetts real estate and construction law firm, to review your home-sale contracts, disclosure forms, and offer procedures under the new 2025 home inspection rules.