Greater Boston

Boston, MA

Boston uses a two-step contract in which a signed Offer to Purchase can already be binding, and there is no mandatory general seller disclosure form. Since Feb 2025 state law allows one ADU by right on single-family lots, while rent control remains banned.

💡 Upside tip

For any pre-1978 house or triple-decker, price in lead paint: Massachusetts makes the owner strictly liable for deleading any unit where a child under 6 lives, which can cost far more than the cosmetic work you planned. Use the 10-day lead inspection window.

Offers & competition

Step 1 is a signed Offer to Purchase with a small deposit (about $1,000 or 1%); under McCarthy v. Tobin it can be a binding contract unless expressly made subject to a P&S, and the inspection contingency (often 7 to 10 days) runs here. Step 2 is the Purchase and Sale Agreement about 10 to 14 days later, when the deposit is topped up to 5% and the mortgage contingency (often 30 to 45 days) is set.

Closing & who pays

Attorneys draft and negotiate the P&S and conduct the closing, often the lender's attorney. A local fire-department smoke and carbon monoxide detector certificate is required at transfer.

Transfer taxes

The Massachusetts deeds excise is $4.56 per $1,000 (about 0.456%), customarily paid by the seller. Boston's proposed fee on the part of a sale above $2M (H.5464) passed the City Council in April 2026 but had no further action at the State House, so it is not law.

Seller disclosures

Massachusetts has no mandatory general seller disclosure form; sellers may not lie in answer to direct questions, and brokers must disclose known material defects. For pre-1978 housing the Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification is required, and Title 5 septic rules rarely matter in sewered Boston.

What you can build

Since Feb 2, 2025 the Affordable Homes Act allows one ADU by right per single-family lot, up to 900 sq ft or half the main house's floor area (whichever is smaller), with no owner-occupancy rule and at most one parking space (none within half a mile of transit). Boston's own Squares + Streets districts up-zone neighborhood centers, while Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End and other historic districts need commission approval for exterior changes.

Permits & records

Inspectional Services (ISD) handles permits, and permit and violation datasets are on Analyze Boston; zoning is in the Boston Planning Department's Zoning Viewer. Zoning relief goes through the Zoning Board of Appeal, which often takes months.

Property tax

Proposition 2 1/2 caps a town's total levy growth at 2.5% a year plus new growth, unless voters approve an override. Boston taxes residential and commercial property at split rates and offers a large residential exemption to owner-occupants, so file for it after you move in.

Rent rules

Rent control has been banned in Massachusetts since the 1994 ballot vote. A 2026 initiative to cap increases was struck from the November 2026 ballot by the SJC on June 23, 2026, though proponents signaled a 2028 attempt.

Key risks

Coastal flooding threatens the Seaport, East Boston and Charlestown, where the Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District (2021) imposes flood-resilient design standards. Remodeling more than 50% of a building's value in a FEMA flood zone triggers full flood-code compliance, and lead paint is the main hidden cost in older stock.

⚠ Still verifying

Not re-verified: the deeds excise rate, the rate in Boston's 2026 transfer-fee petition and its status after July 31, 2026, Text Amendment 543 adoption, Boston's own citywide ADU amendment, current GBREB/MAR offer form versions, and Boston FY2027 tax rates.

Official sources

Updated: 2026-10 · Summaries of public rules as of the date shown. Not legal or tax advice. Always confirm with the official source.