Residential Lease Addenda - Mold Disclosure - Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS MOLD AND EXCESS-MOISTURE CONDITION AND RESPONSE ADDENDUM

Use gate. This addendum records conditions, notice, access, and a response plan. It does not create a fixed statutory inspection or remediation deadline, make environmental testing or clearance testing mandatory, decide causation, authorize rent withholding, shift professional costs automatically, waive habitability rights, limit damages, or select an exclusive court.

1. Parties and Premises

2. Current Condition Record

Inspection date: [__/__/____]

Persons present: [________________________________]

☐ No visible mold or excess moisture was observed in the inspected areas.

☐ Visible mold, staining, odor, water intrusion, or excess moisture was observed as recorded above.

☐ A prior condition or repair was disclosed in Attachment [____].

This record is not an expert conclusion about hidden conditions, species, toxicity, causation, or code compliance.

3. Massachusetts Housing-Code Baseline

105 CMR 410.010 defines Excess Moisture as unwanted moisture or water on permeable surfaces that occurs on a periodic, chronic, or acute basis and presents a risk of mold growth.

Unless another provision assigns responsibility differently, 105 CMR 410.003(B) places responsibility on the owner for maintenance, repairs, and equipment needed for compliance with the housing code. Section 410.003(F) requires an occupant to maintain the residence in a sanitary condition.

Nothing in this addendum transfers a nonwaivable code duty or predetermines which person caused a condition.

4. Notice by Occupant

The occupant should report observed leaks, water intrusion, persistent dampness, visible mold, or related damage promptly through the contact method below.

A delay in reporting does not create a conclusive presumption about delivery condition, causation, waiver, or responsibility.

5. Access

For nonemergency inspection or repair access intended to achieve compliance with 105 CMR 410, the owner will provide at least 48 hours’ notice, at a reasonable time and, if possible, by appointment. Emergency repairs do not require that advance notice.

The occupant will provide reasonable cooperation for lawful inspection and repair access.

6. Evaluation and Response Plan

These are case-specific contractual targets, not representations that Massachusetts law imposes the same timetable in every matter. Any board-of-health order, permit condition, emergency direction, insurance requirement, or professional protocol controls over an inconsistent target.

7. Testing and Professional Work

Whether sampling, laboratory analysis, moisture measurement, industrial-hygiene review, or post-work verification is appropriate must be selected for the actual condition. This addendum does not require a particular mold species test, indoor-air threshold, licensed “mold remediator,” or universal clearance certificate.

When another law requires a license or permit for plumbing, electrical, heating, gas-fitting, asbestos, lead, building, or other work, the responsible person must use the required licensed trade and obtain the required permit.

8. Costs and Responsibility

No charge is automatically assigned by this addendum merely because mold or excess moisture is observed.

Before charging either party, document:

☐ Source and duration of the moisture

☐ Ownership and maintenance responsibility for the affected component

☐ Notice history and access history

☐ Acts or omissions supported by evidence

☐ Lease language consistent with nonwaivable law

☐ Insurance or third-party responsibility

☐ Invoice and reasonable scope of work

A disputed charge is not labeled rent, additional rent, liquidated damages, interest, or an eviction ground by this addendum. Massachusetts counsel must determine any lawful allocation and remedy.

9. Board of Health and Court Rights

The local health official identifies violations and issues correction orders under the enforcement process referenced in 105 CMR 410.002(C). Either party may preserve inspection requests, reports, orders, photographs, communications, and completion evidence.

This addendum does not restrict judicial relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. It does not:

• require exclusive filing in the Housing Court;
• authorize unilateral rent withholding or repair-and-deduct;
• create automatic rent abatement, relocation, termination, injunction, or bond waiver;
• create prevailing-party attorney fees or a fixed interest rate;
• impose indemnity for another party’s legal duties; or
• waive or cap statutory, regulatory, lease, tort, or habitability rights.

10. Attachments

☐ Condition photographs

☐ Prior leak or repair records

☐ Board-of-health inspection report or order

☐ Contractor proposal, permit, or invoice

☐ Insurance correspondence

☐ Medical information voluntarily supplied through an appropriate confidential channel

☐ Other: [________________________________]

11. Acknowledgment

The parties acknowledge receipt of this condition record and response addendum. A signature acknowledges receipt and does not admit causation, fault, code violation, damages, or waiver.

Sources and References

• Current 105 CMR 410 regulation page: https://www.mass.gov/regulations/105-CMR-41000-minimum-standards-of-fitness-for-human-habitation-state-sanitary-code-chapter-ii
• Current regulation PDF, dated June 23, 2023: https://www.mass.gov/doc/105-cmr-410-minimum-standards-of-fitness-for-human-habitation-state-sanitary-code-chapter-ii/download
• Massachusetts DPH moisture guidance: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/use-of-moisture-measuring-devices-for-evaluating-water-damage-in-buildings

Current through the official 105 CMR 410 page and regulation dated June 23, 2023; verified August 17, 2026.