Is Your Apartment Too Cold? Boston Tenant Heat Guide

Featured image: Triple-decker porches on Rosseter Street in Dorchester, a common Boston rental housing type. Photo: Pi.1415926535 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Boston heating rules for renters are already in force: the Massachusetts heating season began Sept. 15, and since then landlords have been required to keep apartments at minimum temperatures day and night. With colder weather arriving in late October 2026, this guide explains what the state sanitary code requires, how Boston tenants can report a cold apartment and how households can apply for help with winter heating bills.

Minimum temperatures Boston landlords must provide

Under the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410, owners must heat every habitable room and every room with a toilet, shower or bathtub to at least:

68°F from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
64°F from 11:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m.

The code also caps heat. The heating system may never push the temperature in any room above 78°F during the heating season, a rule the state Department of Public Health says keeps some units from being overheated to warm others. Temperature is measured five feet above the floor on a wall at least five feet from an exterior wall.

The state’s guidance makes clear that the heating season sets minimums rather than requiring the boiler to run on a fixed date. Owners may turn heat off on mild days or run air conditioning, as long as the minimum temperatures are met. The code does not require landlords to provide air conditioning.

What counts as a legal heating system

The owner must provide and maintain a heating system that can reach those temperatures in every required room. The code says a fireplace, a wood or pellet stove, or a portable electric space heater does not satisfy that requirement. It also bans several heater types from residential use, including portable wick-type space heaters, appliances adapted to burn kerosene, propane or range oil, and unvented gas or propane space heaters not approved under the state fire code.

Hot water is covered too. Boston’s 311 tenant heating page says hot water must be between 110 and 130 degrees, and the sanitary code caps bathtub and shower water at 120 degrees.

Other tenant rights during the heating season

The City of Boston’s heating guide for renters adds two practical rights. If breakers, utility meters or oil tanks are in the basement, the landlord must give the tenant access to them. And landlords must give 24 hours’ notice before entering for non-emergency repairs.

How to report a cold apartment in Boston

Complaints about insufficient heat go to the city’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD), which lists “Insufficient Heat” and “Excessive Heat” among its complaint categories. Boston residents can:

Call 311 or ISD directly at 617-635-5300.
Use the BOS:311 app, which allows photos to be uploaded.
Submit a service request online through the city portal, 24 hours a day.
Email isd@cityofboston.gov with the property address and a description of the problem.
Mail a written complaint to Boston Inspectional Services, 1010 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02118.

ISD says every complaint is logged with a service request number so it can be tracked, and that anonymous complaints are accepted. Tenants who give a name and phone number can be contacted about follow-up. Because the code calls for inspectors to check a system’s actual performance, if possible at the times the occupant has said it is inadequate, it helps to note when the apartment is cold and what a thermometer reads.

Help paying winter heating bills: HEAP

The Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP or fuel assistance, helps eligible households pay part of their heating costs from Nov. 1 through April 30. For the 2026-27 season, applications opened Oct. 1, 2026. The program is free; Mass.gov warns residents about scams charging an “application fee.”

Eligibility depends on household size and income. Gross household income cannot exceed 60% of the state’s estimated median income. The fiscal 2027 limits published by Mass.gov are:

1 person: $53,585
2 people: $70,073
3 people: $86,561
4 people: $103,049
5 people: $119,536
6 people: $136,024

Homeowners and renters can apply, including renters whose heat is included in the rent. HEAP covers oil, electricity, natural gas, propane, kerosene, wood and coal, and payments go directly to the heating vendor. Eligible households also get automatic discounts on bills from investor-owned gas and electric utilities.

In Boston, Brookline and Newton, the local HEAP agency is Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), which takes applications online, by phone at 617-357-6012, or in person by appointment. Statewide, the Cold Relief Heatline is 1-800-632-8175. First-time applicants must complete an intake appointment, and every household must reapply each year.

Mass.gov says applicants should be ready to provide photo ID for the head of household, a list of household members, heating bill details such as the company name and account number, a lease or mortgage statement, and proof of income for the 30 days before applying.

Related Boston housing coverage

For more on the city’s rental housing market, see our report on the Marian Manor apartment proposal in South Boston. Winter also brings parking and shoveling duties for residents, explained in our guide to Boston snow emergency parking rules.

Additional details

End date of the heating season: Mass.gov guidance and Boston’s 311 page say the season runs to June 15. The revised sanitary code text posted by the City of Boston (2023 edition, section 410.180) lists Sept. 15 through May 31 and lets a local board of health end the season no earlier than May 15 or delay the start to no later than Sept. 30. Tenants with questions about late-spring heat should confirm the current rule with ISD.
Under the older rule described in state guidance, owners could seek a variance from their local board of health to shift the dates, through a hearing open to interested parties.
The state Department of Public Health’s Community Sanitation Program answers housing code questions at 617-624-5757.
Boston’s 311 page also points seniors to a city Neighborhood Development program that helps repair or replace heating systems.

Sources

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Boston Heating Rules for Renters: Minimum Temperatures, Complaints and Fuel Aid