Buyers in Greater Boston have been waiving the inspection to make an offer look stronger. For any first contract signed after October 15, 2025, a seller can’t accept that offer, and the same rule spells out what you can still put in one.
Where the rule comes from
The Affordable Homes Act, St. 2024 c. 150 §45, added M.G.L. c. 143 §101, which directed the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to write regulations so that no seller of a residential property, or their agent, conditions acceptance of an offer on the buyer waiving, limiting or restricting the right to have the structure inspected, or accepts an offer from a buyer who has said in advance that they intend to waive it. The regulation is 760 CMR 74.00, published in the Mass. Register on June 6, 2025. It covers residential buildings of one to four units, condominium units in buildings of any size, and co-op shares. A sale at auction conducted by a licensed auctioneer is carved out of the conditioning ban, and the statute also excepts close relatives and a former spouse under a c. 208 order.
What the seller’s side can’t do
Under 760 CMR 74.03(5), a buyer whose offer was accepted in compliance with the rule, and who received the disclosure, may then waive, limit or forgo the inspection, provided the decision isn’t influenced or required by the seller or the seller’s agent. The definitions also allow two negotiated terms: the parties may agree that the buyer won’t walk if the estimated aggregate cost of repairs stays under a reasonable monetary threshold, and they may agree to reasonably limit the buyer’s deposit refund if the buyer does walk. Naming a repair threshold in the offer is one way to give the seller some certainty.
The exemptions in 760 CMR 74.04 cover relatives, a former spouse under a divorce judgment, foreclosures, deeds in lieu, reconveyances to release a debt, transfers to a relative for estate planning purposes, and newly constructed homes where the first written contract is signed before substantial completion and the seller offers an express written warranty of at least one year. For a broker or salesperson, failing to provide the form is an unfair or deceptive practice under M.G.L. c. 93A, and the licensing board can act on it.
If you’re writing offers in Greater Boston this fall, send me the listing and we’ll set the inspection terms the way the rule allows. This is general information, not legal advice. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.
The form
Under 760 CMR 74.03(3), no later than the signing of the first written contract, whether that’s the offer to purchase or the purchase and sale agreement, the seller’s agent, or the seller if there’s no agent, has to provide a separate form carrying the state’s disclosure, signed by seller and buyer. The seller warrants that the agreement isn’t contingent on the buyer giving up an inspection, acknowledges that the buyer may use a licensed home inspector of the buyer’s choice, and agrees that if the buyer inspects, the buyer gets a reasonable period after the contract is fully signed, as agreed by both sides, to decide whether to proceed if the results aren’t satisfactory. The form is on mass.gov and the seller’s agent’s acknowledgment is on it too.
What you can still write into an offer
This is where the strategy lives. Under 760 CMR 74.03(5), a buyer whose offer was accepted in compliance with the rule, and who received the disclosure, may then waive, limit or forgo the inspection, provided the decision isn’t influenced or required by the seller or the seller’s agent. And the definitions allow two negotiated terms: the parties may agree that the buyer won’t walk if the estimated aggregate cost of repairs stays under a reasonable monetary threshold, and they may agree to reasonably limit the buyer’s deposit refund if the buyer does walk. A repair threshold written into the offer tells a seller you’re serious without breaking the rule. The exemptions in 760 CMR 74.04 cover relatives, a former spouse under a divorce judgment, foreclosures, deeds in lieu, reconveyances to release a debt, estate planning transfers to relatives, and newly constructed homes sold before substantial completion with a written warranty of at least one year. For a broker or salesperson, failing to provide the form is an unfair or deceptive practice under M.G.L. c. 93A, and the licensing board can act on it. If you’re writing offers in Greater Boston this fall, send me the listing and we’ll set the inspection terms the way the rule allows. This is general information, not legal advice. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.
Questions
Common questions
Can a seller in Massachusetts require me to waive the home inspection?
No. For first contracts signed after October 15, 2025, 760 CMR 74.00 bars a seller of a one to four unit building, a condo unit or a co-op share, or their agent, from conditioning acceptance of an offer on the buyer waiving, limiting or restricting a home inspection, and from accepting an offer that would require it. Sales at auction by a licensed auctioneer are excepted, as are sales to close relatives and to a former spouse under a c. 208 judgment.
What is the Massachusetts mandatory home inspection disclosure form?
A separate form required by 760 CMR 74.03(3), signed by buyer and seller no later than the first written contract, whether the offer or the purchase and sale agreement. The seller warrants the sale isn't contingent on the buyer giving up an inspection, acknowledges the buyer may use a licensed inspector of their choice, and agrees the buyer gets a reasonable period after signing to decide whether to proceed. For a broker or salesperson, failing to provide it is an unfair or deceptive practice under M.G.L. c. 93A.
Can I still waive the inspection to make my offer stronger?
Not as a condition the seller asks for, and not by telling the seller up front that you intend to. After the offer is accepted and the form is signed, you may choose not to inspect, as long as the decision comes from you. If repairs come in under a reasonable number you and the seller agreed on, you can also commit to staying in, and you can agree to give up part of the deposit if you back out.
Sources
- 760 CMR 74.04(2)(a): the limitations under 760 CMR 74.03 do not apply to a sale or transfer of ownership where the offer to purchase or a purchase and sale agreement, whichever occurs first, was executed on or before October 15, 2025. The regulation was published in Mass. Register #1549 on 6/6/2025
- Regulatory authority: St. 2024, c. 150, § 45 (the Affordable Homes Act) added M.G.L. c. 143, § 101, which requires the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to promulgate regulations ensuring that no seller of a residential property, or agent, conditions the acceptance of an offer to purchase on the prospective purchaser's agreement to waive, limit, restrict or otherwise forego the right to have the structure or unit inspected, except when the sale is to occur at an auction conducted by a licensed auctioneer, or accepts an offer from a prospective purchaser who, in advance of acceptance, informs the seller that they intend to waive the home inspection; exceptions for relatives and former spouses under chapter 208 orders
- Mass.gov, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Residential home inspections (published June 17, 2025): summary of 760 CMR 74.00. The regulation applies to the sale of residential buildings of one to four units, including single family homes, condominium units within buildings of any size, and residential co-op sales. Home inspections must be completed by a licensed home inspector. Before or at the signing of the first purchase contract (either the offer to purchase or the purchase and sale agreement), the seller or agent must provide a separate written disclosure affirming the buyer's right to a home inspection; both buyer and seller must sign the form. Nothing in the regulation requires a buyer to have the home inspected; a buyer may forego a home inspection after receiving proper disclosures and without any coercion or inducement from the seller or their agent. If a real estate professional fails to give buyers the required disclosure, it shall be considered an unfair or deceptive business practice under M.G.L. c. 93A
- Massachusetts Mandatory Residential Home Inspection Disclosure form: pursuant to 760 CMR 74.00, this form must be signed by the buyer and seller on or before the date of signing the first written contract to purchase a Residential Property in Massachusetts (unless one of the exceptions applies). Every seller is notified that M.G.L. Chapter 143, Section 101 and 760 CMR 74.00 prohibit a seller from accepting an agreement to purchase contingent upon waiver, limitation, or restriction of a buyer's choice to obtain a Home Inspection, in whole or in part. The form carries a Seller's Disclosure, a Buyer's Acknowledgment and an Agent's Acknowledgment
Written by Diana Yeji Kim — REALTOR® at eXp Realty, serving Greater Boston in English, Korean, and Japanese.
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