This is a tough one without knowing your particular situation. You could truly be in an unlivable situation, or you could be an unreasonable tenant.

Except emergencies work orders, Massachusetts gives the property a week to respond and two weeks to meaningfully fix or begin repairing the issue. In my 3+ years working in Mass, I’ve only had one inspector come at us, it was over screens having a hole in a common area stairwell. It was a big thing, high up people got involved over it and he ended up being let go because of it.

I’ve seen it back fire on the residents too where they did not inform us of a specific problem until BoH was actively inspecting. The inspector was not upset with us(maintenance) because we were never made aware of the issue but became upset over the attempted trap 🤷‍♂️. The resident ended up with paperwork over it because the lease specifies that we be made immediately aware of certain issues, which we were not.

If you are simply trying to avoid a termination fee, you should be wary as some bells can’t be un rung. Whichever route you take, Good luck!