My girlfriend is currently going to a beauty school and does not own her own vehicle. She managed to get an affordable place down the street, which is very hard this day in age. Her grandmother helps pay the rent as she does not have a job right now.

Unfortunately this place is crap. The bathroom has been under construction for some time now and the thermostat is locked up. The place is freezing. The set up is pretty much a bunch of one rooms. Everyone shares the kitchen and bathroom. I would like to see her get out of there... but times are hard and it is the best she can do.

Is their some sort of housing service I can call that can inspect the place? I just want to make sure the landlord is doing a bit of a better job. This is Mass. By the way. Since it is a commonwealth, laws and services are a bit different than the rest of the states. Any insight would be good.

You can call HUD or the utility companies and ask about weatherization programs. They came and inspected my neighbors house and gave her a new refrigerator and replaced her thermostat.

Here is a web search that might help
weatherization programs mass - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=weatherization+programs+mass&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=)