A Lead-Based Paint Disclosure is a set of documents required by federal law when renting a home built before 1978. The landlord must make this disclosure whether or not there is any lead paint present on the property. The disclosure includes a form with information about the property, and an informational pamphlet warning about the dangers of exposure to lead-based paint.
Lead-based paints were explicitly banned as a health hazard by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1977. In 1992, Congress passed the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Act (commonly known as Title X) to further protect families from exposure to lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards from dust, and soil.
The requirements of Title X prompted the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish disclosure requirements regarding lead-based paint hazards in the sale or lease of housing built before 1978.
Fact Sheet: Disclosure of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing (PDF)
Read the Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule, Section 1018 of Title X
The requirements produced by HUD and the EPA require landlords to complete the following steps before leasing a covered property:
- Provide a lead-based paint pamphlet. Landlords must present tenants with a copy of the EPA’s “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” pamphlet when signing a new residential lease.
- Disclose the presence of any known lead-based paint. The disclosure requires noting the presence and area of any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the property’s interior.
- Provide records of lead-based paint reports. Tenants have a right to review any known records or reports that link the property with lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards.
- Attach the lead-based paint disclosure to lease. The disclosure statement must:
- Be attached to the lease
- Warn tenants of the dangers of lead-based paint
- Disclose known lead paint hazards on the property
- Be signed and dated by both landlord and tenant
- Retain signed records for three years. Landlords must keep copies of the tenant signed records for at least three years.
Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Act Exemptions
The following property types are exempt from the lead paint disclosure rule:
- Housing constructed after January 1, 1978
- Units such as studios or lofts that do not contain a bedroom
- Properties rented for a term of 100 days or fewer
- Housing that has been deemed lead free by a state-certified lead inspector
- Senior housing (62 or older) where no child under six years old resides
- Disabled housing where no child under six years old resides
Sample of Lead Paint Warning
This is an excerpt from the lead-based paint disclosure form listed above:
“Housing built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Lead from paint, paint chips, and dust can pose health hazards if not managed properly. Lead exposure is especially harmful to young children and pregnant women. Before renting pre-1978 housing, lessors must disclose the presence of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the dwelling. Lessees must also receive a federally approved pamphlet on lead poisoning prevention.”
Checking Your Home for Lead
Landlords wanting to lease a residential property built before 1978 should contract for an EPA-certified inspection, risk assessment, and abatement report. There are several ways to get testing:
- A lead-based paint inspection checks for the presence and location of lead-based paint. A certified lead-based paint inspector reviews the property using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF), as well as collecting paint samples for lab testing.
- A risk assessment checks whether a property has lead hazards from in paint, dust, or soil. The assessment will also provide you with actions that you can take to address these hazards. A certified risk assessor, will:
- Sample deteriorated paint from windows, doors, walls, floors, and stairs
- Sample dust near painted surfaces
- Sample bare soil in the yard
- Get lab tests of paint, dust, and soil samples
- Or, have the inspection and risk assessment to find out if there are any lead-based paints or lead hazards in your home.
To find a certified inspector near you visit epa.gov/lead, or call 1-800-424-LEAD
(5323). On the EPA’s website, you can search for an inspector or assessor by:
- Firm name
- Discipline (inspection/risk assessment and abatement)
- City
- State
- Zip Code
- Certification Number
EPA’s locator identifies certified firms in jurisdictions where they administer lead-based paint training and certification. Some states, tribes, and cities have their own rules related to lead-based paint. Check with your local agency to see which laws apply to you. Most agencies can also provide information on possible sources of financial aid for reducing lead hazards.
Tenant Rights
Did you know that many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint? If you are planning to rent a property that was built before 1978, the landlord is required to inform you of any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards on the property. Renters must receive the following from their landlord:
- An EPA-approved information pamphlet on lead-based paint hazards, Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home (PDF)
- Any known presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the home or building (for multi-unit buildings, this includes records and reports concerning common areas and other units)
- An attachment to or language inserted in the contract that includes a “Lead Warning Statement” and verifies that the landlord has complied with all notification requirements
Tenants can ask the landlord to get a certified lead-based paint inspection or lead hazard risk assessment before signing a lease.
Additional Information
Contact the National Lead Information Center to learn how to protect children from lead poisoning and get information about lead hazards at epa.gov/lead and hud.gov/lead, or call 1-800-424-LEAD (5323).
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- 1 16 C.F.R. § 1303.1
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(a) In this part 1303, the Consumer Product Safety Commission declares that paint and similar surface-coating materials for consumer use that contain lead or lead compounds and in which the lead content (calculated as lead metal) is in excess of 0.06 percent (0.06 percent is reduced to 0.009 percent effective August 14, 2009 as mandated by Congress in section 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-314 ) of the weight of the total nonvolatile content of the paint or the weight of the dried paint film (which paint and similar surface-coating materials are referred to hereafter as “lead-containing paint”) are banned hazardous products under sections 8 and 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2057 , 2058 . The following consumer products are also declared to be banned hazardous products:
(1) Toys and other articles intended for use by children that bear “lead-containing paint”.
(2) Furniture articles for consumer use that bear “lead-containing paint”.
(b) This ban applies to the products in the categories described in paragraph (a) of this section that are manufactured after February 27, 1978, and which are “consumer products” as that term is defined in section 3(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Accordingly, those of the products described above that are customarily produced or distributed for sale to or for use, consumption, or enjoyment of consumers in or around a household, in schools, in recreation, or otherwise are covered by the regulation. Paints and coatings for motor vehicles and boats are not included within the scope of the ban because they are outside the statutory definition of “consumer product”. In addition to those products which are sold directly to consumers, the ban applies to products which are used or enjoyed by consumers after sale, such as paints used in residences, schools, hospitals, parks, playgrounds, and public buildings or other areas where consumers will have direct access to the painted surface.
(c) The Commission has issued the ban because it has found that there is an unreasonable risk of lead poisoning in children associated with lead content of over 0.06 percent in paints and coatings to which children have access and that no feasible consumer product safety standard under the CPSA would adequately protect the public from this risk. The 0.06 percent is reduced to 0.009 percent effective August 14, 2009 as mandated by Congress in section 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law 110-314 .
(d) Any ban or rule promulgated under 16 CFR 1303.1 shall be considered a regulation of the Commission promulgated under or for the enforcement of section 2(q) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261(q) ).
Source Link - 2 42 U.S.C. § 4852d(a)(1)
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Not later than 2 years after October 28, 1992, the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall promulgate regulations under this section for the disclosure of lead-based paint hazards in target housing which is offered for sale or lease. The regulations shall require that, before the purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract to purchase or lease the housing, the seller or lessor shall-
(A) provide the purchaser or lessee with a lead hazard information pamphlet, as prescribed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 406 of the Toxic Substances Control Act [15 U.S.C. 2686] ;
(B) disclose to the purchaser or lessee the presence of any known lead-based paint, or any known lead-based paint hazards, in such housing and provide to the purchaser or lessee any lead hazard evaluation report available to the seller or lessor; and
(C) permit the purchaser a 10-day period (unless the parties mutually agree upon a different period of time) to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based paint hazards.
Source Link - 3 42 U.S.C. § 4852d(b)
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(1) Monetary penalty
Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this section shall be subject to civil money penalties in accordance with the provisions of section 3545 of this title.
(2) Action by Secretary
The Secretary is authorized to take such lawful action as may be necessary to enjoin any violation of this section.
(3) Civil liability
Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be jointly and severally liable to the purchaser or lessee in an amount equal to 3 times the amount of damages incurred by such individual.
(4) Costs
In any civil action brought for damages pursuant to paragraph (3), the appropriate court may award court costs to the party commencing such action, together with reasonable attorney fees and any expert witness fees, if that party prevails.
(5) Prohibited act
It shall be a prohibited act under section 409 of the Toxic Substances Control Act [15 U.S.C. 2689] for any person to fail or refuse to comply with a provision of this section or with any rule or order issued under this section. For purposes of enforcing this section under the Toxic Substances Control Act [15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.], the penalty for each violation applicable under section 16 of that Act [15 U.S.C. 2615] shall not be more than $10,000.
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