Lead Paint in Rentals: Disclosure Rules and Tenant Protections

If your rental was built before 1978, federal law requires the landlord, before you are bound by the lease, to give you EPA's lead pamphlet, tell you about any lead-based paint or lead hazards it knows of, share any lead reports, and include a signed lead warning statement in the lease. The rule does not require the landlord to test for or remove lead paint. Landlords, property managers, and contractors who do paid work that disturbs more than a small area of old paint must be certified by EPA or an EPA-authorized state program and follow lead-safe work practices. Voucher-assisted housing and some cities, such as New York City, require more, especially when a child under 6 lives in the home.

What must your landlord give you before you sign?

For housing built before 1978, the federal lead disclosure rule requires the landlord or its agent to do four things before you are obligated under the lease:

1. Give you the pamphlet. The landlord must hand over EPA's "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" or an equivalent pamphlet EPA has approved for use in your state.
2. Disclose what it knows. The landlord must tell you about any lead-based paint or lead hazards it knows of, including where they are and the condition of the painted surfaces.
3. Share the records. The landlord must give you any available reports on lead in the unit, plus reports on common areas and other units from any building-wide evaluation.
4. Add the warning to the lease. The lease or an attachment must include a Lead Warning Statement that you and the landlord sign and date. The landlord must keep a signed copy for three years after the lease begins.

If the landlord gives you this information after you have offered to rent, it must do so before accepting your offer and give you a chance to review the information and change your offer.

Renters do not get the 10-day inspection period that home buyers get. You can ask the landlord for a paint inspection before you sign, but the rule does not require one. Look for chipping or peeling paint on your walk-through, and see what to inspect before signing a lease for the rest of your checklist.

The rule does not apply to housing built in 1978 or later, leases of 100 days or less that cannot be renewed or extended, housing a certified inspector has found free of lead-based paint, or lease renewals where the landlord already made the disclosures and has no new information. Studios and other zero-bedroom units, and housing for older people or people with disabilities, are exempt unless a child under 6 lives there or is expected to.

What happens if the landlord skipped the disclosure?

Your lease stays valid. A landlord who knowingly violates the disclosure law is liable to you for three times your damages, and if you win, a court can also order the landlord to pay your court costs, attorney fees, and expert witness fees. EPA enforces the rule and can penalize landlords, agents, and property managers who do not give renters the required information.

How do EPA rules limit lead dust during repairs?

EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule covers paid work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 housing, including work your landlord or property manager does. A job is covered when it disturbs more than 6 square feet of painted surface per room inside or more than 20 square feet outside, or when it involves window replacement or demolition of painted surfaces. A smaller job counts as an exempt minor repair only if it avoids the banned methods listed below. The rule also does not apply where a certified inspector, risk assessor, or renovator has tested the paint being disturbed and found it is not lead-based.

For a covered job:

• Certified workers. The work must be done by a certified firm, with a certified renovator doing or directing it. EPA certifies firms except in the 15 states that run their own programs, including Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington.
• Advance notice. You must receive EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet no more than 60 days before work starts. For work in common areas, the firm must give tenants notices or post signs describing the work, its expected dates, and how to get the pamphlet for free.
• Containment. The crew must post warning signs, seal off the work area with plastic, cover the floor at least 6 feet beyond interior work, and close windows and doors within 20 feet of exterior work.
• Banned methods. Open-flame burning or torching, power sanding or grinding without a shroud and a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) vacuum attachment, and heat guns at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher are not allowed.
• Cleanup. The crew must clean with HEPA vacuums and wet wiping, and a certified renovator must verify the cleanup before the warning signs come down.

Stay out of the work area until the cleanup is verified. If you see dry sanding, torching, or dust escaping the plastic sheeting, report it to EPA's National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) or through EPA's online complaint form. Sanding and cutting old paint can create lead dust and chips, so ask your landlord before you sand, cut, or patch painted surfaces in a pre-1978 unit yourself, and see painting and wall repairs in rentals.

What extra protections apply if you rent with a voucher?

HUD's Lead Safe Housing Rule adds duties when you rent a pre-1978 unit with a Housing Choice Voucher or other tenant-based rental assistance and a child under 6 lives there or is expected to:

• Visual check at inspections. At the initial and periodic inspections, a trained inspector checks all painted surfaces for deteriorated paint.
• Paint repair deadline. The owner must repair deteriorated paint before your assisted tenancy begins, or within 30 days of being notified if you already live there. The housing agency can extend the deadline for good reason, but not beyond 90 days. Repairs that disturb more than 2 square feet of paint in any one room, 20 square feet outside, or 10% of a small part such as a window sill must also pass a clearance test, a visual check plus dust samples that must test below federal clearance limits.
• Child with an elevated blood lead level. When a health department or doctor reports that a child under 6 in the unit has an elevated blood lead level, the housing agency must investigate the unit within 15 calendar days. The owner must then finish fixing the hazards within 30 calendar days of receiving the investigation report, or the unit fails the program's housing quality standards.

If you have a voucher, report peeling or chipping paint to your housing agency as well as your landlord, and ask for an inspection.

Where do you report a lead hazard?

These steps matter most when a child under 6 lives in the home:

1. Tell your landlord in writing. Describe the peeling, chipping, or cracked paint, or the dust from repairs, attach dated photos, and ask for a lead-safe repair. Peeling paint is also a repair problem under the rules in your right to a habitable home, which sit within your basic rights as a tenant.
2. Ask your child's doctor about a blood lead test. CDC says no safe blood lead level in children has been identified and that children under 6 are more likely to be exposed. CDC uses a blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter to flag children with higher levels than most.
3. Report federal rule violations to EPA. Use EPA's online complaint form for a missing disclosure or unsafe renovation work, or call 1-800-424-LEAD (5323).
4. Call your local code enforcement or health department. In New York City, call 311 or file a complaint online. Owners of NYC buildings with three or more units built before 1960, and of some other rentals, must ask every year whether a child under 6 lives in the unit or routinely spends 10 or more hours a week there, inspect those units and common areas each year, and fix peeling paint using certified workers and safe work practices.