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Maine.gov > PFR Home > Professional Licensing > List of Professions > Real Estate Professionals > Notice Regarding Rental Properties

Real Estate Commission - Information on Lead Paint

Read the Maine Statute - LD 1532 An Act to Protect Maine Citizens from Lead Hazards that Harm Maine Children and Families effective 9/17/05

This requires residential home sellers selling homes built prior to 1978, to give to potential buyers a lead-based paint hazard disclosure form prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). See link below. Landlords will also be required to provide a similar disclosure form prepared by DHHS to prospective tenants. The lead-based paint hazard disclosure statement required is in addition to the Federal lead-based paint disclosure requirement.

Make Sure You Know the Federal Law on Lead Paint

Many real estate professionals know that lead-based paint in residences can be a significant hazard, particularly to children, and many know the law of their state. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that many real estate professionals are not well informed about federal rules pertaining to lead-based paint. EPA’s New England Region has taken two important steps to remedy this problem. One is to enforce the law. (In recent years, actions taken against several parties have included a settlement involving over $100,000, and a criminal sentence involving jail time). The other step has been to fund, at Boston University, a Regulated Community Compliance Project, to educate responsible professionals about the law. The federal lead laws focus on ensuring the right to know about actual and potential lead-based paint hazards, and do not impose significant costs or difficulties.

The “Disclosure Rule” (Section 1018 of Title 10)

  • If you are conducting a lease or sale transaction of a residence built before 1978, and the home is not in one of the exempt categories, you must provide to the purchaser or lessee a federal or federally approved lead hazard pamphlet. A lead warning statement in the contract, (the exact wording of which can be found at 40 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), Section 745.113(b)(1)) must be included in the contract. You must disclose to the lessee or purchaser the existence of any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. You must include the necessary certifications and acknowledgments in the contract documentation, and you must keep the documentation to show you have complied with the law. In addition:
  • Agents conducting the transactions must ensure disclosure.
  • Oral disclosure is not adequate, even if the transaction is oral.
  • The lead warning statement must be in the language of the contract.
  • A short-term lease exemption is valid only if the time limitation is documented.
  • Lead in common areas is included.
  • You must disclose the existence of any available records or reports pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the home, and provide a list of such records or reports. You must check your files and say there are no such reports if there are none available.
  • In the case of a purchase, you must provide a ten-day opportunity to inspect, and only the purchaser may waive this.
  • A material change in the lease and new information can trigger the disclosure requirement even when the disclosure was previously made, or the tenant’s residence predated the law.
  • No home is considered lead-free and thus exempt unless you have a lead-free certification.
  • “Lead-safe” is not the same thing as “lead-free”.
  • Although you only need to retain transaction documentation for three years, it is advisable to maintain it indefinitely, and you need to maintain documentation pertaining to lead in the housing indefinitely.
  • Information pertaining to lead-based paint hazards includes information about deteriorated lead-paint surfaces.
  • Any person knowingly violating the provisions of the disclosure law shall be jointly and severally liable to the purchaser or lessee in an amount equal to three times the amount of damages incurred by such individual.

Go to: http://www.epa.gov/lead/index.html for access to the regulations and to "interpretive guidance", which answers many specific frequently asked questions about the application of the rules, and clear language explanations of the requirements. You will also be able to obtain the disclosure forms, and the pamphlets (in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese).

The New Pre-Renovation Rule

In addition, if you are conducting renovation for compensation, (which can include payment of rent), then you must become familiar with the new federal Pre-Renovation Education Rule (40 CFR 745.80-745.88). This new right-to-know rule requires provision of the lead hazard pamphlet to owners and occupants before the renovation is conducted. As with the Disclosure Rule above, the requirements apply to most pre-1978 housing, and not just housing that you know has lead-based paint. "Renovation" means any modification of all or part of any existing structure in the housing that disturbs more than 2 square feet of painted surfaces.

Go to: http://www.epa.gov/lead/index.html for the text of the rules, for interpretive guidance and clear language explanations of the requirements.

EPA’s website: http://www.epa.gov/lead/index.html contains information on how to test for lead, how to find qualified lead professionals, and how to keep homes lead safe, including when performing renovations.

The basic idea of these rules and information resources is that if people are told about actual and potential lead hazards, and what they can do to protect themselves, then many instances of lead poisoning and elevated lead blood levels can be avoided. This is a critical health and environmental concern and there is a role that you can play, beyond the minimum of what is required, to protect all potential victims – especially children.

The BU Regulated Community Compliance Project will be conducting outreach in New England throughout the year to help you understand these laws, and to inform you about other relevant matters, such as what is required during lead abatements, and how to perform renovations safely. Contact us at: rreibste@bu.edu, or call 617 358-3366.


 

 

Last Updated: March 24, 2008