Lead-based paint disclosure rules for pre-1978 homes: what the NJ exam expects

The lead disclosure rule in one paragraph

When someone sells or rents most housing built before 1978, federal law says the buyer or tenant gets certain information before they are bound by the contract. The seller or landlord must disclose any known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards, hand over any available reports, give the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, and attach a Lead Warning Statement with signed certifications to the contract or lease. A buyer also gets 10 days to have the home inspected or risk-assessed for lead. The seller or landlord and each agent keep a signed copy for at least 3 years.

The law is section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, codified at 42 U.S.C. 4852d. EPA and HUD carry it out through one joint rule that appears twice in the federal code: EPA's version is 40 CFR 745 subpart F (sections 745.100 to 745.119) and HUD's is 24 CFR 35 subpart A (sections 35.80 to 35.98). It has applied to owners of more than four dwellings since September 6, 1996, and to owners of one to four dwellings since December 6, 1996.

What housing is covered, and what is exempt

Start with the build date. A home built in 1978 or later is outside the rule entirely. A home built before 1978 is target housing unless it fits one of a short list of exceptions. Some exceptions come from the definition of target housing in 40 CFR 745.103, and some from the scope section, 745.101. The definition reads, word for word: "any housing constructed prior to 1978, except housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities or any 0-bedroom dwelling (unless any child who is less than 6 years of age resides or is expected to reside in such housing)." The child-under-6 clause sits at the end of the sentence and refers to "such housing," and EPA's disclosure rule page and fact sheet apply it to both exceptions: 0-bedroom units and elderly or disability housing.

Two of those need a closer look. A "0-bedroom dwelling" means the living area is not separated from the sleeping area: efficiencies, studio apartments, dormitory housing, military barracks and rentals of individual rooms. "Lead-based paint free" has a technical meaning too: a certified inspector found no paint or surface coating at or above 1.0 milligram of lead per square centimeter or 0.5 percent by weight, which is the rule's definition of lead-based paint. Note that the regulation's lead-free exemption is written for leases. EPA's fact sheet lists lead-free housing generally, so if a seller wants to rely on it, treat that as a question for the seller's attorney, not a reason to skip the paperwork.

What sellers and landlords must do, and when

Everything has to happen before the buyer or tenant is obligated under the contract or lease. If the disclosure only happens after an offer is made, the seller or landlord must complete it before accepting the offer and give the buyer or tenant a chance to review the information and amend the offer (745.107).

1. Give the EPA pamphlet. The current edition is EPA's revised 2026 Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home. EPA says older editions do not have to be thrown out, but users of prior versions should provide the supplement.
2. Disclose what you know. That means any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards, with whatever details are available: the basis for the finding, where the paint or hazard is and the condition of the painted surfaces.
3. Hand over the records. Every available record or report about lead-based paint or hazards in the home. In a multifamily building that includes reports on common areas and on other units when they came from a building-wide evaluation.
4. Tell the agents too. The seller or landlord must disclose the same known information, and the existence of any records, to each agent in the transaction.
5. Attach the Lead Warning Statement and the signed certification. The attachment goes in the language of the contract, and the seller or landlord, the agents and the buyer or tenant each sign and date it (745.113).
6. Sales only: give the 10-day opportunity to test (745.110). More on that below.

What the rule does not require matters just as much. The regulation says nothing in it implies a positive obligation on the seller or landlord to test for lead or to remove it, and EPA's fact sheet repeats the point. A seller who has never tested simply says so on the form. EPA publishes sample seller and landlord disclosure forms, but using them is optional; the required content is what counts.

The buyer's 10-day testing opportunity

Before a buyer is obligated, the seller has to give the buyer 10 days to have a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment done (745.110). An inspection is a surface-by-surface check for lead-based paint. A risk assessment is an on-site investigation that reports the existence, nature, severity and location of lead-based paint hazards. The rule only requires the seller to allow the evaluation, not to arrange it.

The parties can change the period by mutual written agreement, and the buyer can waive the opportunity in writing. Either way, the buyer's acknowledgment on the attachment states whether they received the opportunity or waived it. How the opportunity is built into the contract, for example as a contingency with a right to cancel or renegotiate, is a contract drafting question; the federal rule only says the opportunity must be given before the buyer is obligated.

Tenants do not get a 10-day testing right. EPA's real estate page says renters can ask a landlord to have the unit inspected by a certified inspector before signing, but the federal rule does not require the landlord to agree. In New Jersey, though, a separate state law now makes many landlords inspect anyway, which is covered below.

Three worked scenarios

Your duties as the agent (745.115)

Under the rule, an agent is any party who contracts with a seller or landlord, or with their representative, to sell or lease target housing. That captures listing agents and leasing agents. The definition leaves out a buyer's representative who receives all of their compensation from the buyer. A buyer's agent paid any part of their compensation from the seller's side does not fit that carve-out, so check how you are being paid before assuming you have no role. That reading is ours, based on the definition's wording.

An agent who is covered has two jobs. First, tell the seller or landlord about their obligations under the rule. Second, make sure they comply, either by confirming that the seller or landlord did each step or by doing it personally. The agent signs the attachment stating that they informed the seller of the obligations and are aware of their duty to ensure compliance, and keeps a copy for at least 3 years, just like the seller or landlord.

There is one protection. An agent who informed the seller or landlord of their obligations is not liable for failing to disclose lead information that the seller or landlord knew about but did not share with the agent. That protection covers information you did not know. It does not cover information you knew and let slide.

Penalties, treble damages and records

The statute targets knowing violations. A person who knowingly violates it faces HUD civil money penalties (under 42 U.S.C. 3545 and 24 CFR part 30), and the HUD Secretary can go to court to stop violations. The person is also jointly and severally liable to the buyer or tenant for three times the damages they suffered, and a court may award the winning side court costs, reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees.

Failing to comply is also a prohibited act under the Toxic Substances Control Act, which EPA enforces, and 40 CFR 745.118 notes that TSCA allows both civil and criminal sanctions. The statute capped the TSCA civil penalty at $10,000 per violation, but federal civil penalties are adjusted for inflation. EPA's table at 40 CFR 19.4 sets the maximum for 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(5) at $22,263 per violation, for violations after November 2, 2015 where the penalty is assessed on or after January 8, 2025. As of late October 2026 that is still the newest column in the table; no 2026 adjustment has been added. HUD's own penalty amounts are set separately under 24 CFR part 30.

One point surprises people: a violation does not undo the deal. The statute says nothing in it affects the validity or enforceability of a sale, contract, lease or mortgage, and it does not create a defect in title. The remedies are penalties and damages, not rescission.

New Jersey's lead-safe certification law for rentals

New Jersey added its own rental inspection law on top of the federal disclosure rule. It is P.L. 2021, c.182, approved July 22, 2021, effective one year later on July 22, 2022, and codified at N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.16 et seq. P.L. 2024, c.74, signed September 12, 2024, amended it. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) administers it, with rules at N.J.A.C. 5:28A. The federal rule is about telling people what you know. The New Jersey law is about actually inspecting pre-1978 rentals for lead-based paint hazards.

• What is covered. Single-family, two-family and multiple rental dwellings, other than exempt units.
• Who inspects. The municipality arranges inspections through its permanent local agency, a DCA-certified lead evaluation contractor it hires, or a shared service agreement. Owners may also hire a certified lead evaluation contractor directly. Since the 2024 amendment, common areas in buildings with two or three units are inspected too.
• How. A visual assessment where fewer than 3 percent of tested children age 6 or under have blood lead at or above the reference value; dust wipe sampling where 3 percent or more do. An owner who hires a contractor directly may choose dust wipes even where visual is allowed.
• When. At tenant turnover or by the statutory deadline (see the dates callout below), whichever came first, and after that at the earlier of every three years or tenant turnover. A turnover inspection is not needed while the owner holds a valid lead-safe certification. Tenant turnover means all existing occupants move out and new tenants move in.
• What it produces. A unit that passes gets a lead-safe certification. If a hazard is found, the owner must fix it through abatement or lead-based paint hazard control and pass a follow-up inspection.
• Paper for tenants. At tenant turnover the owner gives the new tenant evidence of a valid lead-safe certification and attaches a copy to the lease as an exhibit, and keeps a record of it.
• Paper for buyers. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-3.1(e) has the owner give a prospective buyer of the rental a copy of the rules, any lead-safe certifications and DCA's guidance document Lead-Based Paint in Rental Dwellings.
• Money. Besides the inspection fee, the law adds a $20 per-unit fee for the state's Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund. Under section 4 of the 2021 law (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.19), which the 2024 amendment did not change, an owner who does not comply gets 30 days to cure, then faces a penalty of up to $1,000 per week until the inspection or remediation begins.

Exempt units under the statute, as amended: units certified free of lead-based paint; units built during or after 1978; units in a multiple-family building registered with DCA for at least 10 years, under the current or a previous owner, with no outstanding lead-based paint violations from its two most recent cyclical inspections under the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law; single-family or two-family seasonal rentals rented for less than six months each year to tenants without consecutive lease renewals; and units with a valid lead-safe certification.

New Jersey sales: the seller disclosure form and the federal form

For a sale, New Jersey has no separate state lead form. The federal disclosure rule does the work, and 40 CFR 745.119 says it does not replace any state or local disclosure duty. The state's Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Statement covers lead in three places: item 41 asks about lead piping, including any service line, piping materials, fixtures and solder; item 80 asks about lead and other hazardous substances in the soil; and item 82 asks whether the property has been tested for toxic substances such as lead-based paint. Our guide to the NJ seller disclosure statement walks through the whole form.

The two documents do different jobs. The state form does not replace the federal attachment, the pamphlet or the 10-day opportunity, and the federal attachment does not replace the state form. A seller of a 1965 house who answers item 82 "no" has still told you nothing about whether the federal steps were done. For the full picture of how state and federal disclosure rules stack, see the NJ disclosures study guide and the property disclosures study guide.

How lead paint shows up on the PSI exam

PSI's New Jersey bulletin does not name lead-based paint. It sits inside the national outline's Property Disclosures area (7 percent of the national portion), under "Environmental issues requiring disclosure" and "Federal, state, or local disclosure requirements regarding the property." Expect a scenario question, not a citation. These are the facts that decide most of them:

• 1978 is the line: housing built before 1978 is target housing.
• Duties are triggered before the buyer or tenant is obligated, not at closing.
• Pamphlet, known information, available records, warning statement, signed certifications.
• Buyers get 10 days to test; tenants do not. Buyers can waive it in writing or agree to a different period in writing.
• No duty to test or remove lead.
• Records: at least 3 years.
• Knowing violations: penalties and up to three times actual damages.
• Agents must inform the seller or landlord and ensure compliance.

When you are ready to test yourself across all the disclosure topics, take a full practice exam.