Lead Paint Disclosure Rules for Pre-1978 Homes

Before a buyer or renter of a home built before 1978 signs a contract, federal law requires the seller or landlord to hand over an EPA-approved lead hazard pamphlet, include a specific warning statement in the contract, and give purchasers up to 10 days to have the property checked by a certified inspector. These requirements come from 24 CFR 35.88 and 40 CFR 745.110/745.113.

Simple unlabelled house shape, generic key, blank lease-like folder, and a magnifying lens. — Illustrative record-reading guide for housing and tenancy coverage; it contains no factual claim or record data.

This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.

Key points

Sellers and landlords of pre-1978 housing must provide “an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet” before the buyer or renter is obligated under a contract (24 CFR 35.88).
Every purchase contract must notify the buyer that “such property may present exposure to lead from lead-based paint” (40 CFR 745.113).
Purchasers get “a 10-day period (unless the parties mutually agree, in writing, upon a different period of time)” to have a certified inspector or risk assessor check for lead before they are bound to the contract (40 CFR 745.110).
The disclosure regime covers “most pre-1978 private housing, public housing, federally owned housing, and housing receiving federal assistance” (EPA, Real Estate Disclosure).

What the pamphlet requirement says

24 CFR 35.88 requires that, before a purchaser or lessee is obligated under a contract to purchase or lease housing built before 1978, the seller or lessor give “an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet” (24 CFR 35.88). That requirement dates back to a 1996 rulemaking, later amended: “[61 FR 9082, Mar. 6, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 14382, Mar. 25, 1999]” (24 CFR 35.88).

Contract warning statement

Under 40 CFR 745.113, sale contracts for pre-1978 housing must include language notifying the purchaser that “[e]very purchaser of any interest in residential real property on which a residential dwelling was built prior to 1978 is notified that such property may present exposure to lead from lead-based paint” (40 CFR 745.113). This provision, too, has been updated over time: “[61 FR 9085, Mar. 6, 1996, as amended at 89 FR 89458, Nov. 12, 2024]” (40 CFR 745.113).

EPA’s own plain-language summary of these obligations for sellers and landlords states they must:

“Disclose known information about the presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards (or state there is none)” (EPA, Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home pamphlet)
“Include a specific warning statement about lead-based paint” (same source)
“Give buyers up to 10 days to have a certified inspector or risk assessor check for lead.” (same source)

The 10-day inspection period

40 CFR 745.110 sets the purchaser’s inspection window at “a 10-day period (unless the parties mutually agree, in writing, upon a different period of time)” during which the buyer may have the property inspected for lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before becoming obligated under the contract (40 CFR 745.110).

Which housing is covered

EPA describes the reach of the disclosure rule as covering “most pre-1978 private housing, public housing, federally owned housing, and housing receiving federal assistance” (EPA, Real Estate Disclosure). That EPA disclosure page states it was “Last updated on May 27, 2026” (EPA, Real Estate Disclosure).

What this article does not answer

This article covers the pamphlet, warning-statement, and inspection-timing obligations under 24 CFR 35.88 and 40 CFR 745.110/745.113. It does not answer:

Whether lead is actually present in any particular home — that depends on an inspection or risk assessment of the specific property.
Remediation duties, which are governed by a separate set of rules rather than by these disclosure provisions.
The EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule or its lead-safe work-practice requirements for contractors performing renovation work in pre-1978 housing, which is a distinct regulatory program.
The current dust-lead action levels or their specific effective date; the pamphlet’s cover references a date that could not be independently reconfirmed on the EPA reader-facing page during this review, so that figure is left out rather than restated.