The federal lead-based paint disclosure rule, in its own words

Two instruments, quoted end to end: 42 U.S.C. §4852d and the EPA rule that implements it, with the places they do not say the same thing marked. General information, not legal advice.

Published August 21, 2026

A listing comes in on a 1962 ranch. Somewhere between the photographs and the first showing, a form appears in the file with a warning paragraph on it and a row of signature lines, and the question that follows is always some version of the same one: does this property need it, when does it have to be signed, and what is the agent’s part in it.

Look for the rule and you land on 42 U.S.C. §4852d, which turns out not to impose the duties at all. Its operative paragraph is addressed to two agencies: it tells the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations, and then says what those regulations shall require. So the duties are in a regulation rather than in the section, and reading the section alone gets you half a rule. EPA’s regulation is at 40 C.F.R. part 745, subpart F, and it is the one quoted here.

So both are below: all eighteen units of the statute, and every section of the subpart bar its definitions list, from which five are quoted.

Two beliefs about this rule are worth testing against it early, because both change what an agent does. The first is that it makes somebody test the paint. §745.107(a) says the opposite in terms: nothing in that section implies a positive obligation on the seller or lessor to conduct any evaluation or reduction activities. What has to change hands is what is already known and already on file.

The second is that everyone gets ten days. The subparagraph creating that period says "the purchaser", where the two subparagraphs printed beside it say "the purchaser or lessee" — and the regulation is drafted the same way. Section 5 shows where that difference surfaces on the paperwork.

Quoting both texts end to end also makes a second kind of reading possible. The statute and the regulation do not say the same things, and the places they part company are drawn out below where they arise. The regulation adds a disclosure the statute does not mention, adds two words to the ten-day provision, supplies a waiver the statute has no version of, names a second source of penalty authority, and defines target housing in one sentence fewer. Each of those is a comparison between two passages quoted on this page rather than a characterisation of either.

None of that is the same as applying the rule. Whether a given 1962 ranch is target housing, whether a given lease renewal has already been covered, and what to do about a file where the disclosure went out late are questions this page does not answer. §4852d(a)(1) directs two agencies to promulgate; only EPA’s rule is quoted here. HUD’s is at 24 C.F.R. part 35, subpart A. State and local law is a third layer, and this page does not reach it.

1. What makes a property target housing

Everything on this page hangs on one defined term. The statute and the regulation both operate on "target housing", and a property either answers that description or the subpart does not apply to the transaction at all.

The definition is in 42 U.S.C. §4851b(27), and pre-1978 construction is only the first half of it. The term means any housing constructed prior to 1978, except — and here the sentence is quoted exactly as it reads — "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)".

That clause is elliptical in two places, and this page decides neither. Whether "housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities" is one exception with two beneficiary classes or two exceptions is a question of construction; so is how far back up the clause the closing parenthesis reaches. What the words do settle is the shape: the term starts wide, some descriptions are taken out of it, and a child under six brings housing back in — at minimum the 0-bedroom dwelling the parenthesis directly follows. This page counts the descriptions as three because that is how they are listed, and says so rather than presenting it as settled.

The regulation defines the same term at §745.103, and the two definitions are quoted below one after the other because they are not word for word the same. The statutory definition carries a second sentence about jurisdictions which banned the sale or use of lead-based paint prior to 1978, and the Secretary’s discretion to designate an earlier date for them. The regulation’s definition stops before it. That is a difference between two passages both quoted here, not a statement about which one governs.

Two of the carve-outs are themselves defined in §745.103 and are quoted below: "Housing for the elderly" is tied to retirement communities or similar housing reserved for households composed of one or more persons 62 years of age or more at the time of initial occupancy, and "0-bedroom dwelling" is a dwelling in which the living area is not separated from the sleeping area, a list that the definition says includes efficiencies, studio apartments, dormitory housing, military barracks, and rentals of individual rooms.

Then §745.101 sets the scope: the subpart applies to all transactions to sell or lease target housing, INCLUDING SUBLEASES, with four exceptions. Three of the four are about leases — a lease of housing found to be lead-based paint free by a certified inspector, a short-term lease of 100 days or less where no renewal or extension can occur, and a renewal where the lessor has already disclosed everything §745.107 requires and nothing new has come in. The remaining one is a sale at foreclosure. There is no exception in the list for a sale between family members, for a cash sale, or for a property being sold as is.

§745.100 states what the subpart is for, and §745.102 fixes the two dates on which its requirements took effect — both in 1996, so neither paragraph does any work in a transaction today.

What the statute says

  • “The term "target housing" means 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). In the case of jurisdictions which banned the sale or use of lead-based paint prior to 1978, the Secretary, at the Secretary's discretion, may designate an earlier date.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4851b(27), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “Target housing means 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).”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.103 — "Target housing", www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.103, read August 21, 2026

  • “Housing for the elderly means retirement communities or similar types of housing reserved for households composed of one or more persons 62 years of age or more at the time of initial occupancy.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.103 — "Housing for the elderly", www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.103, read August 21, 2026

  • “0-bedroom dwelling means any residential dwelling in which the living area is not separated from the sleeping area. The term includes efficiencies, studio apartments, dormitory housing, military barracks, and rentals of individual rooms in residential dwellings.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.103 — "0-bedroom dwelling", www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.103, read August 21, 2026

  • “This subpart implements the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 4852d, which impose certain requirements on the sale or lease of target housing. Under this subpart, a seller or lessor of target housing shall disclose to the purchaser or lessee the presence of any known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards; provide available records and reports; provide the purchaser or lessee with a lead hazard information pamphlet; give purchasers a 10-day opportunity to conduct a risk assessment or inspection; and attach specific disclosure and warning language to the sales or leasing contract before the purchaser or lessee is obligated under a contract to purchase or lease target housing.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.100, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.100, read August 21, 2026

  • “This subpart applies to all transactions to sell or lease target housing, including subleases, with the exception of the following:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.101, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.101, read August 21, 2026

  • “Sales of target housing at foreclosure.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.101(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.101, read August 21, 2026

  • “Leases of target housing that have been found to be lead-based paint free by an inspector certified under the Federal certification program or under a federally accredited State or tribal certification program. Until a Federal certification program or federally accredited State certification program is in place within the State, inspectors shall be considered qualified to conduct an inspection for this purpose if they have received certification under any existing State or tribal inspector certification program. The lessor has the option of using the results of additional test(s) by a certified inspector to confirm or refute a prior finding.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.101(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.101, read August 21, 2026

  • “Short-term leases of 100 days or less, where no lease renewal or extension can occur.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.101(c), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.101, read August 21, 2026

  • “Renewals of existing leases in target housing in which the lessor has previously disclosed all information required under § 745.107 and where no new information described in § 745.107 has come into the possession of the lessor. For the purposes of this paragraph, renewal shall include both renegotiation of existing lease terms and/or ratification of a new lease.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.101(d), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.101, read August 21, 2026

  • “The requirements in this subpart take effect in the following manner:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.102, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.102, read August 21, 2026

  • “For owners of more than four residential dwellings, the requirements shall take effect on September 6, 1996.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.102(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.102, read August 21, 2026

  • “For owners of one to four residential dwellings, the requirements shall take effect on December 6, 1996.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.102(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.102, read August 21, 2026

Worked example

Six questions the quoted definitions ask about a property

  1. Was the housing constructed prior to 1978? If not, §4851b(27) is not satisfied and the term does not reach it.
  2. Is it housing for the elderly, as §745.103 defines that phrase — reserved for households composed of one or more persons 62 years of age or more at the time of initial occupancy?
  3. Is it housing for persons with disabilities? That phrase is the second of the three descriptions §4851b(27) excepts, and §745.103 carries no definition of it that is quoted on this page.
  4. Is it a 0-bedroom dwelling, as §745.103 defines that phrase — living area not separated from sleeping area?
  5. If any of those descriptions is answered yes: does any child who is less than 6 years of age reside or is expected to reside there? That is the parenthesis in §4851b(27), whose reach back up the clause this page does not decide.
  6. Is the transaction one of the four in §745.101 — a sale at foreclosure, or one of the three lease situations? The four are quoted above in full.

The defined term, in three steps

  1. Constructed prior to 1978§4851b(27). The regulation’s definition at §745.103 opens the same way
  2. Minus three carve-outsHousing for the elderly, housing for persons with disabilities, or any 0-bedroom dwelling
  3. Unless a child under 6 resides or is expected to reside thereThe parenthesis closing the first sentence of §4851b(27), printed after the last of the three

And the four transactions §745.101 puts outside the subpart

  • §745.101(a)Sales of target housing at foreclosure
  • §745.101(b)Leases of housing found lead-based paint free by a certified inspector
  • §745.101(c)Short-term leases of 100 days or less, where no renewal or extension can occur
  • §745.101(d)Renewals where everything §745.107 requires was already disclosed and nothing new has arrived
The definition and the four exceptions are quoted in full above. Whether a given property or transaction answers any of these descriptions is a question about that property; this page quotes the words and does not apply them.

2. What has to happen before anyone is obligated

Paragraph (a)(1) of the statute is addressed to two agencies rather than to a seller. It directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations, and then says what those regulations shall require. That drafting is why this page quotes a regulation alongside a statute: the sentences that a transaction actually meets are in the rule, and the statute is the instruction that produced it.

The timing anchor is the same in both texts and it is not the closing. The requirements attach BEFORE the purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract to purchase or lease the housing. §745.107(a) repeats the phrase and adds the exemption cross-reference: the activities have to be completed before that moment, in a transaction that is not otherwise exempt under §745.101.

The statute lists three things: a lead hazard information pamphlet, prescribed by the Administrator under section 406 of the Toxic Substances Control Act; disclosure of the presence of any known lead-based paint or known lead-based paint hazards, together with any lead hazard evaluation report available to the seller or lessor; and the ten-day period, which has its own section below.

The regulation turns those into four numbered activities, and the third of them is where it goes past the statute. §745.107(a)(3) requires the seller or lessor to disclose the same things TO EACH AGENT, along with the existence of any available records or reports. Nothing corresponding to that appears in the eighteen units of §4852d quoted on this page. The statute names the recipient as the purchaser or lessee in the chapeau of (a)(1) and in subparagraphs (A) and (B), and an agent appears in one paragraph only — (a)(4), which is about ensuring compliance rather than receiving a disclosure.

The chapeau of §745.107(a) also carries the sentence that settles the question this rule is most often confused about: nothing in the section implies a positive obligation on the seller or lessor to conduct any evaluation or reduction activities. What has to be handed over is what is known and what is available — and "Available" is itself defined, at §745.103, as in the possession of or reasonably obtainable by the seller or lessor at the time of the disclosure.

Finally §745.107(b) covers the case where the sequence slips. If any of the disclosure activities happens after the purchaser or lessee has provided an offer, the seller or lessor completes them before accepting that offer and allows the purchaser or lessee an opportunity to review the information and possibly amend the offer.

What the statute says

  • “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-”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(1), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “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];”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(1)(A), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “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”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(1)(B), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “The following activities shall be completed before the purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract to purchase or lease target housing that is not otherwise an exempt transaction pursuant to § 745.101. Nothing in this section implies a positive obligation on the seller or lessor to conduct any evaluation or reduction activities.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.107(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026

  • “The seller or lessor shall provide the purchaser or lessee with an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet. Such pamphlets include the EPA document entitled Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home (EPA #747-K-94-001) or an equivalent pamphlet that has been approved for use in that State by EPA.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.107(a)(1), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026

  • “The seller or lessor shall disclose to the purchaser or lessee the presence of any known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the target housing being sold or leased. The seller or lessor shall also disclose any additional information available concerning the known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, such as the basis for the determination that lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards exist, the location of the lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, and the condition of the painted surfaces.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.107(a)(2), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026

  • “The seller or lessor shall disclose to each agent the presence of any known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the target housing being sold or leased and the existence of any available records or reports pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards. The seller or lessor shall also disclose any additional information available concerning the known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, such as the basis for the determination that lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards exist, the location of the lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, and the condition of the painted surfaces.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.107(a)(3), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026

  • “The seller or lessor shall provide the purchaser or lessee with any records or reports available to the seller or lessor pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the target housing being sold or leased. This requirement includes records or reports regarding common areas. This requirement also includes records or reports regarding other residential dwellings in multifamily target housing, provided that such information is part of an evaluation or reduction of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the target housing as a whole.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.107(a)(4), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026

  • “If any of the disclosure activities identified in paragraph (a) of this section occurs after the purchaser or lessee has provided an offer to purchase or lease the housing, the seller or lessor shall complete the required disclosure activities prior to accepting the purchaser's or lessee's offer and allow the purchaser or lessee an opportunity to review the information and possibly amend the offer.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.107(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026

  • “Available means in the possession of or reasonably obtainable by the seller or lessor at the time of the disclosure.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.103 — "Available", www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.103, read August 21, 2026

Completed before the purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract

  • §745.107(a)(1)Provide an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet
  • §745.107(a)(2)Disclose known lead-based paint or hazards to the purchaser or lessee
  • §745.107(a)(3)Disclose the same to each agent, with the existence of records or reports
  • §745.107(a)(4)Provide any available records or reports to the purchaser or lessee
  • §4852d(a)(1)(C)Permit a purchaser a 10-day period — see the next section

§745.107(a) also says that nothing in the section implies a positive obligation on the seller or lessor to conduct any evaluation or reduction activities, and §745.107(b) covers the case where one of these happens after an offer has already been made.

The four numbered activities are §745.107(a)(1)–(4); the fifth row is the statutory subparagraph the regulation carries at §745.110, and it is quoted in the next section rather than this one. All five are quoted on this page. The deadline they share is the moment of obligation, which is not the closing.

3. The ten-day period, and who actually gets it

Subparagraph (a)(1)(C) is three lines long and it is the part of this rule most often described inaccurately. It requires that the seller or lessor 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.

Read it beside the two subparagraphs above it, which are quoted in the previous section. The chapeau of (a)(1) speaks of the purchaser or lessee, and so do subparagraphs (A) and (B). Subparagraph (C) says "the purchaser", and the word lessee does not appear in it. The regulation is drafted the same way: §745.110(a) opens "Before a purchaser is obligated under any contract to purchase target housing".

What the subparagraph creates is an opportunity, and it is worth being precise about how little else it says. It requires that the purchaser be PERMITTED a period to conduct a risk assessment or inspection. Nothing in §4852d says who pays for one, what happens if something is found, or that any contract may be cancelled as a result — and the word "contingency" does not appear anywhere in the eighteen units of the statute quoted on this page, nor in either paragraph of §745.110.

The regulation restates the period and adds two words to it. The statute allows the parties to "mutually agree upon a different period of time"; §745.110(a) reads "mutually agree, in writing, upon a different period of time". Then §745.110(b) supplies something the statute has no version of at all: a purchaser may waive the opportunity by so indicating in writing. No form of the word waive occurs anywhere in §4852d.

Neither provision says whether its days are calendar days or business days. Both are quoted here in full, both express the period as "a 10-day period", and neither defines the unit in either direction. Nothing on this page supplies the answer either.

One more echo of the period lives on the contract side. §4852d(a)(2)(C) requires the purchaser to state that they HAD a 10-day opportunity, in the past tense and with the same parenthesis, before becoming obligated under the contract. The next section is about the document that statement goes on.

What the statute says

  • “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.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(1)(C), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “Before a purchaser is obligated under any contract to purchase target housing, the seller shall permit the purchaser a 10-day period (unless the parties mutually agree, in writing, upon a different period of time) to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.110(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.110, read August 21, 2026

  • “Not withstanding paragraph (a) of this section, a purchaser may waive the opportunity to conduct the risk assessment or inspection by so indicating in writing.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.110(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.110, read August 21, 2026

  • “had a 10-day opportunity (unless the parties mutually agreed upon a different period of time) before becoming obligated under the contract to purchase the housing to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based paint hazards.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(2)(C), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

Who the ten-day period is written for

  • Purchaser§4852d(a)(1)(C) requires the seller or lessor to permit the purchaser a 10-day period to conduct a risk assessment or inspection. §745.110(a) opens “Before a purchaser is obligated”.
  • LesseeNamed alongside the purchaser in the chapeau of §4852d(a)(1) and in subparagraphs (A) and (B), and not named in (C). Neither that subparagraph nor §745.110 gives a lessee a period.

Two places the regulation does not match the statute word for word

  • Agreeing a different period42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(1)(C)“unless the parties mutually agree upon a different period of time”40 C.F.R. §745.110(a)“unless the parties mutually agree, in writing, upon a different period of time”
  • Waiving the opportunity42 U.S.C. §4852dNo form of the word “waive” occurs in the eighteen units of §4852d quoted on this page40 C.F.R. §745.110(b)A purchaser may waive the opportunity by so indicating in writing
Each row below names a difference, gives the statute’s words, then the regulation’s, and does not say which governs. The Lessee card above is the one entry that is not a provision: it records that a subparagraph does not name someone.

4. What the sale contract has to carry

Paragraph (a)(2) of the statute says that every contract for the purchase and sale of any interest in target housing shall contain a Lead Warning Statement and a statement signed by the purchaser covering three things: that they read the Lead Warning Statement and understand its contents, that they received a lead hazard information pamphlet, and that they had the ten-day opportunity.

Paragraph (a)(3) then sets out the Lead Warning Statement itself, word for word, and says how it is to be presented — printed in large type on a separate sheet of paper attached to the contract. It is quoted below in full. The regulation carries its own copy of that language at §745.113(a)(1), and that is quoted below too, so the two can be read against each other rather than taken on anyone’s word.

§745.113(a) is the operative list, and it is the paragraph that becomes the form. Each contract to sell target housing includes an attachment containing seven elements, in the language of the contract: the Lead Warning Statement; the seller’s disclosure of known lead-based paint or hazards OR an indication of no knowledge; a list of any available records or reports provided, or an indication that there are none; the purchaser’s affirmation of receipt; the purchaser’s statement that they either received or waived the opportunity to conduct the risk assessment or inspection; a statement about the agent, when one or more agents are involved; and the signatures.

Two of those seven repay a slower read. Element (5) is drafted as a choice — received the opportunity, or waived it — which is the contract-side counterpart of §745.110(b). And element (6) is conditional: it applies when one or more agents are involved in the transaction to sell target housing on behalf of the seller, and it asks for two statements, that the agent has informed the seller of the seller’s obligations under 42 U.S.C. 4852d, and that the agent is aware of his or her duty to ensure compliance with the requirements of the subpart.

Element (7) is the one that puts the agent’s own name on the paper. The signatures called for are those of the sellers, agents, and purchasers, along with the dates of signature, and the paragraph is quoted in full below.

What the statute says

  • “Regulations promulgated under this section shall provide that every contract for the purchase and sale of any interest in target housing shall contain a Lead Warning Statement and a statement signed by the purchaser that the purchaser has-”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(2), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “read the Lead Warning Statement and understands its contents;”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(2)(A), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “received a lead hazard information pamphlet; and”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(2)(B), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “The Lead Warning Statement shall contain the following text printed in large type on a separate sheet of paper attached to the contract:”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(3), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “"Every 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 that may place young children at risk of developing lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in young children may produce permanent neurological damage, including learning disabilities, reduced intelligence quotient, behavioral problems, and impaired memory. Lead poisoning also poses a particular risk to pregnant women. The seller of any interest in residential real property is required to provide the buyer with any information on lead-based paint hazards from risk assessments or inspections in the seller's possession and notify the buyer of any known lead-based paint hazards. A risk assessment or inspection for possible lead-based paint hazards is recommended prior to purchase.".”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(3), quoted text, uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “Seller requirements. Each contract to sell target housing shall include an attachment containing the following elements, in the language of the contract (e.g., English, Spanish):”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A Lead Warning Statement consisting of the following language:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(1), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “Every 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 that may place young children at risk of developing lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in young children may produce permanent neurological damage, including learning disabilities, reduced intelligence quotient, behavioral problems, and impaired memory. Lead poisoning also poses a particular risk to pregnant women. The seller of any interest in residential real property is required to provide the buyer with any information on lead-based paint hazards from risk assessments or inspections in the seller's possession and notify the buyer of any known lead-based paint hazards. A risk assessment or inspection for possible lead-based paint hazards is recommended prior to purchase.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(1), quoted language, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A statement by the seller disclosing the presence of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the target housing being sold or indicating no knowledge of the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards. The seller shall also provide any additional information available concerning the known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, such as the basis for the determination that lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards exist, the location of the lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, and the condition of the painted surfaces.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(2), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A list of any records or reports available to the seller pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing that have been provided to the purchaser. If no such records or reports are available, the seller shall so indicate.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(3), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A statement by the purchaser affirming receipt of the information set out in paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section and the lead hazard information pamphlet required under 15 U.S.C. 2686.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(4), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A statement by the purchaser that he/she has either:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(5), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “Received the opportunity to conduct the risk assessment or inspection required by § 745.110(a); or”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(5)(i), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “Waived the opportunity.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(5)(ii), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “When one or more agents are involved in the transaction to sell target housing on behalf of the seller, a statement that:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(6), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “The agent has informed the seller of the seller's obligations under 42 U.S.C. 4852d; and”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(6)(i), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “The agent is aware of his/her duty to ensure compliance with the requirements of this subpart.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(6)(ii), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “The signatures of the sellers, agents, and purchasers certifying to the accuracy of their statements to the best of their knowledge, along with the dates of signature.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(a)(7), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

What §745.113(a) attaches to a contract to sell target housing

  1. (1)A Lead Warning Statement, in the language the paragraph sets out
  2. (2)The seller’s disclosure of known lead-based paint or hazards, or an indication of no knowledge
  3. (3)A list of available records and reports provided, or an indication that there are none
  4. (4)The purchaser’s affirmation of receipt, including the pamphlet required under 15 U.S.C. 2686
  5. (5)The purchaser’s statement that the opportunity under §745.110(a) was received, or waived
  6. (6)When one or more agents are involved: two statements about the agent
  7. (7)The signatures of the sellers, agents, and purchasers, with the dates of signature
The seven elements of §745.113(a), each quoted in full above. Element (6) applies only when one or more agents are involved in the transaction on behalf of the seller; the other six carry no such condition.

5. A lease is not a sale, and the regulation says so twice

The lease side of §745.113 is a separate paragraph with its own list, and reading (a) and (b) next to each other is the fastest way to see what the rule treats differently. Paragraph (b) requires six elements rather than seven, and they may sit in the contract itself rather than only in an attachment.

The first difference is the warning itself. The Lead Warning Statement for a lease is not the sale text with the nouns changed — it is a different, shorter passage, and both are quoted on this page, in this section and the one above it. Anyone who has ever pulled the wrong one out of a forms library can see the divergence directly.

The second difference is the one that follows from the ten-day section: there is no element in the lease list corresponding to element (5) of the sale list. All six paragraphs of (b) are quoted below, and none of them asks the lessee to state that they received or waived an opportunity to conduct a risk assessment or inspection. Read that beside §4852d(a)(1)(C) and §745.110(a), quoted in section 3, which name a purchaser and not a lessee. The two observations sit next to each other on this page; why the paragraph was drafted that way is not something either text says.

What does carry across is the rest of the shape: a disclosure of known lead-based paint or hazards or an indication of no knowledge, a list of available records and reports or an indication that there are none, the lessee’s affirmation of receipt including the pamphlet required under 15 U.S.C. 2686, the conditional agent statement, and the signatures of lessors, agents and lessees.

One drafting note, because a reader comparing the two lists will hit it. On the eCFR text of title 40 as it stood on the date beside each quote, §745.113(b)(5)(i) reads "the agent has informed the lessor of the lessor as obligations under 42 U.S.C. 4852d", where the parallel sale provision at §745.113(a)(6)(i) reads "the seller’s obligations". Both are quoted here as the page prints them.

The exceptions in §745.101 land hardest here as well: three of the four are lease situations. They are quoted in full in section 1 and are not reproduced again.

What the regulation says

  • “Lessor requirements. Each contract to lease target housing shall include, as an attachment or within the contract, the following elements, in the language of the contract (e.g., English, Spanish):”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A Lead Warning Statement with the following language:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(1), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “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.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(1), quoted language, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A statement by the lessor disclosing the presence of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the target housing being leased or indicating no knowledge of the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards. The lessor shall also disclose any additional information available concerning the known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, such as the basis for the determination that lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards exist, the location of the lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, and the condition of the painted surfaces.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(2), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A list of any records or reports available to the lessor pertaining to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing that have been provided to the lessee. If no such records or reports are available, the lessor shall so indicate.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(3), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “A statement by the lessee affirming receipt of the information set out in paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) of this section and the lead hazard information pamphlet required under 15 U.S.C. 2686.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(4), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “When one or more agents are involved in the transaction to lease target housing on behalf of the lessor, a statement that:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(5), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “The agent has informed the lessor of the lessor as obligations under 42 U.S.C. 4852d; and”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(5)(i), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “The agent is aware of his/her duty to ensure compliance with the requirements of this subpart.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(5)(ii), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “The signatures of the lessors, agents, and lessees, certifying to the accuracy of their statements, to the best of their knowledge, along with the dates of signature.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(b)(6), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

§745.113(b) — a contract to lease

  1. (1)Lead Warning Statement — a different, shorter text than the sale version
  2. (2)Lessor’s disclosure, or no knowledge
  3. (3)List of records and reports, or none
  4. (4)Lessee’s affirmation of receipt
  5. (5)Agent statement, when an agent is involved
  6. (6)Signatures of lessors, agents, lessees

How the seven line up against the six

  • (a)(1) → (b)(1)Both carry a Lead Warning Statement, and the two passages differ
  • (a)(2)–(4) → (b)(2)–(4)Disclosure, records, and the recipient’s affirmation, renamed for a lease
  • (a)(5) → nothingNo lease element answers to the received-or-waived opportunity
  • (a)(6)–(7) → (b)(5)–(6)The agent statement and the signatures, one number earlier
Both lists are quoted in full above, including both Lead Warning Statements. The sale list is set out in the figure in section 4; this one is the lease list and how its six elements line up against those seven. Read the missing row beside §4852d(a)(1)(C) and §745.110(a), which name a purchaser and not a lessee.

6. The agent’s own duty, and the shelter attached to it

The statute reaches an agent in one paragraph only. Paragraph (a)(4) says that whenever a seller or lessor has entered into a contract with an agent for the purpose of selling or leasing a unit of target housing, the regulations shall require the agent, ON BEHALF OF THE SELLER OR LESSOR, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the section. The duty is created by the regulations and it is discharged for somebody else’s obligation.

Who is an agent for this purpose is a defined term, and the definition has a carve-out at the end that decides a great many transactions. §745.103 defines "Agent" as any party who enters into a contract with a seller or lessor, including any party who enters into a contract with a representative of the seller or lessor, for the purpose of selling or leasing target housing — and then: "This term does not apply to purchasers or any purchaser’s representative who receives all compensation from the purchaser." The definition turns on who the contract is with and where all of the compensation comes from.

§745.115(a) is the duty itself, and it is written as two steps and then an alternative. Each agent shall ensure compliance with all requirements of the subpart. To ensure compliance, the agent shall inform the seller or lessor of their obligations under §§745.107, 745.110 and 745.113; and shall ensure that the seller or lessor has performed all activities required under those three sections, or personally ensure compliance with them.

Then §745.115(b) attaches a shelter, and it is conditional on the first of those two steps rather than on both. If the agent has complied with paragraph (a)(1) — the informing step — the agent shall not be liable for the failure to disclose to a purchaser or lessee the presence of lead-based paint or hazards known by a seller or lessor but not disclosed to the agent. The shelter is about what the seller kept back, and it is quoted in full below.

A second, narrower shelter sits at the end of §745.113. The seller, lessor or agent is not responsible for the failure of a purchaser’s or lessee’s legal representative — where that representative receives all compensation from the purchaser or lessee — to transmit disclosure materials, provided that all required parties have completed and signed the necessary certification and acknowledgment language.

What the statute says

  • “Whenever a seller or lessor has entered into a contract with an agent for the purpose of selling or leasing a unit of target housing, the regulations promulgated under this section shall require the agent, on behalf of the seller or lessor, to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(4), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “Agent means any party who enters into a contract with a seller or lessor, including any party who enters into a contract with a representative of the seller or lessor, for the purpose of selling or leasing target housing. This term does not apply to purchasers or any purchaser's representative who receives all compensation from the purchaser.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.103 — "Agent", www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.103, read August 21, 2026

  • “Each agent shall ensure compliance with all requirements of this subpart. To ensure compliance, the agent shall:”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.115(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.115, read August 21, 2026

  • “Inform the seller or lessor of his/her obligations under §§ 745.107, 745.110, and 745.113.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.115(a)(1), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.115, read August 21, 2026

  • “Ensure that the seller or lessor has performed all activities required under §§ 745.107, 745.110, and 745.113, or personally ensure compliance with the requirements of §§ 745.107, 745.110, and 745.113.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.115(a)(2), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.115, read August 21, 2026

  • “If the agent has complied with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the agent shall not be liable for the failure to disclose to a purchaser or lessee the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards known by a seller or lessor but not disclosed to the agent.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.115(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.115, read August 21, 2026

  • “The seller, lessor, or agent shall not be responsible for the failure of a purchaser's or lessee's legal representative (where such representative receives all compensation from the purchaser or lessee) to transmit disclosure materials to the purchaser or lessee, provided that all required parties have completed and signed the necessary certification and acknowledgment language required under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(d), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

Who is an agent, under §745.103

  • Within the termAny party who enters into a contract with a seller or lessor — or with a representative of one — for the purpose of selling or leasing target housing.
  • Outside itPurchasers, and any purchaser’s representative who receives all compensation from the purchaser. The definition’s closing sentence says so in terms.

What §745.115(a) asks of an agent

  1. (a)(1)Inform the seller or lessor of their obligations under §§745.107, 745.110 and 745.113
  2. (a)(2)Ensure the seller or lessor has performed those activities — or personally ensure compliance

§745.115(b): an agent who has complied with paragraph (a)(1) is not liable for the failure to disclose lead-based paint or hazards known by a seller or lessor but not disclosed to the agent.

All four provisions are quoted in full above. The shelter in §745.115(b) is conditional on paragraph (a)(1) alone, and it is about what a seller or lessor kept back from the agent.

7. Three years of records, and what follows a knowing failure

The retention rule is in §745.113(c) and it names the agent alongside the principal. The seller, AND ANY AGENT, retain a copy of the completed attachment for no less than 3 years from the completion date of the sale; the lessor, and any agent, retain a copy of the attachment or the lease contract for no less than 3 years from the commencement of the leasing period. A second paragraph says the recordkeeping requirement is not intended to place any limitations on civil suits under the Act or to otherwise affect a lessee’s or purchaser’s rights under the civil penalty provisions of 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3) — the treble-damages paragraph, named in the regulation by pinpoint.

Subsection (b) of the statute is the consequences subsection, and the word that governs its first and third paragraphs is "knowingly". Paragraph (b)(1) makes a person who knowingly violates any provision of the section subject to civil money penalties in accordance with 42 U.S.C. §3545. Paragraph (b)(2) authorises the Secretary to enjoin a violation.

Paragraph (b)(3) is the one that gets quoted in isolation everywhere else, and reading it whole matters. A person who knowingly violates the provisions of the section is jointly and severally liable to the purchaser or lessee in an amount equal to 3 times the amount of DAMAGES INCURRED by that individual. The multiplier is applied to damages incurred, not to a price, a deposit or a commission — none of which the paragraph mentions. Paragraph (b)(4) then lets the court award court costs, reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees to the party who brought the (b)(3) action, if that party prevails. The words are "the party commencing such action", so the award runs one way: nothing in the paragraph speaks to a defendant who prevails.

Paragraph (b)(5) routes the same conduct into a second statute: failing or refusing to comply is a prohibited act under section 409 of the Toxic Substances Control Act, and for purposes of enforcing this section under that Act, the paragraph caps the penalty for each violation applicable under its section 16 at a figure it states.

§745.118 restates all of that for the subpart, and three of its paragraphs are worth stopping on. Paragraph (a) routes civil monetary penalties to 42 U.S.C. §3545 AND to 24 CFR part 30, where §4852d(b)(1), quoted below, names only section 3545 — one more place the two texts part company, and the second citation is named here and quoted nowhere. Paragraph (e) is the one that matters most to anyone reading this as an agent: it lists the sections whose breach is a violation of §4852d(b)(5) and of TSCA section 409, and §745.115 — agent responsibilities, the duty set out in the section above — is one of the four it names. The duty in §745.115 and the consequences in §4852d(b) are not two separate topics; (e) is the sentence that joins them.

Then paragraph (f) prints a different and higher figure, for violations occurring after July 28, 1997 — and then says, in the same paragraph, that the civil monetary penalty amounts listed in the section may not reflect recent inflation adjustments EPA is required to make, and that the current maximum and minimum statutory civil penalty amounts are located in 40 C.F.R. §19.4. Because the regulation says on its own face that its figures may be out of date, no penalty amount is written into the explanatory text on this page. The two quoted provisions below print their own; the section that carries the adjusted amounts is named and is not quoted here.

What the statute says

  • “Retention of Certification and Acknowledgment Information. (1) The seller, and any agent, shall retain a copy of the completed attachment required under paragraph (a) of this section for no less than 3 years from the completion date of the sale. The lessor, and any agent, shall retain a copy of the completed attachment or lease contract containing the information required under paragraph (b) of this section for no less than 3 years from the commencement of the leasing period.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(c), including (c)(1), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “This recordkeeping requirement is not intended to place any limitations on civil suits under the Act, or to otherwise affect a lessee's or purchaser's rights under the civil penalty provisions of 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3).”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.113(c)(2), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026

  • “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.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(b)(1), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “The Secretary is authorized to take such lawful action as may be necessary to enjoin any violation of this section.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(b)(2), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “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.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(b)(3), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “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.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(b)(4), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “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.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(b)(5), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “Any person who knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this subpart shall be subject to civil monetary penalties in accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 3545 and 24 CFR part 30.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.118(a), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026

  • “The Secretary is authorized to take such action as may be necessary to enjoin any violation of this subpart in the appropriate Federal district court.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.118(b), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026

  • “Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of this subpart 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.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.118(c), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026

  • “In any civil action brought for damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(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.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.118(d), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026

  • “Failure or refusal to comply with § 745.107 (disclosure requirements for sellers and lessors), § 745.110 (opportunity to conduct an evaluation), § 745.113 (certification and acknowledgment of disclosure), or § 745.115 (agent responsibilities) is a violation of 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(5) and of TSCA section 409 (15 U.S.C. 2689).”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.118(e), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026

  • “Violators may be subject to civil and criminal sanctions pursuant to TSCA section 16 (15 U.S.C. 2615) for each violation. For purposes of enforcing this subpart, the penalty for each violation applicable under 15 U.S.C. 2615 shall not be more than $11,000 for all violations occuring after July 28, 1997; all violations occuring on or prior to that date are subject to a penalty not more than $10,000. The civil monetary penalty amounts listed in this section may not reflect recent inflation adjustments EPA is required to make. The current maximum and minimum statutory civil penalty amounts are located in § 19.4.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.118(f), www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026

What attaches to a knowing failure, and what has to be kept

  • §4852d(b)(1)Civil money penalties for a knowing violation, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. §3545
  • §4852d(b)(2)Authority in the Secretary to enjoin a violation
  • §4852d(b)(3)Joint and several liability to the purchaser or lessee, at 3 times the damages incurred
  • §4852d(b)(4)Court costs, reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees, to the party who brought the action, if that party prevails
  • §4852d(b)(5)A prohibited act under section 409 of the Toxic Substances Control Act, with a cap on the penalty per violation
  • §745.118(e)Failure to comply with §745.107, §745.110, §745.113 or §745.115 — the agent’s own section — is a violation of §4852d(b)(5) and of TSCA section 409
  • §745.113(c)A copy of the completed attachment retained for no less than 3 years — by the agent as well as the principal
Each row is one provision quoted in full above, and §745.118 restates the first five. No penalty amount is printed here: §4852d(b)(5) and §745.118(f) give different figures, and §745.118(f) says its own listed amounts may not reflect inflation adjustments and points to 40 C.F.R. §19.4 — which this page names and does not quote.

8. What the section says it does not do

Subsection (c) of the statute is one sentence and it is the most easily misremembered thing in it. Nothing in the section affects the validity or enforceability of any sale or contract for the purchase and sale or lease of any interest in residential real property, or any loan, loan agreement, mortgage or lien made or arising in connection with a mortgage loan, nor does anything in the section create a defect in title.

Set that beside subsection (b), quoted in the section above. The two are not in tension: (b) attaches penalties and a treble-damages liability to a knowing violation, and (c) says the section does not reach into the contract or the title to do it. What a failure produces under some other body of law is a different question, and this page does not answer it.

The other thing the subpart says about its own limits is §745.119, which is the reason a nationwide page has to stop where it does. Nothing in the subpart relieves a seller, lessor or agent from any responsibility for compliance with State or local laws, ordinances, codes or regulations governing notice or disclosure of known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards — and neither HUD nor EPA assumes any responsibility for ensuring compliance with them. States and cities legislate in this area, they legislate differently, and this federal floor is not the whole of what applies to any particular property.

Because all eighteen units of §4852d are quoted on this page, a few things can be said about what is not in it, each of which is a search over a document reproduced in full rather than a summary of one. The statute never uses the word "contingency". It never mentions earnest money, escrow, a commission or a broker. It never names a form or a form number — it requires a Lead Warning Statement and a signed statement, and the pamphlet reaches it only as a cross-reference to section 406 of the Toxic Substances Control Act, with the pamphlet’s actual title appearing in the regulation at §745.107(a)(1) rather than in the statute. And it contains no form of the word "waive".

The two provisions at the edges of the section are quoted below to complete it. Paragraph (a)(5) gives a right to sue the Secretary and the Administrator under section 20 of the Toxic Substances Control Act to compel promulgation of the regulations, and subsection (d) sets when the regulations take effect: 3 years after October 28, 1992.

One thing this list is not. A phrase being absent from §4852d is a fact about §4852d, and it is not a statement that the thing the phrase names has no place in a transaction, no home in the EPA regulation, no home in the regulation HUD promulgated under the same section, at 24 C.F.R. part 35, subpart A — named here and quoted nowhere — and no home in the law of the state where the property sits. A statement that is true of the statute alone is not automatically true once anything else is read alongside it.

What the statute says

  • “Nothing in this section shall affect the validity or enforceability of any sale or contract for the purchase and sale or lease of any interest in residential real property or any loan, loan agreement, mortgage, or lien made or arising in connection with a mortgage loan, nor shall anything in this section create a defect in title.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(c), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “Nothing in this subpart shall relieve a seller, lessor, or agent from any responsibility for compliance with State or local laws, ordinances, codes, or regulations governing notice or disclosure of known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. Neither HUD nor EPA assumes any responsibility for ensuring compliance with such State or local requirements.”

    — 40 C.F.R. §745.119, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.119, read August 21, 2026

  • “A suit may be brought against the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 20 of the Toxic Substances Control Act [15 U.S.C. 2619] to compel promulgation of the regulations required under this section and the Federal district court shall have jurisdiction to order such promulgation.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(a)(5), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

  • “The regulations under this section shall take effect 3 years after October 28, 1992.”

    — 42 U.S.C. §4852d(d), uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026

Words §4852d never uses

  • Contingency
  • Earnest money
  • Escrow
  • Commission
  • Broker

What §4852d does not address

  • Name a form, or a form number, for the disclosure
  • Say who pays for a risk assessment or inspection
  • Say what follows if lead-based paint is found
  • Say whether its 10 days are calendar days or business days
Every row is checkable against the eighteen units of §4852d quoted above. An absence from the statute is not a statement that the thing has no place in a transaction, no home in the EPA regulation, no home in HUD’s regulation at 24 C.F.R. part 35, subpart A — named on this page and quoted nowhere on it — and no home in the law of the state where the property sits.

Two publishers, two kinds of date, and what is quoted

The two sources are dated differently on purpose. The statute comes from the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, which serves a continuously updated text of the United States Code carrying no edition year — so the date beside a statutory quote is the day it was read, and nothing more. The regulation comes from eCFR, which states an "as of" date for each title, and that date is printed in every regulation source line below. A reader who finds different words on the live page can therefore tell which of the two happened: the regulation moved, or this page misquoted it.

All eighteen designated units of 42 U.S.C. §4852d are quoted above — three lettered subparagraphs under each of (a)(1) and (a)(2), the paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5), the five paragraphs of subsection (b), and subsections (c) and (d) — plus the definition of target housing at §4851b(27). They render as nineteen quotations rather than eighteen, because paragraph (a)(3) is printed as two blocks and the Lead Warning Statement inside it is quoted as its own. Every section of 40 C.F.R. part 745, subpart F is quoted in full except §745.103, which is a list of definitions; five of those are quoted, and the rest of that list is not on this page.

The lines from either source not reproduced in a quotation are the headings the publishers print above the text they head — subsection catchlines in the Code, section headings in the regulation — and the source and amendment notes eCFR prints in brackets at the foot of a section.

What is not on this page

A good many authorities are named on this page and quoted nowhere on it. Four are worth pointing at, because a reader is most likely to want them. §4852d(a)(1) directs two agencies; only EPA’s rule is reproduced here, and HUD’s is at 24 C.F.R. part 35, subpart A. §745.118(f) points to 40 C.F.R. §19.4. The lead hazard information pamphlet is identified in §745.107(a)(1) by title and number. And subpart E of 40 C.F.R. part 745 is named so that nobody reads "every section of subpart F" as "the whole of part 745". Nothing is said here about what any of them provides, how it compares, or whether it would answer a question this page leaves open.

State and local law is not here either. §745.119, quoted above, leaves it entirely in place; fifty states and a great many municipalities is not a paragraph.

And one question this page raises without answering. Every duty above attaches before the purchaser or lessee is OBLIGATED under a contract, and that word carries the whole of the timing. What makes a particular person obligated under a particular contract is decided by neither text quoted here.

Finally, what this page is not. It is general information about what two federal texts say, and it is not legal advice. Real Deal Pro, Inc. sells software; it is not a real estate brokerage, it is not the seller’s agent or the buyer’s, and it has never seen the property. The people who can say whether a disclosure was adequate on a given file are the broker supervising it and a lawyer admitted where the property sits.

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Wrapping up

The trigger is target housing: constructed prior to 1978, minus the descriptions §4851b(27) excepts — housing for the elderly, housing for persons with disabilities, 0-bedroom dwellings — followed by a parenthesis about a child under six, whose reach back up that clause section 1 leaves open. Four transactions are outside the subpart entirely under §745.101, and three of the four are leases.

The duties attach before the purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract, not before closing. They are to hand over the pamphlet, to disclose what is known and hand over what is available, and — for a purchaser only — to permit a ten-day period for a risk assessment or inspection. None of that requires anyone to test for lead or to remove it; §745.107(a) says so in terms.

The paperwork is §745.113: seven elements attached to a sale contract, six for a lease with a different warning passage and no ten-day element, the agent’s own statement among them when an agent is involved, everyone’s signature on it, and a copy kept by the agent as well as the principal for no less than three years. The agent’s duty is at §4852d(a)(4) and §745.115, and §745.115(b) shelters an agent who informed the seller from what the seller kept back.

Two last things pull in opposite directions, and holding both is the whole of it. Subsection (c) says in a single sentence that nothing in the section affects the validity or enforceability of the sale, the contract, the loan or the lien, or creates a defect in title — and the word "contingency" appears nowhere in §4852d or in either paragraph of §745.110. And yet the AGENT is named throughout: in the duty at §4852d(a)(4), in the disclosure owed to the agent at §745.107(a)(3), in the certification at §745.113(a)(6), on the signature line at §745.113(a)(7), in a section of their own at §745.115, and in §745.118(e), which makes a breach of that section a violation in its own right. A rule that does not reach the deal can still land on the person who wrote it up.

Sources

Every quotation above is taken from the documents below, on the date shown; the explanation around each quote is ours. Statutes are amended and uniform acts are revised — check the current text before relying on any of it.

  1. 42 U.S.C. §4851b — Definitions — Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026
  2. 40 CFR §745.103 — Definitions (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.103, read August 21, 2026
  3. 40 CFR §745.100 — Purpose (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.100, read August 21, 2026
  4. 40 CFR §745.101 — Scope and applicability (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.101, read August 21, 2026
  5. 40 CFR §745.102 — Effective dates (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.102, read August 21, 2026
  6. 42 U.S.C. §4852d — Disclosure of information concerning lead upon transfer of residential property — Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml, read August 21, 2026
  7. 40 CFR §745.107 — Disclosure requirements for sellers and lessors (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.107, read August 21, 2026
  8. 40 CFR §745.110 — Opportunity to conduct an evaluation (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.110, read August 21, 2026
  9. 40 CFR §745.113 — Certification and acknowledgment of disclosure (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.113, read August 21, 2026
  10. 40 CFR §745.115 — Agent responsibilities (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.115, read August 21, 2026
  11. 40 CFR §745.118 — Enforcement (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.118, read August 21, 2026
  12. 40 CFR §745.119 — Impact on State and local requirements (eCFR, current as of August 19, 2026) — Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-R/part-745/subpart-F/section-745.119, read August 21, 2026