Lead Paint Law For Boston Homes

If you own, rent, or buy in Boston, you will run into lead paint. Boston has a lot of older housing. Triple deckers, brownstones, and old condos often predate 1978. That year matters because lead based paint was common before then.

Lead paint becomes a problem when it chips, peels, or turns into dust. Dust is the real threat. It spreads on windowsills, floors, and toys. Kids touch it. Kids put hands in mouths. That is how exposure happens.

This article explains the rules that shape real estate decisions in Boston. It is general info, not legal advice. For a specific property, talk to your attorney, your inspector, and the state’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

The law in one sentence

Massachusetts law puts the duty on the property owner when young kids live in a home with dangerous lead hazards. If a child under six resides there and dangerous lead exists, the owner must abate or contain the lead in the required way.

That one sentence drives a lot of Boston housing behavior. It affects rentals. It affects condo conversions. It affects renovations. It also affects what buyers ask for during a deal.

The trigger most people miss

A lot of people think lead law only matters when you “test positive.” That is not the right mental model.

The big trigger is a child under six living in the unit. The statute talks about “resides.” That includes a tenant’s child, a grandchild who lives there, or any situation where a child under six lives in the home.

Once that trigger exists, owners have a legal obligation to address dangerous lead hazards.

This is why Boston landlords ask about kids on applications. It is not only about noise. It is also about legal risk.

Disclosure rules when you rent or sell

Massachusetts has strict notice requirements around lead. The point is simple. People have a right to know lead risks before they sign.

For rentals of homes built before 1978, owners must comply with tenant notification requirements before entering a rental agreement. This applies even if the tenant does not have a child under six.

At the federal level, most pre 1978 housing sales and rentals require disclosure and delivery of the “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” pamphlet, plus any known information about lead based paint or hazards, before a buyer or renter signs.

If you are buying in Boston and you never received the federal lead disclosure packet, that is a problem. If you are renting and the landlord never gave you the tenant notification form, that is also a problem.

The documents that matter in Massachusetts

In Boston deals, you will hear people throw around lead terms like everyone knows them. Most people do not. Here are the big ones.

A lead inspection report tells you where lead exists. A risk assessment focuses on hazards and what must be fixed.

A Letter of Interim Control is a legal letter a licensed risk assessor issues after required hazard control work and verification. It is time limited. The state explains it is good for one year and may be renewed for one more year if conditions still meet the standard.

A Letter of Compliance, sometimes called a Letter of Full Compliance, shows the home meets the requirements for full deleading compliance under Massachusetts lead law standards.

If you take nothing else from this article, take this. These letters change risk. A home with a valid letter is not the same as a home with “fresh paint.”

Interim control vs full deleading

Interim control is the “make it safe now” path. Full compliance is the “meet full standards” path. Both matter. They just fit different situations.

Interim control usually involves fixing urgent hazards, using trained people, and then passing a follow up check that includes dust sampling and visual confirmation. If it meets the standard, the risk assessor issues the letter that lasts one year, with a possible renewal.

Full compliance is broader. It aims to eliminate or properly control hazards across the home to meet the full deleading standard. That is why inspections and documentation matter so much in Boston transactions.

The practical Boston point is this. If you plan to rent to families, full compliance often makes life easier. If you are handling a short term situation, interim control can be a bridge, but you must track renewals and reinspection timing.

Who can do lead work

Lead work is not “just a handyman project.” The rules exist because sanding, scraping, and demo can create lead dust fast.

Massachusetts is clear that some deleading work must be done by licensed deleaders, while some work may be done by homeowners in certain circumstances.

The risk is not only health. It is also legal. If you do the work wrong, you can fail clearance. You can also contaminate the home and make the fix more expensive later.

If you are a buyer looking at an old Boston condo conversion, ask who did the lead related work and what paperwork exists. If the answer is “the seller did it,” you want proof it was done in a compliant way, not a shrug.

Renovations are a lead dust factory

Renovation is where good intentions go to die.

Any renovation, repair, or painting project that disturbs lead based paint in a pre 1978 home can create dangerous dust. The EPA requires lead safe certified contractors for covered work in pre 1978 housing and child occupied facilities.

Massachusetts also has lead safe renovation rules. For work done for a fee in pre 1978 housing, disturbing more than 6 square feet of painted surface per room inside, or more than 20 square feet outside, must be done by a licensed lead safe renovation contractor under state rules.

This is a huge Boston homeowner trap. People buy a triple decker, plan a “quick refresh,” then hire the cheapest painter who dry sands trim. That can create a hazard for kids, and a liability for you.

If you renovate, hire qualified pros and keep documentation. You want a clean paper trail in case you sell or rent later.

How buyers should handle lead in Boston

Lead should not automatically scare you off. It should change your process.

First, assume a pre 1978 home may have lead. That is the baseline.
Second, decide what your household needs. If you have kids now, plan to have kids soon, or plan to rent to families, treat lead status like a primary factor, not a footnote.

Here’s what to ask for in a Boston deal, in plain terms.

• Ask for any past lead inspection or risk assessment reports, plus any Letters of Compliance or Interim Control if they exist.

• Ask if the property shows up in the state Lead Safe Homes database and what it says about inspection history.

• Ask what painted surfaces were disturbed during recent renovations and whether lead safe rules were followed.

• Ask about windows. Old windows create dust through friction surfaces. If windows were replaced, ask when and how.

• If you want extra certainty, negotiate for a lead inspection or risk assessment window in your timeline, since federal rules give buyers the right to an opportunity for a lead evaluation in many pre 1978 transactions.

Also, do not let anyone talk you into “lead paint is fine if you paint over it” as a blanket statement. Encapsulation can be part of a plan, but friction surfaces, impact surfaces, and poor prep can still create dust. A proper assessment beats vibes.

What renters should know

Renters have power here, if they use it.

If you are renting a pre 1978 Boston unit, the owner must provide the required tenant notification documents before you sign, and they must provide any existing lead inspection or risk assessment report and any letter if it exists.

If you have a child under six and you suspect hazards, do not DIY it with sanding or scraping. You can make the problem worse. You want the right inspection path and the right licensed work.

If you are a landlord, do not treat this as optional paperwork. It is one of the fastest ways to create legal exposure, and it is easy to do correctly.

What sellers and landlords should do to avoid deal chaos

Boston deals die from uncertainty. Lead uncertainty is a classic deal killer.

If you own a pre 1978 home and you plan to sell, get your paperwork in order early. If the home has been inspected, pull the reports. If it has a letter, have it ready. If it has never been inspected and you are selling to a buyer with kids, expect lead questions.

If you rent, follow tenant notification rules every time, regardless of whether the incoming tenant has a child under six.
If you plan renovations in a rental, follow lead safe renovation rules and use qualified contractors.

The best time to fix lead problems is when you control the timeline. The worst time is after a child moves in or during a tight closing window.

How to check a property’s lead history fast

Massachusetts runs the Lead Safe Homes database. You can look up inspection history and see if a property has been inspected and whether a letter exists.

One important nuance. Databases have gaps. Massachusetts notes that older inspection data, especially before the early 2000s, may not appear cleanly due to historical storage and later cleanup, and CLPPP updates data over time.

So use the database as a starting point, not as the only proof.

Paying for deleading in Boston

Deleading can cost money. That is real. Boston also has resources.

Boston’s Home Center has a lead abatement program that offers financial help, including forgivable loans up to a stated amount per unit, plus technical support and inspections, and help complying with state lead law so owners can access lead removal tax credits.

If you own a multi family in Boston, this can change your math. If you are a buyer, it is worth knowing these programs exist because they affect what you can do after closing.

Common myths that cost Boston buyers money

“My unit is renovated, so it has no lead.”
Renovation can leave lead behind. It can also create more dust if done wrong. You need facts.

“Lead only matters if I have a kid.”
Disclosures still apply in many cases, and tenant notification requirements apply in Massachusetts for pre 1978 rentals regardless of whether the tenant has a child under six.

“A quick paint job solves it.”
Paint without proper prep can fail fast, especially on windows and doors. Dust comes back.

“I can just sand it myself.”
That is how people contaminate their own homes. Renovation rules exist for a reason.

A simple Boston playbook

If you want a clean plan, use this.

First, identify if the home is pre 1978. If yes, assume lead may exist.
Second, pull records. Ask for reports and letters. Search the Lead Safe Homes database.
Third, match the risk to your household. Kids under six changes everything.
Fourth, if you renovate, use lead safe rules and qualified pros.
Fifth, if you rent, do the tenant notification correctly every time.