DictionaryThe buying process

Lead-based paint disclosure: what it means

The lead-based paint disclosure is the information federal law requires you to get before you sign to buy or rent most homes built before lead-based paint was banned for use in homes. The seller, landlord, real estate agent or property manager must give you a pamphlet about lead, disclose what they know about lead-based paint in the home, hand over any reports they have and include a lead warning statement in the contract or lease.

In Spanish it is

Divulgación de pintura con plomo

Also written as: lead paint disclosure · Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule · Lead Warning Statement

A man tours his new home with a housing specialist.

Verified on October 17, 2026

1 official source

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The full explanation

If you are buying, you get 10 days to have a lead paint inspection; the parties can change that in writing, or you can waive it. Peeling or cracking lead-based paint is a hazard.

An example

Before signing the lease on an apartment built many years ago, Mario gets the lead pamphlet and a form where the landlord says what he knows about lead-based paint in the unit. Mario reads the form and signs it.

You will see it in…

The lead-based paint disclosure form, attached to the purchase agreement or lease
EPA's pamphlet on protecting your family from lead in your home
Lead inspection reports for the home

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

More guides that use “lead-based paint disclosure”

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026