Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (Sales & Leases) — Massachusetts Edition Template

Federal law — Section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 4852d, with implementing regulations at 24 C.F.R. Part 35 and 40 C.F.R. Part 745 — requires sellers and lessors of most housing built before 1978 to disclose known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the buyer or tenant is obligated under the contract. Noncompliance carries real teeth: civil penalties, potential treble damages to injured purchasers, and joint enforcement by EPA and HUD. Agents have independent duties under the rule to ensure compliance.

This template package covers both the sales and lease versions of the disclosure. It includes the seller's/lessor's disclosure of known lead-based paint and hazards (or affirmation of no knowledge), the records and reports acknowledgment, the buyer's acknowledgment of receipt of the EPA "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" pamphlet, the buyer's 10-day risk assessment/inspection opportunity (which may be waived in writing in sales transactions), and the agent's acknowledgment of compliance duties — all with the certification-of-accuracy signature block the regulation requires each party to execute.

The 4-page package also includes a one-page compliance checklist for agents: which transactions are covered (pre-1978 "target housing"), the exemptions (0-bedroom dwellings, housing for the elderly, foreclosure sales, short-term leases of 100 days or less, and others), timing requirements, and the record-retention rule (keep executed disclosures for at least 3 years). Because this is a federal requirement the core language is uniform nationwide, but the included notes flag states that layer additional lead disclosure or inspection requirements on top of the federal floor.

About this Massachusetts Edition: the template and its drafting notes are adapted for Massachusetts practice under M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 87PP–87DDD½ and the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons regulations at 254 CMR, including the Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure under 254 CMR 3.00. Massachusetts permits dual agency and designated agency only with informed written consent, so the consent document in this edition offers both elections. Massachusetts is a caveat emptor state with no statutory seller property-condition form; this edition's Seller Property Condition Disclosure is therefore drafted as a voluntary disclosure that reduces M.G.L. c. 93A exposure and is designed to sit alongside the Commonwealth's Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification, Title 5 septic inspection report, and smoke/CO detector certificate. The Independent Contractor Agreement is built around M.G.L. c. 112, § 87RR, which expressly permits salesperson affiliation as an independent contractor notwithstanding the c. 149, § 148B ABC test. Electronic signatures are addressed under the Massachusetts Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, M.G.L. c. 110G. Not legal advice; have a Massachusetts-licensed attorney review before use.