Lead paint disclosure in Colorado

Most housing built before 1978 is covered by the federal lead disclosure rule. It applies to rentals as well as sales, so it comes up whether you're signing a lease or buying a place.

Plenty of Colorado housing is old. Census data shows that out of 2,662,111 homes statewide, 1,005,736, that's 38%, went up before 1980. Rentals sit at 37%, or 313,068 out of a total of 844,547.

If a home was built before 1978, the federal rule says the seller or landlord has to do 4 things:

• Share anything they know about lead-based paint or lead hazards.
• Pass along any reports or records in their possession.
• Give you the EPA lead pamphlet.
• Put a Lead Warning Statement in the documents. That's a required paragraph about lead dangers, and the law says your paperwork has to include it, whether that's a purchase agreement or a rental agreement.

Buyers get a 10-day window to have the place checked for lead.

Starting January 1, 2026, Colorado's standard seller disclosure is form SPD19, the Seller's Property Disclosure (Residential). The state's Real Estate Commission adopted it August 5, 2025. When the purchase contract asks for it, the seller is the one who fills it out, not the broker.

Not one question on SPD19 mentions lead-based paint by name. Still, the form says sellers must speak up about any "adverse material fact" they know of that affects the home or the people in it, even if the form itself never asks. In plain terms, that means anything a buyer would care about, say, a flaw in the house the seller is aware of.

The Air Pollution Control Division, part of the state's health department, the CDPHE, runs the certification program under C.R.S. 25-7-1104. Anyone doing lead inspections, risk assessments, project design, supervision or abatement in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities must be certified by this division.

Abatement, in this context, means fixing lead paint hazards permanently. Colorado requires that only state-certified firms and individuals take on this kind of work, under the state's Regulation 19 on air quality, and every abatement job must have its own Abatement Permit form from the state.

A Colorado law on lead abatement, C.R.S. 25-7-1102, protects kids under 7. A pre-1978 building counts as child-occupied when the same child under 7 spends time there on a regular schedule. That means at least:

Before renovation work happens, Colorado has an education rule to follow, Regulation 19, Part B. It applies whenever a renovator plans to scrape, sand, or otherwise disturb paint across 2 square feet or more of a pre-1978 home. No later than 7 days ahead of the start, the renovator must give whoever owns or rents the place a copy of the EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet. The renovator also needs a signed receipt proving you got it.

Under a Denver ordinance from May 3, 2021, landlords need a residential rental property license for rentals in the City and County of Denver, any home or unit let for 30 days or longer. The home has to pass an inspection to get licensed.

For buildings that predate January 1, 1979, the inspection guidebook says peeling paint has to be tested once there's enough of it:

If lead turns up, the unit can't pass until a certified lead professional takes care of it.

Colorado doesn't require lead testing for every child. The state health department suggests testing based on a risk questionnaire parents complete, and it handles cases following CDC guidance.

A Colorado Board of Health rule requires all providers and labs to send every blood lead result to the state. Blood lead gets measured in micrograms per deciliter, which shows how much lead is in the blood. For anyone under 18, results of 3.5 or more go to the state within a week, and anything lower within 30 days.