Lead paint disclosure in Louisiana

Whether a pre-1978 home is being sold or rented out, the federal lead disclosure rule almost always applies. The rule's source is Section 1018 of Title X.

Sellers and landlords have 4 duties under the rule:

• Disclose any lead-based paint or lead hazard they know about
• Share whatever records and reports they hold
• Provide the EPA lead pamphlet
• Put a Lead Warning Statement into the sale or lease paperwork

Buyers receive a 10-day window to test for lead.

Selling a home with 1 to 4 units means the seller must hand you a property disclosure document. It has to use the Louisiana Real Estate Commission form, or another form carrying the same minimum language. It must reach you by the time you submit your offer.

A lead paint addendum is part of the commission's 2026 Residential Property Disclosure Document.pdf). Sellers complete it whenever a structure on the property predates 1978.

Suppose the document doesn't reach you until after your offer is in. You can still walk away. The cancellation window is 72 hours, and weekends and holidays don't count against it. Your deposit also comes back to you with no penalty attached.

The state disclosure requirement doesn't apply to every transfer. These are exempt:

• Court-ordered transfers
• Foreclosure sales
• Sales handled by an estate or trust administrator
• Brand-new homes with no prior occupants
• Moves between co-owners, spouses, or family members
• Transfers involving a government body on either end

Every case of lead poisoning must be reported to the state health officer by doctors, hospitals, and health officers. Once that happens, the health officer has to urge testing for all other children under age 6 living in the home.

The New Orleans Health Department recommends testing all children at 12 months and again at 24 months. Any child who missed those screenings ought to get screened sometime between 24 and 72 months. At 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or above, case management kicks in, meaning health workers keep in touch with the household.

A dangerous lead level in a home triggers notice to the owner and to every tenant affected. A sign goes up at the main entrance stating that children under 6 should not live there. Removing that sign without permission brings a $500 penalty.

When a child under age 6 is living in the home, the state health officer contacts the owner, who then has to remove or cover the lead paint. A fresh coat of paint by itself isn't enough. The clock gives the owner 15 days to begin and 30 days to finish.

Anyone doing lead hazard reduction work in Louisiana needs Department of Environmental Quality licensing or certification. That work means anything that removes, covers, or controls lead paint. Lead contractors must also obtain a state permit for each abatement project before work begins.

Yes. Fail to do the required lead removal, and the owner is liable for all damages that result. These violations count as emergency health code issues under Louisiana law, meaning courts must prioritize hearing them.

Plenty of Louisiana homes are old enough to contain lead paint. Per Census figures, renters are somewhat more likely than the state as a whole to live in older housing.