Lead paint disclosure in Maryland

The federal lead disclosure rule covers most housing that went up before 1978, whether it's sold or rented out. It requires the landlord or seller to disclose any lead-based paint or lead hazards they know about. They also have to hand over whatever records they hold, plus an EPA pamphlet.

There's one more thing the sale or lease papers must contain: a Lead Warning Statement. It's a fixed paragraph letting you know that older housing may have lead-based paint.

Buyers get 10 days to have the place checked for lead.

Under Maryland Real Property law 10-702, anyone selling a home with 1 to 4 units has to give every buyer 1 of 2 forms put out by the State Real Estate Commission. The form must reach the buyer no later than the day the sales contract is signed.

• Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement: the seller writes down the home's problems.
• Disclaimer Statement: the seller sells as is and says nothing about its condition.

Any defects involving hazardous materials that the seller truly knows of have to go on the disclosure form. Lead-based paint is one the law names, and so are asbestos, radon, underground storage tanks, and landfills.

The Maryland form doesn't apply to every sale. These don't need it:

• homes sold in foreclosure
• sheriff's sales
• tax sales
• sales handled by a court trustee
• transfers made by whoever administers an estate or trust
• brand-new homes never occupied before

What if the Maryland statement never reached you before you signed? You can still cancel the contract in writing. You have until the statement shows up, or up to 5 days after it does.

Maryland's law on lowering lead risk in housing now covers every pre-1978 rental, a change that took effect January 1, 2015. Before then, it only covered rentals that went up before 1950.

Whenever a tenant moves out, the owner must get the unit ready for the next tenant. That means repairing any paint that chips, peels, or flakes, and passing a lead dust test, which measures lead in the home's dust. The unit has to be inspected too.

At lease signing, your landlord has to hand you the state Notice of Tenant's Rights. A copy of the unit's current lead inspection certificate comes with it. And you're owed the notice again at least once every 2 years.

If you own a Maryland rental built before 1978, you must register each unit with the state's Department of the Environment.

Getting a Baltimore City rental license means the owner registers the property and passes an inspection done by a state licensed inspector, one who works for neither side. Current lead certification details for each unit also have to go in with the application.

Since 2016, all of Maryland counts as at-risk for lead. So each child born January 1, 2015 or later gets a lead test at 12 months and again at 24.

The test checks the blood lead level, the amount of lead in a child's bloodstream. As of October 28, 2022, Maryland's Department of the Environment notifies parents whenever a child's level hits 3.5 ug/dL or more. It also tells the owner of the rental, as long as the state lead law covers the home.

Any person can submit a lead paint complaint to Maryland's Department of the Environment. Start by reaching out to your landlord. Then you can file with the department online or by phone. You can ask to keep your name confidential, or leave it off entirely. The department says a landlord cannot punish you for filing.

Roughly half the homes in Maryland are old enough that lead paint could well be there. Census figures show about half of Maryland's homes were built before 1980, and among rentals it's a little more than half, so it's worth asking about lead before you sign.