Lead paint disclosure in Minnesota

The federal rule covers most housing built before 1978, whether the home is sold or rented. If a seller or landlord knows about lead-based paint or a lead hazard, they have to tell you. They also have to share any records in their possession, give you the EPA lead pamphlet, and put a Lead Warning Statement in the documents.

Buyers get 10 days to run a lead test on the home.

A Minnesota seller must hand the buyer a written disclosure before a sale agreement is signed. Under Minn. Stat. 513.55, it has to include every material fact the seller is aware of that could truly get in the way of how a typical buyer would use and enjoy the home. A material fact just means a fact important enough that it would shape a buyer's decision.

There's no state form and no lead question in the statute. Still, lead paint problems a seller knows about can count as material facts, and the federal lead disclosure applies on its own.

Minn. Stat. 513.54 names 14 transfer types that don't require seller disclosure. Some of them are:

• property given as a gift
• transfers ordered by a court or through foreclosure
• property that passes to heirs
• transfers to close relatives
• brand-new homes no one has lived in yet
• a sale to a tenant already renting the home

If a seller knew about a material fact and stayed quiet, Minn. Stat. 513.57 lets the buyer hold them liable. To bring a claim, the buyer has to file suit no later than 2 years after the sale closes.

When lead paint is found on a Minneapolis property, the city tells the owner to hold onto the risk assessment and clearance reports. Those reports have to be passed along to every new owner or renter. Minneapolis also posts lead paint findings for each property in its online property search, which lets you check any address.

The state's older housing often contains lead paint. The state has 2,597,229 homes, and 1,333,442 of them (51%) date from before 1980. Of the 671,007 homes that are rented, 335,246 (50%) were built before 1980, per the Census Bureau.

In Minnesota, an elevated blood lead level means 3.5 ug/dL or higher. Labs must report every blood lead result to the Minnesota Department of Health. When venous results show 15 ug/dL or more, the lab has to send that report in no later than 2 working days. A venous result is one drawn from a vein.

For levels between 3.5 and 4.9 ug/dL, the department skips home lead risk assessments, so home visits only start once a result reaches 5 ug/dL or more. State law says health agencies must review the home where a child or pregnant person lives, inside these windows. The law now counts anyone younger than 18 as a child.

In Minneapolis, a child's level of 5 ug/dL or more triggers a health department inspection of the home. The owner then has 60 days to finish the lead correction orders. If that doesn't happen, the city can issue administrative citations or condemn the property.

Starting in January 2025, state guidelines call for blood lead testing of every Minnesota child at 12 and 24 months. After that, from 25 months through age 17, children at higher risk should be tested.

The Minnesota Department of Health licenses people who handle lead work, from workers and supervisors to inspectors, risk assessors and project designers. Applying costs $50 for workers, supervisors and inspectors, and $100 for risk assessors and project designers. Each license runs 1 year from the most recent training.