Lead paint disclosure in Missouri

The federal rule, Section 1018 of Title X, covers the sale and rental of most pre-1978 housing. Before your signature goes on anything, the seller or landlord must do 4 things:

• Tell you about any lead paint or lead hazards in the home that they're aware of.
• Share whatever records or reports on lead they have for the property.
• Provide the EPA's lead pamphlet.
• Put a Lead Warning Statement into the contract or lease.

The Lead Warning Statement is a brief, standard paragraph describing the dangers lead poses in older homes. Since it lives in the documents you sign, take a moment to read it first.

Buyers get a 10-day window to check the home for lead under the federal rule. That window lets you find out about lead issues before the deal closes.

Missouri requires that paint chip sampling be performed by a lead inspector or risk assessor licensed through the Department of Health and Senior Services. Risk assessors are trained professionals who examine a home for lead hazards and figure out where they're coming from. A contractor holding only an EPA renovator certification can't collect paint chip samples in Missouri, so it's worth confirming the state license before you hire.

Often, yes. RSMo 339.730 requires an agent representing a seller or landlord to pass along all adverse material facts to buyers and tenants that the agent knows or reasonably should know. Serious property problems that might sway your choice to buy or rent count as adverse material facts.

That same law also states the agent has no duty to inspect the property. So an agent may simply be unaware of lead nobody has discovered yet.

Roughly half of Missouri's housing stock dates to before 1980, and rental units skew slightly older.

These figures are drawn from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Missouri law builds in routine lead screening for little ones, though parents always have the final word:

• Each child under 6 gets a yearly lead risk questionnaire. If a child turns out to be high risk, a blood lead test is required, as long as a parent or guardian consents, per RSMo 701.342.
• Providers who treat children must give parents of kids under 4 lead education and offer a yearly lead test. Parents can say no, under RSMo 701.340.
• Kids on Medicaid must have blood lead testing at ages 12 and 24 months, per Missouri's health department (DHSS).
• In high-risk areas, child care centers must request proof of a lead test or a signed refusal from parents. The ask has to happen within 30 days of enrolling a child between 12 months and under 5 years. No child may be denied care over missing paperwork, per RSMo 701.344.

In Missouri, 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or more in a child's blood counts as elevated per 19 CSR 20-8.030. That unit, micrograms per deciliter, measures the amount of lead in a person's blood. Once a confirmed level hits 10, a licensed lead risk assessor has to inspect the child's home for lead hazards.

If the state learns a child has lead poisoning, every other child under 6 in that household, or who recently lived there, must also be tested, under RSMo 701.342(5).

It can, if a resident has an elevated blood lead level. RSMo 701.304 lets state inspectors or a licensed local health department check the rental for lead hazards. If entry is refused, the agency can seek a circuit court order after giving 48 hours' written notice.

The city has a Lead Poisoning Control Law of its own. Ordinance 71646, which took effect March 21, 2023, says certain building permits are issued only after a lead hazard inspection. Lead abatement contractors who fail to send the required notices can receive stop work orders and fines.