Lead paint disclosure in New York

The federal rule, called Section 1018 of Title X, covers most housing that was built before 1978. Sales and rentals both fall under it, so it applies whether you're a buyer or a tenant.

The seller or landlord has to:

• let you know about any lead-based paint or lead hazards they're aware of
• share whatever records or reports they have
• give you the EPA pamphlet on lead
• put a Lead Warning Statement into the contract or lease

That Lead Warning Statement is a brief, standard paragraph in the paperwork. It warns about lead dangers in older homes. Buyers also get a 10 day window to check the home for lead.

Under New York's Property Condition Disclosure Act, anyone selling a 1 to 4 family home has to hand you the Department of State disclosure statement, known as form DOS-1614-f. The seller has to get that form to you or your agent before any binding contract of sale is signed.

A few properties sit outside the form. Vacant land, condominium units, and cooperative apartments aren't included. It also leaves out homeowners' association property the seller doesn't fully own.

No. There's no yes or no lead paint question anywhere on it. What it does instead is ask the age of the building, and it directs buyers of pre-1978 homes to research lead-based paint on their own. Lead plumbing is different: question 16 asks about that by itself.

So when a seller has to share what they know about lead paint, that duty comes from the federal rule, not the state form.

New York State's Lead Rental Registry Law went into effect on November 3, 2025 and covers 25 communities the state calls communities of concern. Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers, and Utica are among them. If you own a rental building put up before 1980 with 2 or more units, you must register, get every unit inspected, and repair lead hazards.

Every unit has to pass an inside and outside inspection plus dust wipe tests. After that, the owner files a lead safety certification. That's the official paper showing the unit passed, and it needs renewing at least once every 3 years.

Tenants get protections too. Your landlord has to give you a copy of the lead inspection results soon after getting them, so you know quickly if your home has a problem. And a vacant unit with lead hazards can't go back on the rental market until it has a lead safety certification.

The state registry leaves out cities with 1 million or more residents, which means New York City follows its own law, Local Law 1 of 2004. Under that law, an owner of a pre-1960 building has to assume lead is in the paint. Buildings from 1960 to 1978 get the same treatment when the owner knows lead paint is there.

These owners have to find and fix lead paint hazards, especially in homes where a child under 6 spends 10 or more hours a week.

Homes in New York are mostly old enough for these rules to reach them. Census data shows about 3 in 4 New York homes were built before 1980, and the same is true of rented homes. So there's a good chance these rules apply to yours.

New York makes health care providers check blood lead levels for every child at about ages 1 and 2. Between 6 months and 6 years, your child's provider also has to look for lead risk at every well-child visit.

The state considers a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter or more to be high. Once a child hits that number, follow-up starts, and it includes checking the child's home to trace the lead to its source.