Lead paint disclosure in Wisconsin

Most housing that went up before 1978 falls under the federal rule, whether it's being sold or rented. If a seller or landlord knows about lead-based paint or any lead hazard, they have to tell you. They also have to share whatever records they hold, give you the EPA pamphlet on lead, and attach a Lead Warning Statement. That statement is a standard warning about the risks lead paint carries in older homes.

Buyers have 10 days to have the home tested for lead.

In most Wisconsin home sales, the seller must hand the buyer a filled-out Real Estate Condition Report. Wis. Stat. 709.02 gives the seller no more than 10 days after accepting the offer to deliver it.

Question C2 on the form asks whether the seller knows of a defect connected to lead paint or lead-contaminated soil. The form likewise notes that federal lead paint rules cover most pre-1978 homes.

Some sellers are off the hook under Wis. Stat. 709.01. Personal representatives, trustees, conservators and other fiduciaries answerable to a court qualify if they never lived in the home. Sales that don't owe the state real estate transfer fee don't owe a report either.

Say you get the report only after you've made your offer, and it reveals a defect. You can back out of the contract. Under Wis. Stat. 709.05, the cancellation has to be in writing and before your deadline. You won't face any penalty for backing out like that.

The federal disclosure rule reaches rental units built before 1978. Wisconsin has 429,049 rented homes out of 811,672 (53%) that were built before 1980, the Census Bureau reports.

Wisconsin's Lead-Safe Renovation Rule says a landlord who does work on a pre-1978 building must bring in a certified lead-safe renovator. A tenant can complain without giving a name, and the state's Certification and Field Compliance team will look into it.

Under Milwaukee Code 66-22-3, a landlord can't end a lease, refuse to renew it, or shut off heat, water or power to get back at a tenant. The protection covers a tenant who asked for help with lead hazards or worked with city lead inspectors during the previous year.

Under a 2022 ordinance, Milwaukee's health commissioner can charge $150 for a reinspection after a lead order and $300 for each one after that. It also lets ignored lead orders go to rent withholding, and it lifts the cap on how much lead fines can pile up: $30,000.

An owner can get a state certificate showing that a home contains no lead or meets lead-safe standards. The fee, under Wis. Stat. 254.181, is $50 for lead-free and $25 for lead-safe.

The Department of Health Services wants every child tested for blood lead at age 1 and again at age 2. Any child from 3 to 5 who hasn't had a test should get one as well.

A child counts as lead poisoned above 3.5 ug/dL, the department says. That's micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. But state law doesn't step in with a public health response unless the level reaches four times that amount.

The state must be told about every blood lead test performed on a Wisconsin resident. Under DHS 181, results of 45 ug/dL or more must be reported right away.

When a child under 6 living in a home shows an elevated blood lead level, the state has to check the home for lead hazards (Wis. Stat. 254.166). What counts as elevated is 20 ug/dL on one venous test, meaning blood taken from a vein, or 15 ug/dL across two venous tests at least 90 days apart.