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Lead safety
A collection of resources from Massachusetts state agencies, including:
Massachusetts laws
MGL c. 62, § 6(e) Credits
Includes tax credits for lead abatement.
MGL c. 93A Regulation of business practices for consumers protection
Specifically:
- § 2 Unfair practices; legislative intent; rules and regulations
- § 9 Civil actions and remedies; class action; demand for relief; damages; costs; exhausting administrative remedies
- § 11 Persons engaged in business; actions for unfair trade practices; class actions; damages; injunction; costs
MGL c. 111, § 127B-1/2 Petition for agreement to remove underground fuel storage tank, media contaminated by home heating oil or lead paint, or to provide proper service by a septic system; costs; authority to evict
MGL c. 111, §§ 189A-199B Lead poisoning prevention & control
MGL c. 112, § 12BB Lead poisoning screening
Mandatory screenings by physicians of children under the age of six.
MGL c. 151B, § 4(11) Unlawful practices
Discrimination against families with young children with respect to residential properties containing dangerous levels of lead in paint, plaster, soil, or other accessible material.
MGL c. 175, § 111H Liability insurance for residential property owners complying with lead poisoning prevention guidelines
MGL c. 186, § 18 Reprisal for reporting violations of law or for tenant's union activity; damages and costs
Any person or agent who threatens or retaliates against a tenant for reporting health and building code violations shall be liable for damages.
Massachusetts regulations
105 CMR 410 Minimum standards of fitness for human habitation (State sanitary code, chapter II)
- 410.502 Use of lead paint prohibited in dwellings
105 CMR 460 Lead poisoning prevention & control
Contains mandatory screening requirements for children under age 6 who are entering daycare or school, lead abatement, training and registration of lead inspectors, and enforcement procedures.
211 CMR 131 Requirements applicable to insurance on liability for injury from exposure to dangerous levels of lead in dwelling units
454 CMR 22 Deleading and lead-safe renovation regulations
Training and licensing procedures, work practices, and record keeping requirements.
454 CMR 23 Occupational lead poisoning registry
606 CMR 7 Standards for the licensure or approval of family child care; small group and school age and large group and school age child care programs
- 7.07(15)(a) Lead paint and poisoning information disclosure requirements for family and school age child care programs
760 CMR 14 Lead paint abatement loan program
804 CMR 2 Discrimination in housing
- 2.02(3)(a) Housing discrimination against persons with children
830 CMR 62.6.3 Lead paint removal credit
Federal laws
15 USC § 1278a Children's products containing lead; lead paint rule
42 USC §§ 4821-4846 Lead-based paint poisoning prevention
42 USC §§ 4851-4856 Residential lead-based paint hazard reduction
Federal regulations
16 CFR Part 1303 Ban of lead-containing paint and certain consumer products bearing lead-containing paint
24 CFR Part 35 Lead-based poisoning prevention in certain residential structures (Department of Housing and Urban Development)
24 CFR §§ 200.800-200.810 Lead-based poisoning prevention
40 CFR Part 745 Lead-based paint poisoning prevention in certain residential structures (Environmental Protection Agency)
Forms
Mass. Department of Public Health forms
- Property transfer lead paint notification & Property transfer certification form
The certification form is the final page of the property transfer lead paint notification package. "Under Massachusetts and federal law, this notification package must be given to prospective purchasers of homes built before 1978." - Short term vacation or recreational rental exemption form
- Tenant lead law notification form
Includes notification forms in English and Spanish.
Selected cases
Al-Ziab v. Mourgis, 424 Mass. 847 (1997)
"A landlord's violation of the lead paint statute, G. L. c. 111, s.s. 190 et seq., does not, without a showing of at least negligent conduct by the landlord, constitute a violation of the statutory covenant of quiet enjoyment, G. L. c. 186, s. 14, for purposes of an award of attorney's fees."
Bencosme v. Kokoras, 400 Mass. 40 (1987)
Owners of residential property are strictly liable for injuries sustained under the lead paint act.
Massachusetts Rental Housing Association Inc. v. Lead Poisoning Control Director, 49 Mass. App. Ct. 359 (2000)
Chemical tests for lead. The Department of Public Health regulation authorizing the sodium sulfide test was declared valid, and the tenant notification form was found to be legally correct.
Navarro v. Burgess, 99 Mass. App. Ct. 466 (2021)
Lead inspector owed no duty to person who became a tenant more than 20 years after inspection and several property ownership changes.
Rabassa v. Cerasuolo, 97 Mass. App. Ct. 809 (2020)
Insurance company could not deny coverage when landlord was not informed that his documentation for obtaining lead poisoning policy was inadequate.
Web sources
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Mass. Department of Public Health.
Everything you need to know about the lead law, including public health fact sheets, forms, introduction to the lead law, data, and reports. Also provides information on finding a licensed lead inspector.
Deleading and lead safety program, Mass. Department of Labor Standards.
Information on obtaining deleading licenses and finding licensed deleading contractors.
Deleading rental properties in Massachusetts, MassLandlords.net.
Explains options and requirements for deleading a property, maintaining compliance, and potential fines for violating the lead paint laws.
Lead, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Links to federal laws, regulations and resources on lead paint, including basic information about lead, ways to protect your family, and lead abatement.
Legal tactics: Tenants' rights in Massachusetts, Chapter 9: Lead poisoning, Mass. Law Reform Institute, 2025.
Includes how to test children and residences, deleading, protections under state and federal laws, and legal remedies for tenants.
National Lead Information Center (NLIC)
1-800-424-LEAD (5323)
Provides the general public and professionals with information about lead hazards and their prevention. Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Information on federal government programs, laws, regulations, pamphlets, publications, and links to other web sites.
Print sources
Drafting and negotiating Massachusetts contracts, 4th ed., MCLE, 2024.
Section 9.2.5: Lead paint legislation (Residential real estate); Section 10.4.8 Miscellaneous--Lead paint (Commercial real estate).
Handling residential real estate transactions in Massachusetts, 6th ed., MCLE, 2025.
Chapter 4: Due diligence: Home inspections and environmental and land use law.
"Landlord's liability for injury or death of tenant's child from lead paint poisoning," 19 ALR 5th 405.
Liability and lead paint litigation, MCLE, 2005.
Massachusetts landlord-tenant law, 2nd ed., LexisNexis, 2001 with supplement. (eBook available with library card)
Sections 16:15-16:17: Lead paint.
Massachusetts proof of cases, West, annual.
Volume 1: Civil, Chapter 20: Lead poisoning.
Residential and commercial landlord-tenant practice in Massachusetts, 5th ed. MCLE, 2024.
Chapter 6: Lead paint: Complying with Massachusetts law.
Massachusetts Practice:
- vol. 10-10C (Procedural forms annotated) 6th ed., West, 2009 with supplement.
Section 38:12 Complaint for lead poisoning against landlord--Failure to remove lead paint; Section 42:63 Complaint against landlord--Lead paint poisoning; Section 79:65 Tenant's interrogatories to landlord--Lead paint poisoning. - vol. 14C (Summary of basic law) 5th ed., Thomson Reuters, 2017 with supplement.
Sections 12:96-12:106 Condition of rented premises: Lead paint. - vol. 33A-34 (Landlord and tenant law) 3rd ed., West, 2000 with supplement.
Sections 18:23-18:35 Lead paint liability; Section 21:48 Injunctive relief--Lead poisoning. - vol. 36A (Consumer law) 4th ed., West, 2021.
Sections 29:38-29:48 Lead paint poisoning prevention. - vol. 37A (Tort law) 3rd ed., West, 2005 with supplement.
Section 18.6 Lead paint.
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| Last updated: | June 6, 2025 |
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