Massachusetts law about lead poisoning and control

Laws, regulations, cases and web sources on lead paint law.

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Best bet

Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Mass. Department of Public Health.
Provides everything you need to know about the lead law and lead safety. Includes pages on:

• Massachusetts lead law
• Finding and removing lead
• Deleading on my own
• Lead and your child's health
• Lead information for providers
• Recent lead related recalls

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; notice of termination, presumption; waiver in leases or other rental agreements prohibited
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 ... does not, without a showing of at least negligent conduct by the landlord, constitute a violation of the statutory covenant of quiet enjoyment ... 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

Deleading and lead safety program, Mass. Department of Labor Standards.
Hotline: [phone]. Provides information on home renovation safety and how to look up your home's lead history. Also covers how to obtain a deleading license and how to find 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.

The HUD guidelines for the evaluation and control of lead-based paint in housing (2012 edition)
Helps with the identification and control of lead paint hazards. Also offers helpful advice on renovations in older housing, lead-based paint inspections and risk assessments, and where to go for help.

Lead, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Links to federal laws, regulations and resources on lead paint and abatement. Includes the Lead Hotline where you can ask questions or request documents.

Lead-based paint, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Part of HUD Exchange. Includes links to regulations, videos, trainings, a toolkit to help you comply with federal lead rules, and information on lead exposure.

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.

Print sources

Drafting and negotiating Massachusetts contracts, 4^th 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, 6^th 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, 2^nd 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, 5^th ed. MCLE, 2024.
Chapter 6: Lead paint: Complying with Massachusetts law.

Massachusetts Practice:

vol. 10-10B (Procedural forms annotated) 6^th 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) 5^th ed., Thomson Reuters, 2017 with supplement.
Sections 12:96-12:106: Condition of rented premises: Lead paint.

vol. 33A-34 (Landlord and tenant law) 3^rd ed., West, 2000 with supplement.

• Sections 18:23-18:35: Lead paint liability
• Section 21:48: Injunctive relief--Lead poisoning

vol. 36A (Consumer law) 4^th ed., West, 2021.
Sections 29:38-29:48: Lead paint poisoning prevention.

vol. 37A (Tort law) 3^rd ed., West, 2005 with supplement.
Section 18.6: Lead paint.

Last updated:	November 3, 2025