Lead paint: what a pre-1978 home needs before anyone sands, scrapes or sells

Who’s most at risk

Young children. EPA notes that CDC recommends testing children’s blood lead at 12 and 24 months, and CDC’s blood lead reference value is 3.5 µg/dL. Some states banned lead-based paint before the federal ban, but 1978 is the date federal rules key on.

Source: EPA, sources of lead ↗ · verified October 12, 2026

Renovating: the RRP rule

Anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be lead-safe certified by EPA or an authorized state, sole proprietors included. That covers remodeling, repair and maintenance, electrical, plumbing, painting prep, carpentry and window replacement. Firms use certified renovators and lead-safe work practices, and must give you EPA’s “Renovate Right” pamphlet no more than 60 days before work starts.

• Exempt: minor repair and maintenance that disturbs 6 sq ft of paint or less per room inside, or 20 sq ft or less outside. Window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces are always covered.
• Also excluded: housing for the elderly or disabled and zero-bedroom units (unless a child under 6 lives there), and components certified lead-free.
• State programs: 15 states run their own RRP program instead of EPA: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. A contractor working in several states may need both EPA and state certification.

• Find a lead-safe certified firm ↗
• States with their own RRP program ↗

Sources: EPA RRP program ↗, EPA RRP rules ↗, EPA RRP authorized states ↗ · verified October 12, 2026

Buying, selling or renting: the disclosure rule

Under the federal lead disclosure rule (Section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992), sellers and landlords of housing built before 1978 must:

• disclose any known lead-based paint and lead hazards;
• hand over available records and reports;
• give buyers or renters EPA’s pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home”;
• put a Lead Warning Statement in, or attached to, the contract or lease.

Buyers get 10 days to arrange a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment; the parties can change the period in writing, or the buyer can waive it. Landlords don’t have to provide an inspection. Signed disclosures are kept for 3 years. Exempt: zero-bedroom units and elderly or disabled housing (unless a child under 6 lives there), leases of 100 days or less, housing certified lead-free, foreclosure sales and housing built after 1977.

Source: EPA real estate disclosures ↗ · verified October 12, 2026

Lead in drinking water

EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, finalized October 8, 2024, require most water systems to identify and replace the lead and galvanized-requiring-replacement service lines they control within 10 years. The lead action level drops from 15 to 10 µg/L (0.015 to 0.010 mg/L), with limited deferrals allowed on replacement. By November 1, 2027, systems must submit their baseline service line inventory and a replacement plan, and from that date the new action level triggers Tier 1 public notice. Systems with repeated exceedances must offer certified lead-reducing filters.

As of October 2026, EPA’s rule pages still show the 2024 rule and dates with no announced extension; other 2025–2026 announcements or litigation weren’t checked. On a private well? EPA suggests testing pH, lead and copper if you have lead plumbing or corrosion; see the well water guide.

Sources: EPA LCRI (updated Dec 29, 2025) ↗, EPA LCRI fact sheet ↗ · verified October 12, 2026

If lead is found

• A risk assessment tells you which hazards need attention and what to do about them.
• Where dust-lead results fall between the reportable level and the action levels, EPA recommends HEPA vacuuming and wet cleaning; at or above the action levels, it recommends abatement by a certified firm.
• For any repair or renovation that disturbs paint, hire a lead-safe certified firm.
• If young children live in the home, ask their doctor about blood lead testing.

Sources: EPA hazard standards ↗, EPA RRP for consumers ↗, EPA, sources of lead ↗ · verified October 12, 2026