Rental housing built before 1978 carries a federal disclosure obligation and a liability exposure that most owners of older property have never thought about.
Lead-based paint disclosure is a federal requirement on pre-1978 rentals. Insurers have views on the exposure too.
Three things about renting out property built before 1978.
Owners of most pre-1978 residential rentals must give tenants a lead hazard information pamphlet, disclose known lead-based paint and include specific lease language. It applies whether or not any lead is present, and penalties attach to the failure to disclose rather than to the paint itself.
A lead exclusion is common on landlord policies. That means a bodily injury claim alleging lead exposure may have no cover behind it at all, which is a different and worse position than a limit being too low.
Disturbing old paint during repairs is how exposure actually happens. Work on pre-1978 housing has its own practice requirements for contractors, and using someone who ignores them puts the problem back on the owner.
Obligations that come with the build date.
The single date that triggers the obligations.
Common, and worth knowing before a claim rather than during one.
Practice requirements apply to contractors on older housing.
Tell us the year the property was built and whether any renovation is planned.
We check for a lead exclusion, which most owners have never read.
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