Law Protects Against Lead-Based Paint

If you’re looking to buy a home--particularly an older one--you’ll want to know if there’s lead-based paint in it.

In fact, you’re entitled to know under a federal law. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently filed complaints against two Indiana real estate firms for allegedly violating that law.

Both complaints stem from a 2-year-old home sale in which the buying couple signed a purchase agreement for a Mount Vernon home that had been built between 1840 and 1860. The “Seller’s Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure” forms indicated there was no lead-paint hazard, according to the EPA.

After the home was sold, an inspection by the Jennings County Health Department revealed that lead in chipped paint inside the home was 13 times higher than levels set under the Federal Toxic Substances Control Act, the EPA said.

The complaints, filed under the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act passed in 1992, also allege the agents did not ensure that the sellers understood their compliance obligations. The EPA has proposed an eight-count, $36,300 penalty against both the sellers’ and buyers’ agents.

About 75% of the nation’s homes built before 1978, an estimated 64 million, have lead-based paint in varying amounts, according to the agency.