Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act

The Residential Lead-Based Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, enacted as Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act, was a 1992 measure that sought to regulate and educate home-buyers on the presence of lead paint in U.S. households built before 1978.[1] Lead is a metal which was used in household paint to increase drying speed and improve its durability and long life; however, it is also toxic and a possible carcinogen. To address the hazards of lead paint, in 1978, the United States Government's Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the residential use of lead-based paint containing ≥0.06% lead (600 ppm).[2][3][4] In 2017, the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that approximately 35 percent of U.S. homes (37 million) still contain some lead-based paint, a decline from 1990 estimate of 64 million homes with lead paint.[5][6]

Policy

As per Section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Hazard Reduction Act, sellers must comply with the following requirements before selling or leasing a house built before 1978, or a house that is known to contain lead:

  1. The buyer must be given a pamphlet that details information regarding lead paint and its potential hazards.
  2. If there is lead paint in the house, or if there is an apparent danger of lead poisoning from lead paint in the house, then that information must be disclosed to the buyer. If so, the seller is then required to provide to the buyer any previous documentation or reports on the condition of lead paint in the house.
  3. The buyer must be allowed ten days to request an evaluation of any lead paint in the house. This time limit may be altered upon agreement by both the buyer and seller.
  4. For every contract selling a house, there must be a Lead Warning Statement added. The buyer is required to read the statement, and their signature on the contract is equivalent to an acknowledgment that they have read it, as well as an acknowledgment that (1) and (3) have been fulfilled.[1][7][8]

Sellers who do not comply with the above criterion are subject to legal action, as well as fines for the breaking of rules and any damages experienced by buyers.[7]

Impact

The effects of the Residential Lead-Based Hazard Reduction Act[9] are studied through observations of people's behavior when choosing a home. A study that analyzed the effectiveness of Section 1018 concluded the following:

  1. For every economic group, there were no major changes to the number of families in old versus new houses.
  2. When presented with information about lead paint, people were more likely to consider the risks of living in an old house. People were more likely to exhibit this behavior when the information was presented during transactions.
  3. People were more likely to have a house tested for lead before buying.
  4. Houses saw a decrease in incidents where the paint was found peeling or coming off the walls.
  5. Older homes were less likely to be owned by families with young children.[10]

References
  1. "The Lead Disclosure Rule". hud.gov. US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  2. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF LEAD-BASED PAINT" (PDF). HUD.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  3. "CPSC Announces Final Ban On Lead-Containing Paint". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 2016-07-04. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  4. "16 CFR § 1303.1 - Scope and application". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  5. United States Government Accountability Office (June 2018). "LEAD PAINT IN HOUSING: HUD Should Strengthen Grant Processes, Compliance Monitoring, and Performance Assessment" (PDF). Gao Highlights. Retrieved 12/26/20. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. Jacobs, David E; Clickner, Robert P; Zhou, Joey Y; Viet, Susan M; Marker, David A; Rogers, John W; Zeldin, Darryl C; Broene, Pamela; Friedman, Warren (October 2002). "The prevalence of lead-based paint hazards in U.S. housing". Environmental Health Perspectives. 110 (10): A599–A606. ISSN 0091-6765. PMC 1241046. PMID 12361941.
  7. "Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992" (PDF). hud.gov. US Department of Housing and Urban Development. pp. 1–2, 15–16. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  8. US EPA, OCSPP (2013-02-12). "Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X)". US EPA. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  9. https://www.epa.gov/lead/residential-lead-based-paint-hazard-reduction-act-1992-title-x
  10. Bae, Hyunhoe (2012). "Reducing Environmental Risks by Information Disclosure: Evidence in Residential Lead Paint Disclosure Rule: Reducing Environmental Risks by Information Disclosure". Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 31 (2): 404–431. doi:10.1002/pam.21600.
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