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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    2

    Question Does A Lack Of Lead Disclosure Or Pamphlet Nulify A Lease

    Does the lack of the EPA’s Lead Paint Disclosure for a property that is later discovered to have lead in the water pipes, the tub enamel and flaking paint cause a lease to be null and void? I have read in the EPA documentation that “before a purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract to purchase or lease target housing, certain requirements must be met.” These include the EPA lead paint pamphlet, disclosure of any known lead in the house, etc. I leased a house in western Pa and after a year and a half of a 2 year lease left. There are other circumstances including mold. There were 4 children, 2 teenagers and 2 seven year olds drinking and bathing in that house. Since it was not disclosed or the pamphlet given then the lease should have been void and no obligation exist. Please advise.

    Thank you for your time.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: Does A Lack Of Lead Disclosure Or Pamphlet Nulify A Lease

    EDIT: Sorry, missed the part where you had already broken this lease and moved out, but you get the drift. You'll probably have a very hard time proving any damages or convincing a court that you were entitled to break the lease after living there for a year and a half unless you can establish a history of complaints and inaction - such as letters and formal complaints while you were a tenant.

    Unless state law differs and confers additional protection, you probably can't break the lease based upon this alone. See the clause at the very end of the statute. Also note that the federal statute only covers paint, not solder joints in older plumbing systems.

    You'll most likely need a lawyer to proceed if your lardlord is uncooperative in trying to require repair/abatement etc.

    You can probably require repair/remediation, whch depending upon the extent, may make the dwelling uninhabitable thus voiding the lease. There may be basis for a civil suit, but this would be beyond the scope of any info you receive here. And you'll undoubably need to have blood tests done to establish any claims of lead poisoning, and water and air sampling/testing to prove the source. None of this is do-it-yourself stuff. You would need a lawyer.

    Real world, you might want to try to negotiate with the landlord that it would be in the best interest of both parties to allow you to break the lease, at which point they could make needed repairs/abatement/remediation between the time of your vacating and the next tenant moving in(and getting them pamphlet next time). There are statuatory fines for certain violations of this and state laws as well, which might motivate the landlord to act in your favor, in order to avoid being fined by the government(which is a lot easier for the gov to do than for you to sue). He/she does want to be seen as being in voluntary compliance to avoid penalties.

    Again, check state statutes as well, and consult a local attorney if needed.

    SEC. 1018. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING LEAD UPON
    TRANSFER OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.

    (a) Lead Disclosure in Purchase and Sale or Lease of Target
    Housing. --
    (1) Lead-based paint hazards. Not later than 2 years after
    the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the
    Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall
    promulgate regulations under this section for the disclosure of
    lead-based paint hazards in target housing which is offered for
    sale or lease. The regulations shall require that, before the
    purchaser or lessee is obligated under any contract to purchase
    or lease the housing, the seller or lessor shall --
    (A) provide the purchaser or lessee with a lead hazard
    information pamphlet, as prescribed by the Administrator of the
    Environmental Protection Agency under section 406 of the Toxic
    Substances Control Act;
    (B) disclose to the purchaser or lessee the presence of
    any known lead-based paint, or any known lead-based paint
    hazards, in such housing and provide to the purchaser or lessee
    any lead hazard evaluation report available to the seller or
    lessor; and
    (C) permit the purchaser a 10-day period (unless
    the parties mutually agree upon a different period of time) to
    conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of
    lead-based paint hazards.
    (2) Contract for purchase and sale. Regulations promulgated
    under this section shall provide that every contract or the
    purchase and sale of any interest in target housing shall contain
    a Lead Warning Statement and a statement signed by the purchaser
    that the purchaser has --
    (A) read the Lead Warning Statement and understands its
    contents;
    (B) received a lead hazard information pamphlet; and
    (C) had a 10-day opportunity (unless the parties
    mutually agreed upon a different period of time) before becoming
    obligated under the contract to purchase the housing to conduct a
    risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based
    paint hazards.
    (3) Contents of lead warning statement. The Lead Warning
    Statement shall contain the following text printed in large type
    on a separate sheet of paper attached to the contract:
    "Every purchaser of any interest in residential real
    property on which a residential dwelling was built prior to 1978
    is notified that such property may present exposure to lead from
    lead-based paint that may place young children at risk of
    developing lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in young children may
    produce permanent neurological damage, including learning
    disabilities, reduced intelligence quotient, behavioral problems,
    and impaired memory. Lead poisoning also poses a particular risk
    to pregnant women. The seller of any interest in residential real
    property is required to provide the buyer with any information on
    lead-based paint hazards from risk assessments or inspections in
    the seller's possession and notify the buyer of any known
    lead-based paint hazards. A risk assessment or inspection for
    possible lead-based paint hazards is recommended prior to
    purchase.".
    (4) Compliance Assurance. Whenever a seller or lessor has
    entered into a contract with an agent for the purpose of selling
    or leasing a unit of target housing, the regulations promulgated
    under this section shall require the agent, on behalf of the
    seller or lessor, to ensure compliance with the requirements of
    this section.
    (5) Promulgation. A suit may be brought against the
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Administrator
    of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 20 of the
    Toxic Substances Control Act to compel promulgation of the
    regulations required under this section and the Federal district
    court shall have jurisdiction to order such promulgation.

    (b) Penalties for Violations. --
    (1) Monetary penalty. Any person who knowingly violates any
    provision of this section shall be subject to civil money
    penalties in accordance with the provisions of section 102 of the
    Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989
    (42 U.S.C. 3545).
    (2) Action by secretary. The Secretary is authorized to take
    such lawful action as may be necessary to enjoin any violation of
    this section.
    (3) Civil liability. Any person who knowingly violates the
    provisions of this section shall be jointly and severally liable
    to the purchaser or lessee in an amount equal to 3 times the
    amount of damages incurred by such individual.
    (4) Costs. In any civil action brought for damages pursuant
    to paragraph (3), the appropriate court may award court costs to
    the party commencing such action, together with reasonable
    attorney fees and any expert witness fees, if that party
    prevails.
    (5) Prohibited act. It shall be a prohibited act under
    section 409 of the Toxic Substances Control Act for any person to
    fail or refuse to comply with a provision of this section or with
    any rule or order issued under this section. For purposes of
    enforcing this section under the Toxic Substances Control Act,
    the penalty for each violation applicable under section 16 of
    that Act shall not be more than $10,000.

    (c) Validity of Contracts and Liens. Nothing in this section
    shall affect the validity or enforceability of any sale or
    contract for the purchase and sale or lease of any interest in
    residential real property or any loan, loan agreement, mortgage,
    or lien made or arising in connection with a mortgage loan, nor
    shall anything in this section create a defect in title.

    (d) Effective Date. The regulations under this section shall take
    effect 3 years after the date of the enactment of this title.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    2

    Question Re: Does A Lack Of Lead Disclosure Or Pamphlet Nulify A Lease

    I saw that section and read it to mean that leases or sales already in progress when the law was enacted were free from liability. Guess I was wrong. What is really agravating though is that the owner told us at the end of 8/06 that as long as we were paid up by the 15th and out by the 31st (september) we were ok. Mid september we asked if we could have a one month extension to find a place to live and instead of telling us know, he asked to leave (posted an eviction notice) and filed suit. If I had known it was going to be that big a deal, I would have lived in a tent if needed.

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