The Massachusetts Lead Law, Explained for Homeowners, Landlords, and Buyers

The Massachusetts Lead Law requires that when a child under 6 lives in a home built before 1978, the owner must delead the unit or bring it under Interim Control, whether or not the tenant ever asks. The owner is strictly liable if a child is lead-poisoned there, even with no warning and no knowledge that lead paint was present. That second part is what national lead articles skip, and it is the difference between the federal "disclose what you know" rule and the much harder duty Massachusetts puts on owners. This guide draws the lines the law-firm blogs blur, including the one move that gets landlords sued: refusing to rent to a family with young kids to dodge the work.

If you landed here because a tenant with a toddler is applying, a child tested high, a purchase-and-sale came with a lead disclosure, or a painter said your pre-1978 house "needs to be careful," you are in the right place. For what deleading and lead-safe painting actually run, see our painting cost guides; for the dollars and the deleading tax credit, see deleading cost in Massachusetts.

Who the Massachusetts Lead Law applies to

The Lead Law applies to any home built before 1978 where a child under 6 lives, and it covers both rentals and owner-occupied housing. The trigger is the child's age and the building's age, not whether the place is a rental. Massachusetts has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, so in practice this catches a huge share of triple-deckers, Victorians, and pre-war capes from Worcester to the South Shore.

A few things follow from that:

• It is the under-6 trigger, not "any kid." A unit with a 9-year-old is not under the affirmative delead mandate the way one with a 4-year-old is. The risk window is early childhood, when kids put hands and paint chips in their mouths.
• Owner-occupants are covered too. If you own your pre-1978 home and have a child under 6 (or a baby on the way), the duty to address lead hazards is yours. It is not a landlord-only law.
• The duty does not wait for a request. A landlord does not get to sit back until a tenant complains. Once a child under 6 occupies a covered unit, the obligation is live.

The state runs all of this through the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP), part of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH). CLPPP licenses inspectors and deleaders, keeps the records, and steps in when a child tests high. You can reach the CLPPP help line at 800-532-9571.

What an owner actually has to do

A covered owner has two legal ways to comply: get the unit fully deleaded, or bring it under Interim Control while the full work is planned. Both start with a licensed inspection that identifies the lead hazards, because you cannot fix what hasn't been mapped.

The work itself is split by how dangerous it is, and that split decides who is legally allowed to do it.

Low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk deleading

Work category	Who can legally do it	What's required
Low-risk	Owner or owner's agent	Allowed after training; basic lead-safe handling of low-hazard items
Moderate-risk	Trained/authorized owner or agent	An 8-hour course, a state exam, and a CLPPP authorization number
High-risk	Licensed deleader only	Performed by a state-licensed deleading contractor

The headline: high-risk deleading must be done by a licensed deleader. No DIY on the dangerous stuff. Removing or stripping leaded paint, work that generates dust and chips, sits in the high-risk bucket and goes to a licensed pro. Lower-risk tasks (covering, certain low-hazard surfaces) can be handled by a trained owner or agent who has cleared the moderate-risk course, exam, and CLPPP authorization. If you are not sure which bucket your house falls into, the inspection report tells you, and CLPPP can confirm.

Letter of Full Compliance vs. Letter of Interim Control

These are the two documents that prove where a unit stands, and they are not interchangeable. A Letter of Full Compliance is signed and dated by a licensed lead inspector stating the unit has no lead hazards or has been deleaded. A Letter of Interim Control comes from a licensed risk assessor and gives the owner up to 2 years to reach full compliance while the most urgent hazards are controlled in the meantime.

Think of it this way. Full Compliance is the finish line: hazards resolved, inspector's letter in hand. Interim Control is a clock, roughly 2 years, that buys an owner time to do the full deleading the right way instead of all at once, while documenting that immediate dangers are being managed. Interim Control is temporary by design; it is not a permanent substitute for deleading. For a landlord, having the right letter on file is also what makes the unit legally rentable to a family with young children, which leads straight to the next point.

You cannot refuse to rent to, or evict, a family with young children

Refusing to rent, declining to renew, or evicting a family with children to avoid deleading is an unlawful practice under M.G.L. c.151B, and it does not count as complying with the Lead Law. This is the wall most national content never mentions, and it is where landlords get themselves into real trouble.

The logic is simple and unforgiving. The Lead Law makes you delead when a child under 6 moves in. The anti-discrimination law makes it illegal to avoid that by screening out families with kids. So "I'll just rent to a couple with no children" is not a compliance strategy; it is a separate violation that can stack on top. Telling an applicant the unit "isn't deleaded" as a reason to reject them is exactly the move c.151B prohibits.

On top of that, an owner is strictly liable for a child's lead poisoning. Strict liability means the owner can be on the hook even without knowing a child under 6 lived there and even without knowing the property had lead paint. There is no "I didn't realize" defense. Failing the duty can carry civil and criminal penalties. The takeaway is blunt: the cheapest path is to delead or get under Interim Control, not to look for a way around the families-with-kids rule.

The lead-paint disclosure you get at sale or lease

Separate from the Massachusetts duty to delead, federal law requires lead-paint disclosure before the sale or lease of most pre-1978 housing. This is the federal Title X rule (Section 1018), and it is about telling people what you know, not about fixing anything.

Under the federal rule, sellers, landlords, and their agents must:

• Give buyers and tenants the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home."
• Provide a Lead Warning Statement and disclose any known lead paint or hazards.
• On a sale, allow a 10-day window for the buyer to inspect or test for lead.

The federal rule does not require testing or removal, only disclosure of known information, and a violation can carry civil and criminal penalties. In a Massachusetts transaction this shows up alongside the state's own paperwork, including the Property Transfer Notification a buyer receives in the purchase-and-sale. That is the moment many buyers first realize they are inheriting a pre-1978 home, and with it the same under-6 delead duty the seller had. Read the full rule on the EPA's real estate lead disclosure page.

Massachusetts deleading vs. the federal EPA RRP rule

These are two different rules and people mix them up constantly. Massachusetts deleading is abatement: permanently removing or covering lead hazards, administered by MA DPH's CLPPP, with high-risk work done by a licensed deleader. EPA RRP is the federal Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule: anyone paid to disturb paint in a pre-1978 home or child-occupied facility must be a certified firm using certified renovators and lead-safe work practices.

The cleanest way to keep them straight:

	MA deleading	EPA RRP
Goal	Permanently address lead hazards (abatement)	Control dust during ordinary renovation
Run by	MA DPH / CLPPP	EPA (federal)
Who does it	Licensed deleader (high-risk work)	EPA-certified firm and renovators
Triggered by	Child under 6 in a pre-1978 unit	Getting paid to disturb paint in pre-1978 housing

So when your painter says both "RRP" and "deleading," they are not being redundant. RRP governs how they safely sand, scrape, and prep a pre-1978 exterior so an ordinary repaint doesn't spread lead dust. Deleading is the bigger, permanent fix that resolves the hazard and earns the compliance letter. A painter can be RRP-certified for everyday work and still not be a licensed deleader. Before you hire, confirm the credential that matches your job; our guide on how to hire a painter in Massachusetts walks through checking a firm's EPA Lead-Safe certification. And because lead and old plaster travel together in pre-1978 homes, see painting plaster walls in Massachusetts before you start prep.

What it costs, and the deleading tax credit

Deleading a pre-1978 unit is real money, and it can raise the cost of an ordinary repaint when lead-safe prep is required. Massachusetts offers a deleading tax credit (Schedule LP, under 830 CMR 62.6.3) that an owner can claim, and Interim Control measures are creditable too. We do not quote the figure here on purpose; the current amount and the full cost ranges live in deleading cost in Massachusetts. For how lead-safe prep nudges a standard job, see interior painting cost and exterior house painting cost.

What to actually do next

If a child under 6 is or will be living in your pre-1978 home, here is the order of operations:

1. Get a licensed lead inspection. A licensed inspector or risk assessor maps the hazards and tells you whether the path is full deleading or Interim Control. Without this, you are guessing.
2. Pick your compliance path. Full deleading earns a Letter of Full Compliance; Interim Control buys roughly 2 years to get there.
3. Match the worker to the work. High-risk deleading goes to a licensed deleader. Everyday repainting of a pre-1978 surface goes to an EPA RRP-certified firm.
4. Keep the paperwork. The compliance letter is what proves the unit is legally rentable to a family with young children.

If a child has already tested with an elevated blood-lead level, CLPPP can get involved and order an inspection, so move quickly. Either way, the way out is the work, not a way around the families-with-kids rule.

Ready to price it out? Tell us about your pre-1978 home and we'll connect you with licensed Massachusetts deleading and lead-safe painting pros for a quote. Get a free estimate.

FAQ

Do I have to delead in Massachusetts?

If a child under 6 lives in your home and it was built before 1978, then yes: the owner must delead the unit or bring it under Interim Control, whether the property is a rental or owner-occupied, and whether or not the tenant asks. The duty is set by the Massachusetts Lead Law and administered through MA DPH's CLPPP.

Does the Lead Law apply to owner-occupied homes or only rentals?

It applies to both. The Massachusetts Lead Law covers any pre-1978 home where a child under 6 lives, rental or owner-occupied. If you own your home and have a young child, the duty to address lead hazards is yours.

Can a landlord refuse to rent to a family with young children to avoid deleading?

No. Refusing to rent, declining to renew, or evicting a family with children to dodge the Lead Law is an unlawful practice under M.G.L. c.151B, and it does not count as compliance. It is a separate violation that can stack on top of the deleading duty.

What is the difference between a Letter of Full Compliance and a Letter of Interim Control?

A Letter of Full Compliance, signed by a licensed inspector, says the unit has no lead hazards or has been deleaded. A Letter of Interim Control, from a licensed risk assessor, gives the owner up to 2 years to reach full compliance while urgent hazards are managed. Interim Control is temporary; full compliance is the finish line.

Is deleading the same as the EPA RRP rule?

No. Massachusetts deleading is abatement that permanently addresses lead hazards under MA DPH's CLPPP, with high-risk work done by a licensed deleader. EPA RRP is a federal rule requiring certified firms and lead-safe work practices when anyone is paid to disturb paint in pre-1978 housing. Different goals, different certifications, different triggers.

What lead-paint disclosure is required when I buy or rent a home?

Federal Title X (Section 1018) requires disclosure of known lead paint and hazards before the sale or lease of most pre-1978 housing, plus the EPA "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" pamphlet and a Lead Warning Statement; sales include a 10-day inspection window. It does not require testing or removal, only disclosure. You can read the Massachusetts Lead Law overview on mass.gov for the state duties that go beyond disclosure.