Buying a Home Built Before 1978 in Massachusetts: Lead Paint Paperwork, the 10-Day Window, and What Happens After Closing

Most of what I show around Boston went up before 1978, so this paperwork lands on a big share of my deals. Here’s the buyer’s side of it, from the disclosure to the tax credit.

Before the purchase and sale agreement

Under M.G.L. c.111 §197A, anyone selling residential premises must, before the purchase and sale agreement is signed, give the buyer the state’s Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification and related materials, along with any letter of interim control or letter of full compliance issued for the property. The seller and any real estate agent involved must also disclose what they know about lead paint, plaster or other accessible materials in the home, and the buyer certifies in writing that the notification was received. The federal rule adds the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home and a Lead Warning Statement attached to the contract.

The 10-day inspection window

The EPA disclosure rule requires sellers of pre-1978 housing to provide homebuyers a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment. Massachusetts law says the same: if the buyer chooses to have a lead inspection, the seller must allow ten days, or longer if both parties agree, through a lead inspection contingency in the purchase and sale agreement or otherwise. Both sides can agree in writing to a different period or to waive it, so read what the offer says.

After closing: the 90-day duty

A child under six in the home changes the obligation. If there are dangerous levels of lead, the owner has to abate or contain it (M.G.L. c.111 §197), and a new owner gets ninety days from taking title. Owners may use interim control on the way to full compliance; a letter of interim control expires after one year, may be renewed once, and it can’t run longer than two years total.

The state tax credit

The state gives some of the money back. Full deleading earns a credit of up to $3,000 per dwelling unit (the cost or $3,000, whichever is less). Interim control earns up to $1,000 per unit, calculated as half the cost or $1,000, whichever is less, and it counts toward the $3,000 per-unit maximum if you later reach full compliance (M.G.L. c.62 §6(e)). Credit you can’t use carries forward up to seven tax years. Confirm the details with a tax professional.

How I handle it with buyers

I put the lead notification in front of buyers before the offer, not at the P&S, and I write the inspection contingency so the ten days actually fit around the home inspection. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.