Lead Paint in a Pre-1978 Los Angeles Rental: The Lease Disclosure, the Repair Rule, and the 2026 Dust Standard
If your building went up before 1978, two federal rules follow it around for as long as you rent it out. One applies every time you sign a lease. The other applies every time someone you pay, or you yourself, sands, scrapes, cuts or pulls out a painted surface. California adds its own layer on top, and a federal standard that took effect in January 2026 changed what a lead test report will say about dust.
None of this requires you to test the building. What it requires is paperwork at the right moment, the right contractor for the right job, and a habit of fixing peeling paint before it becomes a code order. This guide walks through each piece with the regulation it comes from.
Which buildings and leases are covered
The federal rules use the term “target housing,” defined in 40 CFR 745.103 as housing constructed before 1978. Three categories are carved out: housing for the elderly (reserved for households with someone 62 or older at initial occupancy), housing for persons with disabilities, and zero-bedroom dwellings, meaning any unit where the living area is not separated from the sleeping area, which the regulation says includes studios and rentals of individual rooms. Each of those exemptions disappears if a child under 6 lives there or is expected to.
The lease disclosure rule, 40 CFR 745.101, also does not apply to:
- Leases of 100 days or less where no renewal or extension can occur.
- Housing a certified inspector has found to be free of lead-based paint.
- Renewals of an existing lease where you already made the full disclosure and have learned nothing new since.
A note for City of Los Angeles owners: the Rent Stabilization Ordinance covers buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued on or before October 1, 1978. The two dates are close but not identical. A building finished during 1978 can be RSO and still fall outside the lead rules, so check the actual construction date rather than assuming one follows from the other.
At lease signing: the four things the federal rule requires
Under 40 CFR 745.107, before a tenant is obligated under a lease of target housing, the landlord has to:
- Give the tenant the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home (or an EPA-approved equivalent).
- Disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the unit, along with what you know about them: how the determination was made, where the paint is, and what condition the surfaces are in.
- Hand over any records or reports available to you about lead in the housing. That includes reports on common areas, and reports on other units if they came out of an evaluation of the building as a whole.
- Tell any agent involved what you know and what records exist.
Timing matters. If the tenant has already made an offer to lease before you complete these steps, section 745.107(b) says you must finish the disclosure before accepting the offer and give the tenant a chance to review it and amend the offer.
What goes in the lease
Section 745.113(b) requires the lease itself, or an attachment to it, to contain a Lead Warning Statement in the exact wording the regulation sets out, your statement disclosing known lead-based paint and hazards or saying you have no knowledge of any, a list of the records you provided (or a statement that there are none), the tenant’s acknowledgment that they received that information and the pamphlet, and, where an agent is involved, the agent’s statement that they told you about your obligations. Landlord, agent and tenant all sign and date it.
The disclosure has to be in the language of the lease. If you lease in Spanish, the attachment is in Spanish.
Keep it for three years
Landlords and agents must keep a copy of the completed attachment, or the lease containing it, for at least three years from the start of the leasing period (745.113(c)). If a tenant stays five years on a renewal you did not have to re-disclose, the original signed form from year one is the one that proves compliance. Keep it longer than the minimum.
What failing to disclose costs
Section 745.118 lets a tenant recover three times their actual damages from anyone who knowingly violates the rule, and lets a court award attorney fees, court costs and expert witness fees to a tenant who wins. Federal civil penalties apply per violation and are adjusted for inflation each year; the current maximums are published in 40 CFR 19.4. Agents share the obligation under 745.115, but an agent who informed you of your duties is not liable for information you knew and kept from them.
“No knowledge” is a statement, not a default. The rule does not make you test. It does make you disclose what you know and hand over what you have. If a prior owner’s sale disclosures, a lender’s report, a past risk assessment or a code inspection noted lead-based paint, that information is now available to you, and checking “no knowledge” on the next lease is no longer accurate.
Turnovers and repairs: EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule
The second federal rule is the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule at 40 CFR 745, Subpart E. It applies to renovations performed for compensation in pre-1978 housing. California is not one of the states EPA has authorized to run its own RRP program, so in Los Angeles the federal program applies directly and firm certification comes from EPA.
Landlords doing their own work are covered
The rule is not only for contractors. EPA’s published answer (Frequent Question 23002-18512) spells out where a landlord stands. If you do the renovation yourself in a pre-1978 rental, you need both firm certification and renovator certification. If your employee does it, you need firm certification and the employee must be a certified renovator. If you hire a renovation firm, you need neither, but the firm must be certified and must use a certified renovator who directs any workers who are not.
EPA also states that temporarily unoccupied or vacant rental housing is not exempt. Painting and patching a unit between tenants is exactly the kind of job the rule was written for. EPA does treat one arrangement as outside the rule: a tenant who does the labor with paint and materials you supply and receives no money, rent credit or other compensation for it.
What counts as a renovation
“Renovation” in 745.83 means modifying an existing structure in a way that disturbs painted surfaces: repairing or removing painted components, surface preparation such as sanding and scraping, removing walls, ceilings, plumbing or windows, and weatherization that cuts into painted surfaces. It excludes minor repair and maintenance, which the same section defines as work that disturbs 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside. Four conditions limit that exclusion:
- Window replacement is never minor repair, regardless of size.
- Demolition of painted surface areas is never minor repair.
- A job that uses any of the restricted practices described below, such as open-flame burning or power sanding without a shroud, does not qualify.
- Jobs in the same room within the same 30 days count as one job. Four small patches in a kitchen over two weeks are added together.
The rule also does not apply if a certified inspector or risk assessor has determined in writing that the specific components being disturbed are free of lead-based paint, or if a certified renovator has tested each affected component with an EPA-recognized test kit or paint-chip lab analysis and found it lead-free (745.82(a)).
What the firm must do before and during the work
No more than 60 days before starting work in a unit, the firm gives the owner EPA’s Renovate Right pamphlet and, if the owner does not live there, gives one to an adult occupant too, with a signed acknowledgment, a written certification that the pamphlet was delivered to the unit, or a certificate of mailing at least 7 days before the work (745.84(a)). For a vacant unit, EPA says giving the pamphlet to the owner is enough. Work in common areas of a multi-unit building requires written notice to each affected unit or posted signs describing the work and where to get the pamphlet (745.84(b)).
During the job, 745.85 requires warning signs, containment, and specific cleanup and cleaning verification. Inside, that means covering the floor 6 feet beyond the work, sealing ducts, and closing and covering doors. Outside, it means covering the ground 10 feet beyond the work, closing doors and windows within 20 feet, and adding vertical containment near a property line. Three practices are restricted outright: open-flame burning or torching of painted surfaces, power sanding, grinding, planing or blasting without a shroud and HEPA vacuum attachment, and heat guns at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
The firm keeps records showing it did all of this for three years after the job (745.86). An emergency repair, such as a sudden equipment failure that threatens safety or property, is exempt from the advance pamphlet and some work practice steps, but not from the cleanup and cleaning verification requirements.
What this means when you hire
Ask any painter, handyman or general contractor working in a pre-1978 unit for their EPA lead-safe firm certification and the name of the certified renovator assigned to your job. Ask for a copy of the records the firm keeps under 745.86. Under 745.87, failing to follow any part of the rule is a federal violation, and lead-based paint is assumed to be present at every covered renovation. An order to abate under state housing law, covered next, is directed to the owner of the building.
California’s layer: a lead hazard is a substandard condition
State law reaches the same buildings from a different direction. Health and Safety Code section 17920.10 deems a building, unit or premises in violation of the State Housing Law as to any portion that contains lead hazards, which the section defines as deteriorated lead-based paint, lead-contaminated dust or soil, or disturbing lead-based paint without containment, at levels meeting state thresholds and likely to endanger health. That puts lead hazards in the same enforcement track as other substandard housing conditions, where the local enforcement agency orders the owner to abate.
Separately, creating a lead hazard, for example by remodeling a pre-1978 home without lead-safe practices, violates Health and Safety Code section 105256, and enforcement agencies can issue orders to abate or to cease and desist. California’s regulations require contractors, remodelers and painters to use lead-safe work practices under Title 17, California Code of Regulations, section 36050, and Title 17 section 35043 sets when paint in older residential buildings is presumed to be lead-based.
In Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program enforces compliance for lead hazard evaluations and abatement and investigates complaints about unsafe work practices. The program lists open flame burning, uncontained machine sanding or grinding, uncontained pressure washing, uncontained abrasive blasting and uncontained dry sanding or scraping as prohibited on pre-1978 buildings, and it offers lead-safe work practices training to property owners and property management companies at no cost.
California runs its own certification for lead-related construction through the Department of Public Health. That is a separate credential from EPA’s RRP certification, and the state fee is $135 per certificate or renewal as of the CDPH program page. If a job is an abatement rather than a renovation, confirm with the contractor which credentials it requires.
What changed on January 12, 2026
EPA’s lead hazard standards in 40 CFR 745.65 define when paint, dust and soil count as hazards. Before January 12, 2026, a dust-lead hazard on floors or interior window sills meant 10 micrograms per square foot or more on floors and 100 on sills. On and after January 12, 2026, it is any reportable level of lead in a wipe sample analyzed by an NLLAP-recognized laboratory.
For an owner, the practical effect shows up in paperwork. A risk assessment done today is more likely to report a dust-lead hazard than one done under the old numbers. Whatever the report says, once you have it, it is a record “available” to you under the disclosure rule, and it goes to every new tenant at lease signing. That is not a reason to avoid testing. It is a reason to plan the cleanup and repairs before you commission the report, so the report you hand tenants shows a building that was dealt with.
A file to keep for each pre-1978 building
- The construction date, from the certificate of occupancy or permit history, so you know whether the building is target housing at all.
- Every lead inspection, risk assessment, clearance report or code inspection note mentioning paint, including anything that came with your purchase.
- A signed disclosure attachment for every lease, kept at least three years from the lease start.
- A current printed or electronic copy of Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.
- For each paint-disturbing job, the firm’s EPA certification, the renovator’s name, the pamphlet acknowledgment and the firm’s records.
- A turnover note on the condition of painted surfaces, with photos of any peeling, chipping or chalking paint and the date it was repaired.
How this fits with the rest of your compliance
Lead sits next to the city rules on our other guides. A code enforcement order in the City of Los Angeles follows the compliance timeline described in our guide to SCEP inspections and REAP. If you accept a Section 8 voucher, our Section 8 guide covers the inspection that comes before the contract. Rent stabilization rules in Inglewood, Culver City and Beverly Hills also turn partly on a building’s age, so an older building in those cities can carry both sets of rules at the same turnover.
Own an older building on the Westside or in Inglewood?
Call (310) 272-9847, email info@bessaproperties.com, or book a 30-minute call. Our flat fee management is one predictable monthly amount, not a percentage of rent, covering rent collection and maintenance coordination, with leasing quoted separately. See how we work in Beverly Hills, Culver City and Inglewood.
Book a 30-minute call →Questions owners ask
Do I have to test my pre-1978 building for lead before renting it?
No. Section 745.107 states that nothing in the disclosure rule obligates a landlord to conduct an evaluation or reduction. You have to disclose what you know and provide the records you have. A tenant can ask to have the unit inspected before signing, but the 10-day inspection period in federal law (745.110) applies only to buyers.
Does the disclosure apply to a studio?
A zero-bedroom unit, where the living area is not separated from the sleeping area, is exempt unless a child under 6 lives there or is expected to. If a family with a young child applies for the studio, the exemption no longer applies to that lease.
I renewed a tenant’s lease. Do I need a new disclosure?
Not if you made the full disclosure at the original lease and no new information has come into your possession since (745.101(d)). If you have since received a lead report on the building, you need to disclose it on the renewal.
Can my handyman repaint a vacant unit without certification?
If the work disturbs more than 6 square feet of painted surface in any room, involves window replacement, or involves demolition of painted surfaces, it is a renovation under the RRP rule. A vacant unit is not exempt, so the handyman’s business must be an EPA-certified firm using a certified renovator. Patching a few nail holes in one room may fall under the minor repair exclusion, but jobs in the same room within 30 days are added together.
I do the painting myself. Does the rule apply to me?
EPA treats a landlord doing their own renovation work in pre-1978 rental housing as working for compensation, so you need firm and renovator certification. EPA does not waive the firm certification fee for landlords. A firm’s certification lasts five years.
What is the difference between a renovation and an abatement?
EPA describes abatement as work designed to address existing lead-based paint hazards, which a state or local government may order, for example after a child is found with lead poisoning, while RRP work disturbs paint as a side effect of a repair or remodel. They are separate programs with separate certifications. An abatement contractor and a lead-safe renovation firm are not interchangeable.
Sources and disclaimer. 40 CFR Part 745: Subpart F (sections 745.101, 745.103, 745.107, 745.110, 745.113, 745.115, 745.118), Subpart E (sections 745.82, 745.83, 745.84, 745.85, 745.86, 745.87, 745.89) and section 745.65 as amended at 89 FR 89456 (Nov. 12, 2024), via the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations; U.S. EPA, Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards, How does my firm become RRP-certified?, Lead Abatement Versus Lead RRP and EPA Lead-Based Paint Program Frequent Questions (January 2026), including FQ 23002-18512 and 23002-23856; California Health and Safety Code sections 17920.10 and 105256 and Title 17 CCR sections 35043 and 36050, as reproduced in county code enforcement guidance; California Department of Public Health, Lead-Related Construction program; Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Current as of October 2026. This article is general information for property owners from a California DRE-licensed property management company, not legal advice. Federal penalty amounts are adjusted annually and state and local enforcement varies. Confirm your obligations for a specific building, lease or project with a real estate attorney, and confirm contractor certification directly with EPA and CDPH before work begins.
