Current through Register 1536, December 6, 2024
Section 460.725 - Tenant Lead Law Notification and Disclosure(A) Effective September 1, 1995, prior to entering into a tenancy agreement, the owner or managing agent of a residential premises or dwelling unit built prior to 1978 shall disclose to the prospective tenant of that residential premises or dwelling unit any information and documentation about lead hazards known to the owner, including the location of paint, plaster or other accessible structural materials containing dangerous levels of lead, and such locations that have been covered or encapsulated. The documentation to be provided the prospective tenant in this regard shall consist of the following, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, § 197A(d): (1) Two copies of the Tenant Lead Law Notification/Tenant Certification form issued by the Director, with the Tenant Certification form to be completed and signed by both the prospective tenant and the owner or managing agent. One copy of this form is to be retained by the prospective tenant and the other copy is to be retained by the owner or managing agent;(2) A copy of any Letter of Full Compliance or Letter of Interim Control issued for the dwelling unit;(3) A copy of the most recent lead inspection report or risk assessment report for the dwelling unit and the common areas or exterior surfaces of the residential premises in which the dwelling unit is located, if an inspection or risk assessment has been performed.(B) If the owner or managing agent has provided the prospective tenant with the required documentation, but the prospective tenant refuses to sign the Tenant Certification form, the owner or managing agent may check off the statement in the Tenant Certification form stating that he or she has provided the required documentation, but the prospective tenant refused to sign the Tenant Certification form.(C) The owner or managing agent may voluntarily incorporate in a written lease agreement, or use a preprinted written lease incorporating, the Tenant Lead Law Notification/Tenant Certification form issued by the Director. When incorporated as a provision of the lease, the contents of the Tenant Lead Law Notification/Tenant Certification form must be reproduced, in unaltered form, in their entirety. In no case may the words be amended, the information rearranged or reordered, or the type size reduced from that which appears in the Tenant Lead Law Notification/Tenant Certification form issued by the Director.(D) An owner or managing agent of elderly housing, including retirement communities or similar types of housing reserved for persons 62 years of age or older may modify the manner in which notification, disclosure and certification are conducted pursuant to 105 CMR 460.725(A), upon approval of the Director.(E) An owner who complies with the Short-Term Vacation or Recreational Rental Exemption pursuant to 105 CMR 460.100(D) is exempt from the requirements of 105 CMR 460.725. An owner of a dwelling unit having fewer than 250 square feet of floor space, calculated on the basis of total habitable room area, or which is used as a rooming house; provided that no child younger than six years old occupies said dwelling unit, is exempt from the requirements of 105 CMR 460.725.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1353, eff. 12/1/2017.