Lead Paint Disclosure Michigan

Q: Do I have to test my home for lead before I sell it in Michigan?

No. Federal law never requires you to test or remediate before selling. It only requires you to disclose what you actually know, hand over any lead records you have, give the buyer the EPA pamphlet, and offer a 10-day inspection window. If you have no knowledge and no reports, you check those boxes and you're compliant. The testing decision belongs to the buyer.

Q: What if my Grand Rapids home was built in 1980? Do I still need the lead form?

No. The federal lead disclosure rule applies only to housing built before 1978. A 1980 build, or anything newer, is exempt from the lead disclosure and pamphlet requirements. You'll still complete Michigan's standard Seller's Disclosure Statement under Act 92 of 1993, but the lead-specific paperwork doesn't apply to post-1977 construction.

Q: Can the buyer skip the 10-day lead inspection so we close faster?

Yes. Under 40 CFR 745.110 the buyer can waive the inspection opportunity in writing, and the two of you can agree in writing to a shorter or longer period. I document this in the offer. In a market going pending in 9 days, plenty of buyers waive it after their general home inspection so the closing timeline doesn't slip.

Q: What happens if I forget to give the lead disclosure?

It's a real risk, not a technicality. The rule is enforced under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the civil penalty for a single Section 1018 violation currently runs up to $22,263 under the inflation-adjusted schedule, with the figure updated each January. A buyer who later finds an undisclosed hazard can also pursue damages. That's why I keep the signed disclosure for the full three years the regulation requires after closing.

Q: Does this rule apply to homes outside Grand Rapids, like Holland or Rockford?

Yes, everywhere. Section 1018 is federal, so it applies to any pre-1978 home across my footprint, whether it's a 1920s house in Holland, an older Rockford property, or a West Side bungalow. Newer suburbs with a lot of recent construction simply have more homes that fall outside the rule. If you want a plain-language read on your situation, I answer questions on the Ask Holden page.

The house was a 1924 American Foursquare on the West Side of Grand Rapids, three blocks off Bridge Street, and the seller had it priced at $289,000 with fresh white trim that looked sharp from the sidewalk.The buyer's agent loved it.Then her client's inspector pointed at the window sashes and said the words that stall a deal: chipping paint, pre-1978 build.The seller had no idea she was legally on the hook for a federal disclosure form she'd never seen.We sorted it in 48 hours, but it didn't have to be a scramble.I'm Holden Richardson, I sell across Kent and Ottawa counties, and in a city where the median home was built in 1953, lead-paint disclosure is not an edge case here.It's most of my listings.

That 1953 median construction year matters more than any single market number.It means the typical Grand Rapids house predates the 1978 ban on lead-based paint in housing by a quarter century.If you're selling in Eastown, Heritage Hill, Creston, the West Side, or any of the older Holland and Zeeland neighborhoods, the odds are strong your home triggers a federal rule that has nothing to do with your township and everything to do with a law Congress passed in 1992.

The current market makes this disclosure unavoidable, not optional

Here's why timing makes this sharper right now.The City of Grand Rapids is moving at a median of $304,000, up 10% year over year, with homes going pending in 9 days and only 1.2 months of supply.Kent County's median sits at $335,000.These are public-aggregator estimates, not MLS-certified figures, so I'll say that once and move on.The point is speed.When a home goes pending in 9 days, sellers want to move fast, and a missing lead disclosure is exactly the kind of paperwork gap that gets a buyer's attorney involved at the worst moment.In a slow market you'd have time to fix it.At 9 days to pending, you want it done before the sign goes in the yard.And it is the older, pre-1978 stock that draws the most competition right now: entry-level homes under $250,000, where a lot of that century-old inventory sits, are running a pending-to-active ratio of 179%, far hotter than the 86% on luxury listings above $500,000.The houses most likely to need a lead form are often the ones selling fastest.

What the federal rule actually requires

The governing law is the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, known as Title X.The EPA's disclosure requirement lives in Section 1018, and the regulation is codified at 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart F.It applies to almost all housing built before 1978, and it applies in Michigan the same as everywhere else because it's federal.Before a buyer is obligated under a purchase contract, a seller of pre-1978 housing must do four specific things.

First, disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards in the home.Second, hand over every record and report you have about lead in the property, including past inspections or risk assessments.Third, give the buyer the EPA pamphlet titled "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home," which EPA refreshed in a January 2026 edition.Fourth, include a Lead Warning Statement in the contract and have everyone sign a disclosure that documents all of the above.The seller, the buyer, and the agents all certify it.

The 10-day inspection window, and how it really works

The piece that trips people up is the inspection opportunity.Under 40 CFR 745.110, the seller must give the buyer a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment for lead-based paint and lead hazards.That's the default.But the same regulation gives you flexibility most sellers don't know about: the buyer and seller can mutually agree, in writing, to a different period of time, and the buyer can waive the inspection opportunity entirely by saying so in writing.

That written waiver is the lever I reach for constantly.In a 9-day-pending market, plenty of buyers don't want to burn 10 days on a lead inspection of a house they've already had inspected by a general home inspector.They sign the waiver, the deal keeps its pace, and the seller is still fully protected because the opportunity was offered and documented.The mistake is treating the 10 days as a mandatory contingency that automatically eats two weeks.It isn't.It's an offered right the buyer controls.

Keep the signed form for three years, and why that's not bureaucratic trivia

Under 40 CFR 745.113, sellers, lessors, and their agents must retain the completed, signed disclosure for no less than three years from the date the sale closes.I tell every seller to keep their copy with their closing documents, because if a dispute ever surfaces, that signed form is the entire defense.The penalties for skipping disclosure are not symbolic.The rule is enforced under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the civil penalty for a single Section 1018 violation now runs up to $22,263 under the current inflation-adjusted schedule.A missed disclosure can also hand a buyer grounds for a damages claim on top of that.Three years of recordkeeping is low-cost protection against a five-figure problem.

Where Michigan's own rules layer on top

Federal law sets the lead floor.Michigan adds its own state disclosure on top through the Seller Disclosure Act, Act 92 of 1993, codified at MCL 565.957.That's the standard Seller's Disclosure Statement you've probably seen, covering the condition of the property, and it's separate from the lead form.The act took effect in January 1994 and applies to transfers of one to four residential dwelling units.Failure to deliver a signed Seller's Disclosure Statement lets a Michigan buyer terminate an otherwise binding purchase agreement, so it carries real teeth of its own.The two forms travel together in my listings: federal lead disclosure for pre-1978 homes, plus the Michigan state disclosure on essentially every resale.

A few exemptions are worth knowing so you don't over-disclose.Housing built in 1978 or later is exempt.So are zero-bedroom units, leases of 100 days or fewer with no renewal, housing already certified lead-free by a licensed inspector, and foreclosure sales.If you're selling new construction in Hudsonville or a 2015 build in Caledonia, the lead rule doesn't reach you.That's part of why newer-stock submarkets behave differently: Hudsonville's median runs about $407,000 with a 13-day median DOM, and a lot of that inventory never touches a lead form at all.

Disclosing without scaring the buyer: the renovation angle

Disclosure isn't the same as a problem. "Known lead-based paint" means what you actually know, not what you're guessing about.Most sellers of older homes honestly check "I have no knowledge," disclose that they have no reports, and that's a complete, compliant disclosure.The bigger trap is what happens before listing.If you hire someone to repaint or renovate a pre-1978 home and the work disturbs more than 6 square feet of interior surface in a room or 20 square feet of exterior surface, EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule requires a lead-safe certified firm.Sole proprietors included.A handyman scraping old sashes without certification can create the exact hazard you'd then have to disclose.Certification is a real credential, not a sticker: the firm applies to EPA and assigns a trained certified renovator to the job, and certified firms are the only ones allowed to advertise or perform covered work on pre-1978 homes.Hire one the first time and you keep your disclosure clean instead of manufacturing a hazard you then have to report.

What I'd do if I were listing your pre-1978 home

Here's my actual playbook.Before the sign goes up, I get the federal lead disclosure and the Michigan Seller's Disclosure Statement filled out and ready, so they're part of the listing packet rather than a fire drill during the inspection period.I have the current EPA pamphlet on hand to deliver with the disclosure.I document the buyer's 10-day inspection opportunity in the offer, and if the buyer wants speed, I get their waiver in writing so the timeline doesn't slip in a market moving at 9 days to pending.

If the home has visibly chipping paint on older trim, I'd rather address it with a lead-safe certified contractor before listing than let a buyer's inspector frame it as a deal-breaker.On a 1924 Foursquare like the one off Bridge Street, that usually means the window sashes and porch trim, the two spots a buyer's inspector heads for first on a house with this much paint history.And I keep every signed form for the full three years after closing.None of this is exotic.It's a checklist.But in a city where most homes predate 1978, the sellers who run the checklist close cleaner than the ones who improvise.If you want to see where your specific home sits on price before you start, request a free CMA on my home valuation page — I write it by hand from real comparable sales — and ask me what your block is actually doing right now, since I can pull the current comps and active inventory for your street directly.

FAQ

Do I have to test my home for lead before I sell it in Michigan?

No.Federal law never requires you to test or remediate before selling.It only requires you to disclose what you actually know, hand over any lead records you have, give the buyer the EPA pamphlet, and offer a 10-day inspection window.If you have no knowledge and no reports, you check those boxes and you're compliant.The testing decision belongs to the buyer.

What if my Grand Rapids home was built in 1980?Do I still need the lead form?

No.The federal lead disclosure rule applies only to housing built before 1978.A 1980 build, or anything newer, is exempt from the lead disclosure and pamphlet requirements.You'll still complete Michigan's standard Seller's Disclosure Statement under Act 92 of 1993, but the lead-specific paperwork doesn't apply to post-1977 construction.

Can the buyer skip the 10-day lead inspection so we close faster?

Yes.Under 40 CFR 745.110 the buyer can waive the inspection opportunity in writing, and the two of you can agree in writing to a shorter or longer period.I document this in the offer.In a market going pending in 9 days, plenty of buyers waive it after their general home inspection so the closing timeline doesn't slip.

What happens if I forget to give the lead disclosure?

It's a real risk, not a technicality.The rule is enforced under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the civil penalty for a single Section 1018 violation currently runs up to $22,263 under the inflation-adjusted schedule, with the figure updated each January.A buyer who later finds an undisclosed hazard can also pursue damages.That's why I keep the signed disclosure for the full three years the regulation requires after closing.

Does this rule apply to homes outside Grand Rapids, like Holland or Rockford?

Yes, everywhere.Section 1018 is federal, so it applies to any pre-1978 home across my footprint, whether it's a 1920s house in Holland, an older Rockford property, or a West Side bungalow.Newer suburbs with a lot of recent construction, which you can compare on my price-by-suburb breakdown, simply have more homes that fall outside the rule.If you want a plain-language read on your situation, I answer questions on the Ask Holden page, and the difference between this and Michigan's property-tax disclosures is covered in my piece on homestead versus non-homestead tax bills.