First Change to Tenant Lead Law Notification in 20 Years: Landlords Must Sign Certification Form at Lease Signing
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By Kimberly Rau, MassLandlords, Inc.
Landlords with housing units built before 1978 and their new renters must sign a new certification form that attests the tenants have received state-required information about lead testing and the dangers of lead poisoning. Signing the form also signifies the owner has checked for lead inspection reports for their property in the Lead Safe Homes database.
Landlords who say they have no knowledge of lead in their rentals must attest they checked for reports on the Lead Safe Homes database. (Image License: CC BY-SA 4.0 MassLandlords, Inc.)
The changes follow the April 21, 2026, meeting among members of the Governor’s Advisory Committee (GAC) for the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. This reflects the first meeting the GAC has had in years. MassLandlords was invited to audit but could not participate.
The new form reflects the first change to tenant lead law notification requirements in 20 years, and was published without a notice and comment period. It is 10 pages long, and includes information about lead testing, including property owner obligations and the difference between a letter of compliance and a letter of interim control. (If you don’t know the difference yourself, read our lead laws page.)
The form also gives an overview of the dangers of lead paint, how to test for lead poisoning and how to spot signs of lead paint around the house. It goes over preventing lead exposure, deleading methods and what property owners are required to do, and disclose, about lead paint.
The last two pages are for you and your renter to fill out and sign. In doing so, you attest that you know your property is lead free, or acknowledge that it contains lead. If you are not sure, you must initial a box that says you checked the state database and found no inspection reports for your property. (If you do have reports, you must provide your renters with a copy.)
This must be done before any new rental agreement is signed.
The form can be found on the state website. It is also linked from our forms page. It is password-protected and cannot be edited, which means if you are using our lease packet, you will need to take some extra steps to include it as you typically would. To do so, fill out the lead notification separately and save it as a new PDF. The new PDF will not be locked and can be included with your lease packet as normal.
