– By the MAR Legal Team
Q: Is the tenant’s agent required to sign the Tenant Lead Paint Certification?
A: Under state and federal law, owners and their agents must comply with tenant lead notification requirements for properties built before 1978 prior to a prospective tenant entering into a lease agreement.
The owner is obligated to sign two copies of the Tenant Notification and Tenant Certification Form, keeping one fully executed copy for their records and providing the other to the prospective tenant. A copy of the most recent inspection report and/or letter of compliance or interim control for the unit, if one exists, must also accompany the Form. Owners who fail to comply with this requirement are subject to civil penalty under Massachusetts law and both civil and criminal penalties under federal law.
The purpose of the Tenant Lead Law Notification is twofold: to provide tenants with information and resources about lead paint, the danger of lead poisoning, and tenant rights, as well as informing them of the status of the property as to the owner/lessor’s knowledge. Importantly, in Massachusetts, the owner is obligated to have the home inspected for lead if it is built prior to 1978 and a child under the age of six lives there. If lead hazards are found, the home must be deleaded or brought under interim control.
The Tenant Certification Form that accompanies the Tenant Lead Law Notification memorializes the owner’s disclosure, the tenant’s receipt of any listed documents and Notification, as well as the agent’s acknowledgment that they informed the owner/lessor of their obligations under federal and state law including disclosure, notification, and their responsibility to ensure compliance.
Following the owner’s disclosure, the tenant’s initials confirming receipt and the agent’s acknowledgment, the Form provides for a signature from the owner, tenant and agent as to the accuracy of the information they have initialed. While there is a space indicated for a second agent, the tenant’s agent does not play a role in providing any of the information included on the Form and therefore they do not have the ability to certify “the information they have provided is true and accurate.”
At the same time, if the agent for the tenant does sign it, there is not necessarily any harm in that. Tangentially, it is important to note that the law does not specifically delineate between owner’s agent and tenant’s agent and if you are the only agent, you should inform the owner/lessor of their obligations and facilitate the Notification and Certification paperwork.