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Interior Environmental Issues
Key Points: Interior Environmental Issues
- Massachusetts lead laws apply to residential properties built before 1978 that are being sold or rented.
- Owners, landlords, and licensees are required to disclose the potential presence of lead to buyers or tenants for any residential property built prior to 1978.
- Disclosure requirements regarding lead supersede Massachusetts’s status as a caveat emptor jurisdiction.
- Lead-based paints were commonly used prior to 1978; a federal law was passed banning their use because lead poses a serious health risk.
- Owners and landlords may not discriminate against families with children under age six just to avoid lead abatement requirements.
- Owners/landlords must remove or encapsulate lead-based paint on any “mouthable” surface in properties built before 1978 if a child under six will live in the property.
- Lead may be found on painted surfaces, including walls, ceilings, woodwork, doors, rails, window sills, and stair risers—all of which can be at the “mouthable” level.
- Owners selling a dwelling built before 1978 must provide a Property Transfer Notification Certification, which must be signed by all parties and real estate licensees involved in the transaction.
- Owners of pre-1978 dwellings must provide the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program packet to prospective buyers and tenants.
- Landlords must present prospective tenants of pre-1978 dwellings with the Tenant Lead Law Notification.
- Adult rooming houses and short-term vacation rental properties may be exempt from lead-based paint disclosure requirements under certain circumstances.
- Lead abatement is intended to eliminate lead paint hazards.
- Lead renovation is any repair, remodeling, or renovation work performed on a property where lead-based paint may be disturbed.
- Encapsulation is a process that protects occupants from lead-based paint by providing a barrier between the lead-based paint and the environment.
- Federal law requires property managers to provide the Environmental Protection Agency lead safety pamphlet to prospective tenants of buildings built before 1978.
- Asbestos was used as a building material because it doesn’t burn.
- Asbestos was used in items such as ceiling and floor tile, insulation, pipe covering and outdoor shingles.
- Asbestos-containing materials must be maintained in good condition and abated properly when necessary; intact asbestos in good repair isn’t considered dangerous.
- When inhaled, asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer and other potentially fatal diseases.
- The Code of Massachusetts Regulations (453 CMR 6.00) stipulates the requirements for the safe removal and disposal of asbestos.
- Notification must be made to the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Labor Standards before beginning work involving asbestos abatement, removal, or disposal.
- Safe removal of asbestos requires licensed technicians and sealed environments.
- Asbestos is highly friable, so as it ages, its fibers break down very easily into tiny filaments that can be ingested.
- Encapsulation of asbestos involves using special sealing materials so that broken filaments can’t escape.
- Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that’s colorless and odorless and is produced in the ground when uranium and radium decay.
- Radon seeps into homes through points such as drains, sump pits, joints, cracks, and well water. Higher levels tend to concentrate in basements.
- Radon gas breaks down into radioactive particles that, when breathed, can damage lung tissue and lead to lung cancer.
- Radon is second only to smoking as the leading cause of lung cancer.
- A radon contingency can be included in a purchase offer in case elevated radon levels are found and the buyer wants to negotiate remediation or terminate.
- Buyers purchasing properties that have their own private well rather than from a municipal water supply should have the well water tested for contaminants.
- Rain water and snow melt filter through the ground and into aquifers and wells, and contaminants can be carried along with the water.
- Lead is a concern in public water supplies due to the lead pipes used in a municipal system and possibly in private pipes going from the street to the house.
- Lead is often found in highly corrosive, or hard, water, which can cause lead pipes to corrode.
- Soft water has a smaller number of dissolved minerals and other substances in the water, so it’s less corrosive.
- Both public and private water supplies are regulated by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which governs state drinking water regulations.
- Home inspectors check water pressure, but not contaminant levels of private water sources. These would be additional items that should be tested.
- Mold is a naturally occurring fungus that can be found anywhere, releasing spores into the air that land on surfaces, attach, and begin growing.
- Mold tends to thrive in homes with humidity greater than 60%.
- Exposure to mold may cause allergic responses, skin and respiratory irritations, trigger asthma, and increase infection risks for immune-suppressed individuals.
- If mold is either seen or smelled, it should be addressed.
- Massachusetts doesn’t have specific laws related to mold in homes, but failure to disclose mold may be actionable under M.G.L. c. 93a, which covers consumer protection.
- The EPA recommends that mold growth covering an area larger than three square feet should be cleaned by professionals.
- Massachusetts law requires that operational smoke detectors be installed in residential properties, and comply with fire codes regulating their use.
- Square footage, the number of bedrooms, habitable levels, and stairways impact the number of smoke detectors required.
- Smoke alarms may not be more than 10 years old and must use ionization and/or photoelectric technologies as appropriate.
- Sellers of residential property are required to have the fire department inspect their property for compliance with state smoke and carbon monoxide detector laws.
- If sellers’ homes pass a smoke detector inspection, they’ll receive a compliance certificate to present to buyers at closing.
- Nicole’s Law requires that all residences (including rentals) that have a source of carbon monoxide be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors.
- Every level of most homes, including habitable portions of attics and basements, must be equipped with a working carbon monoxide detector.
- On levels with bedrooms, owners should install carbon monoxide detectors within 10 feet of bedroom doors.
- Sellers must obtain a certificate of compliance from the local fire department indicating that carbon monoxide alarms have been inspected and approved.
- Carbon monoxide detectors are required in all residential properties that have appliances or systems that emit carbon monoxide.
- Carbon monoxide detectors should be located on every level of a home, including habitable areas of basements and attics.
- Because UFFI contained formaldehyde, which can be a health hazard, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health banned its use in 1979.
- Exposure to formaldehyde in UFFI can lead to eye, skin, and respiratory irritations.
- Once exposure to formaldehyde in UFFI becomes a problem for someone, subsequent exposure can lead to a worsening of symptoms.
- As UFFI ages, it becomes less of a problem, and UFFI disclosure isn’t required.
- A cause of action may not be brought against anyone for not disclosing that the property has urea formaldehyde foam insulation.