Lead Based Paint Disclosure California (C.A.R. Form FLD)

Understanding the Lead Based Paint Disclosure California Form (C.A.R. FLD)

Lead-based paint is a health and safety concern for California homeowners, landlords, and tenants in older homes. Homes constructed before 1978 might contain lead paint, which poses severe health risks if not addressed appropriately. For most housing built before 1978, federal law requires sellers and landlords to give a lead paint disclosure before the buyer or tenant signs the contract or lease (some housing and transactions are exempt, for example foreclosure sales, leases of 100 days or less where no renewal or extension can occur, leases of housing found lead-based-paint free by an inspector certified under a federal or federally accredited state or tribal program, and renewals of a lease where the landlord has already disclosed all required information and has no new information). There is no separate California government form for lead disclosure: the disclosure required for pre-1978 housing is federal. Sellers and landlords do not have to use EPA's sample forms, but the disclosure must contain the elements the federal rule lists, such as the Lead Warning Statement and the signed certifications. The California Association of REALTORS (C.A.R.) form on this page is an older edition, not C.A.R.'s current form (see below).

Main elements of lead paint disclosure California form

The blank on this page is C.A.R. Form FLD, "Lead-Based Paint and Lead-Based Paint Hazards Disclosure, Acknowledgment and Addendum" for pre-1978 housing sales, leases, or rentals (Revised 1/03); C.A.R.'s current lead-based paint disclosure form is LPD (revised 2024-12). Pages 1-2 of the 7-page PDF are Form FLD. The PDF also includes the C.A.R. Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS, 3 pages), the Smoke Detector Statement (SDS-11) and the Water Heater Statement of Compliance (WHS-11), and TDS page 2 has sample seller names pre-printed under the seller signature lines. Form FLD has four numbered sections: Seller's or Landlord's Disclosure, Listing Agent's Acknowledgment, Buyer's or Tenant's Acknowledgment, and Cooperating Agent's Acknowledgment. Here are the main elements of the disclosure:

• Disclosure of known lead-based paint hazards (Section 1): Property owners must disclose any known instances of lead-based paint on the premises. The seller or landlord must also provide all available records or reports about lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards ("available" includes records the seller or landlord can reasonably obtain). This includes records or reports about common areas and, in multifamily housing, about other units when that information is part of an evaluation or reduction of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the housing as a whole. The seller or landlord signs the certification that closes Section 1.
• Acknowledgment of disclosure (Section 3): The buyer or tenant signs the acknowledgment section, confirming that they have received the information listed in Section 1 and the lead hazard information pamphlet. The seller or landlord does not sign this section; the seller or landlord states on the form that the pamphlet was provided.
• Agent acknowledgments (Sections 2 and 4): The listing agent and the cooperating agent state that the agent has informed the seller or landlord of the seller's or landlord's obligations under federal law (42 U.S.C. 4852d) and is aware of the agent's responsibility to ensure compliance.
• Certification of accuracy: The form has no separate certification section; a certification sentence closes each of the four sections. Under the federal rule, the seller or landlord, the buyer or tenant and the agents each certify the accuracy of their own statements to the best of their knowledge; a buyer's representative paid only by the buyer is not an agent under the rule's definition.
• Attachments: The seller or landlord must also give the buyer or tenant an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet (EPA's "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" or an equivalent pamphlet approved by EPA for use in the state), which provides tips on identifying, controlling, and addressing lead-based paint hazards. The pamphlet is not part of the form: it is provided previously or as an attachment to the addendum.

How to Fill Out the California Lead Paint Disclosure Online

Accomplishing the lead paint disclosure form is imperative to avoid legal complications: a seller, landlord or agent who does not give the required information can face civil and criminal penalties and, for knowing violations, liability for three times the buyer's or tenant's damages. Here are the steps to fill out the California lead-based paint disclosure form pdf (C.A.R. Form FLD):

1. In the opening paragraph above Section 1, mark the type of agreement (California Residential Purchase Agreement, Residential Lease or Month-to-Month Rental Agreement, or other) and fill in the property and the names of the buyer or tenant and the seller or landlord.
2. Read the two Lead Warning Statements that come before Section 1. Their 1/03 wording differs slightly from the warning text in EPA's rule, 40 CFR 745.113 (it says "reduced intelligence quotient" and, in the lease warning, "known lead-based paint"), so for a new disclosure use a form with the current prescribed wording, such as EPA's sample forms or C.A.R. Form LPD.
3. In Section 1, "Seller's or Landlord's Disclosure," list any known lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards, with any available information such as the basis for the determination, the location and the condition of the painted surfaces, and list the available records or reports; if there are none, the form says so.
4. The seller or landlord signs and dates the certification at the end of Section 1.
5. In Section 2, "Listing Agent's Acknowledgment," the listing agent signs.
6. In Section 3, "Buyer's or Tenant's Acknowledgment," the buyer or tenant confirms receipt of the Section 1 information and the pamphlet. The section also prints a buyer's right to cancel under the purchase contract if delivery occurs after acceptance of an offer. That is not permission to deliver late: under the federal rule, the disclosure, available records and pamphlet must be provided before the buyer or tenant is obligated under the contract or lease; if they come after an offer, they must be provided before the offer is accepted, with a chance to review them and possibly amend the offer. In a sale, the seller must also give the buyer a 10-day opportunity to have the home inspected or risk-assessed for lead before the buyer is obligated, unless the parties agree in writing on a different period, and the buyer can waive it in writing; Section 3 of the form records this with a waiver checkbox.
7. The buyer or tenant signs and dates Section 3.
8. In Section 4, "Cooperating Agent's Acknowledgment," the cooperating agent signs (under the federal rule, a buyer's agent paid only by the buyer does not have to sign).
9. Add the buyer's and seller's initials where the form asks for them.
10. The same PDF continues with the TDS, SDS-11 and WHS-11 pages, which have their own seller and buyer signature lines; these are separate forms, not a complete disclosure package for your transaction, and TDS page 2 carries pre-printed sample seller names. Get the current forms your transaction requires from an authorized source instead of reusing these pages.
11. Attach the signed disclosure to the sale contract or include it with the lease, and give the parties copies; the seller or landlord and the agents keep a signed copy for three years after the sale is completed or the lease begins. If you deliver the disclosure electronically, the federal E-SIGN Act consent rules apply: before the buyer or tenant consents, give them a clear statement of their right to paper copies (and any fee), how to withdraw consent and what withdrawing means, what the consent covers, how to update their electronic contact details, and the hardware and software needed to access and keep the records; then get their consent, or confirmation of it, electronically in a way that shows they can open the format you will use. Without that consent, deliver the disclosure on paper. If the contract or lease is in another language (for example, Spanish), the disclosure elements must be in that language.

Importance of California lead based paint disclosure

As a property owner in California, it is crucial to follow both the federal and the California disclosure rules on lead paint. The lead paint disclosure California process helps protect both property owners and occupants from potential health hazards. California law also requires sellers of most one-to-four-unit residential property to disclose known environmental hazards, including lead-based paint, on the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (the PDF on this page also includes the C.A.R. version of that statement); the lead disclosure for rentals comes from federal law.