Selling or renting a Central Iowa home built before 1978 comes with a federal lead paint disclosure that applies on top of the Iowa seller disclosure statement. It requires you to share what you know, hand over a specific EPA pamphlet before the contract is ratified, attach signed warning language to the sales contract or lease, and keep the paperwork for three years. Here is what the rule asks of sellers and landlords, which homes it skips, and how to keep a house hack or a listing clean.
The EPA states that the disclosure rule applies to most pre 1978 private housing, public housing, federally owned housing, and housing receiving federal assistance. Lead based paint was banned for home use in 1978, and plenty of Central Iowa homes, duplexes and converted multifamily buildings predate that year. If the year built on the county record is 1977 or earlier, plan on the rule applying.
The EPA lists the exemptions. Housing built after 1977 is outside the rule. So are zero bedroom units such as efficiencies, lofts and dormitories, unless a child under six lives there or is expected to; leases of 100 days or less with no renewal or extension; housing specifically for the elderly or persons with disabilities, again unless a child under six lives or is expected to live there; foreclosure sales; and housing that a certified inspector or risk assessor has found free of lead based paint.
HUD, which enforces the rule jointly with the EPA, lays out the duties in a short list.
Notice what the rule does not require. A seller is not obligated to test the home or remove paint before selling. The duty is to disclose what you actually know, share the reports you already have, and document that you did.
For sales, HUD says the seller must give the buyer a ten day opportunity to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment. The parties can agree in writing to change that period, and a buyer can waive it. HUD's description applies the ten day window to sellers and does not extend it to landlords.
If you are buying, treat that period as a real option rather than a formality. In Iowa, lead professionals such as inspectors and visual risk assessors are certified, and the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing lists the program and a public search for certification numbers on its lead page. If you want a test, hire someone who shows up in that search.
The federal lead paint form and the Iowa seller disclosure statement are separate documents with separate jobs. Iowa Code section 558A.4 requires disclosure of significant structural defects and, since January 1, 2026, the presence of lead service lines, which are water pipes. That is a different question from lead in paint. A pre 1978 seller handles both: the federal paint disclosure and pamphlet, and the Iowa statement's lead water service line question that we walk through in our lead water service line guide. For the wider packet, see what Iowa sellers must disclose.
If you buy an older duplex or triplex, you step into the landlord side of this rule the day you sign your first lease. The lease needs the Lead Warning Statement language, the pamphlet goes to the tenant before the lease begins, and you keep the signed copy for three years from the start of the lease. Put it in the same folder as the lease so it is never a scramble.
Renovation is the other half. Iowa carries out the federal renovation rules for pre 1978 housing, which require at least one certified lead safe renovator per renovation, according to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing. If you plan to open walls, replace windows or strip paint in an older house hack, ask your contractor for their certification and check that your project falls under the rule before work starts. Our value add upgrades guide is a good companion for sequencing that work, and an unplanned certification requirement belongs in the budget before it becomes a surprise.
Lead paint comes up in two places on a deal: the seller's disclosure packet and the buyer's inspection plan. Read how the home inspection process works so you know where a paint test fits, and a seller who already holds the signed disclosure and pamphlet receipt keeps the conversation calm. The EPA says sellers, landlords, agents and property managers who fail to provide required information may be subject to penalties, and violations can be reported to the EPA, so a clean file protects everyone at the table.
What this means for your strategy: If you own a home built before 1978 and plan to list or rent it, pull the year built, locate any lead reports you have, and print the EPA pamphlet before the first showing. Sign the disclosure attachment at contract, keep a copy for three years, and if you are buying, decide during the ten day window whether a certified inspection fits the deal.
My seller's guide covers the full disclosure packet and the pre listing items worth handling early, and the home value tool gives you a starting figure for an older home. If you want a straightforward read on a specific older property in Ankeny, Ames or anywhere in the corridor, reach out. Clear, relationship driven guidance from Jackson Krile and the Flanders Team at RE/MAX Real Estate Center, no pressure.
Sources: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Real Estate Disclosure (covered housing, exemptions, pamphlet, ten day period, three year retention, penalties); United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Lead Disclosure Rule (seller and landlord duties, signatures, record retention); Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, Lead program page (lead professional certification and lead safe renovator requirement); Iowa Code section 558A.4, Iowa Code 2026. This is general information and not legal advice. Confirm your own situation with a real estate attorney, and check the current EPA pamphlet and disclosure forms before use.
Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · Jackson@FlandersTeam.com
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