What happened to Vermont's Essential Maintenance Practices (EMPs)?

They were repealed. 18 V.S.A. 1758, the section that carried the Essential Maintenance Practices regime, now reads in full: Repealed. 2017, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), Section 2, eff. October 21, 2022. The same act restructured the rental-housing maintenance duties into 18 V.S.A. 1759 under the RRPM framework, so the underlying obligation continues in a new form. The phrase essential maintenance practices no longer appears anywhere in the current chapter, and it does not appear on the Vermont Department of Health's own landlord pages either. A number of pages still describing EMPs are out of date, including some official ones.

Do I still have to give my compliance statement to my insurance carrier?

Yes. You do not file with your insurer, but you must copy it. The filing itself goes to the Health Department: 18 V.S.A. 1759(c)(1) requires the owner to file the RRPM compliance statement with the Department pursuant to rules adopted by the Commissioner, and the phrase insurance carrier does not appear anywhere in Chapter 38 itself. The Commissioner's rules then carry the rest of the duty. The Vermont Lead Regulations (Final Adopted Rule, effective 1 July 2024), Section 6.3.1, require that annually a copy of the compliance statement is provided to the owner's liability insurance carrier and to an adult occupant of each unit. The Health Department's current IRC Practices guidance says the same. So the accurate rule is: file with the Department, copy your liability insurance carrier and your tenant. 18 V.S.A. 1765 also mentions insurers, but that section is about the Commissioner of Financial Regulation ordering liability insurers to make coverage available; it is not a landlord duty.

When is the Vermont RRPM compliance statement due?

The due date is defined at 18 V.S.A. 1751(b)(11). The statute provides that the due date shall be one of the following: not later than 365 days after the most recent RRPM compliance statement was received by the Department; within 60 days after the closing of the purchase of the property if no compliance statement was filed with the Department within the past 12 months; any other date agreed to by the owner and the Department; or any other date set by the Department. In practice this is the annual cycle the Health Department describes as filing a compliance statement each year.

Which Vermont rentals require a lead paint disclosure?

Any residential rental built before 1 January 1978, which the federal rule calls target housing. Units built in 1978 or later are outside the rule. Narrow exemptions cover 0-bedroom dwellings, leases of 100 days or less with no renewal, certified lead-free housing, and housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities. Under 40 CFR 745.103 as amended effective January 13, 2025 (89 FR 89416), both the 0-bedroom limb and the elderly or disabled limb are withdrawn where a child under six resides or is expected to reside there, so a studio with a young child in it is target housing. The 100-day and certified lead-free exemptions do not depend on whether a child lives in the unit.

Is a studio apartment covered by the lead disclosure rule?

Only if no child under six lives or is expected to live there. 40 CFR 745.103, as amended effective January 13, 2025 (89 FR 89416), defines target housing as any housing constructed prior to 1978, except housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities or any 0-bedroom dwelling (unless any child who is less than 6 years of age resides or is expected to reside in such housing). The child parenthetical now sits at the end and attaches to both limbs, so a studio with a child under six in it is target housing. A 0-bedroom dwelling is defined as any residential dwelling in which the living area is not separated from the sleeping area, and the definition expressly includes efficiencies, studio apartments, dormitory housing, military barracks, and rentals of individual rooms in residential dwellings. That exclusion was unconditional before the 2025 amendment and older charts still show it that way; note too that this is a federal exemption only and does not by itself decide your Vermont RRPM obligations, which turn on Chapter 38's own definitions.

Do I have to give Vermont tenants 10 days to inspect for lead?

No. The 10-day inspection opportunity is a sales rule, not a rental rule. 40 CFR 745.110 provides that before a purchaser is obligated under any contract to purchase target housing, the seller shall permit the purchaser a 10-day period, unless the parties mutually agree in writing upon a different period of time, to conduct a risk assessment or inspection. The lessor requirements at 40 CFR 745.113(b) contain no inspection-opportunity item at all, and the EPA lessor form does not include one. Many form sites wrongly copy the item onto rental disclosures from the sales version. You may offer an inspection window voluntarily as a matter of good practice, but no federal rule compels it for a lease, and you should not print a line claiming a tenant waived a right they never had.

Does a Vermont landlord have to test for lead-based paint?

The federal disclosure rule requires disclosure of what you actually know, not investigation. If the unit has never been tested and you hold no reports, no knowledge is the honest answer on the federal form. Vermont is different in an important way: 18 V.S.A. 1759 does not let you sit still. It requires regular inspection of painted surfaces for deterioration, prompt and safe repairs, and specialized cleaning, and 18 V.S.A. 1760 presumes all paint in target housing to be lead-based unless a licensed inspector's written report says otherwise. So while neither law forces you to commission a lead test, Vermont does force you to look at your paint and act on what you find.

Does complying with 18 V.S.A. 1759 protect me if a tenant sues?

Partly, and this is one of the strongest reasons to comply. Under 18 V.S.A. 1761(c), an owner in compliance with 1759 is not liable to a tenant in an individual action for habitability, under common law or under the listed chapters, for injury claimed to be caused by lead exposure, provided the owner also follows any applicable risk assessment recommendations, plans, orders, or assurances of discontinuance. But 1761(d) removes that immunity in four situations: fraud in the RRPM compliance statement; failing to follow the recommendations of a licensed inspector-risk assessor's risk assessment report; creating or allowing the creation of lead hazards during renovation, remodeling, maintenance, or repair; or failing to respond in a timely fashion to notification that lead hazards may have recurred. The shield rewards genuine compliance and punishes paper compliance.

How long must a Vermont landlord keep the signed disclosure?

At least three years from the start of the leasing period, under 40 CFR 745.113(c). Keep the signed disclosure, a note of which pamphlet edition was delivered, and copies of every record you handed over, plus the compliance statement you gave the tenant. 40 CFR 745.113(c)(2) states that the retention requirement is not intended to place any limitations on civil suits under the Act, or to otherwise affect a lessee's or purchaser's rights under the civil penalty provisions of 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3). Three years is therefore a records floor, not a liability horizon, and retaining the file for the life of ownership is the safer practice.

What are the penalties for skipping the disclosure in Vermont?

There are three separate exposures. First, federally, 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3) makes a knowing violator jointly and severally liable to the lessee for three times the damages that person incurred, and 4852d(b)(4) lets the court add court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and expert witness fees. Second, federal civil money penalties, which EPA adjusts for inflation each year under 40 CFR 19.4; the per-violation figures quoted on most form sites are stale, so consult the current table rather than trusting a number. Third, Vermont's own statutory penalty at 18 V.S.A. 1766(a): an administrative penalty not to exceed $5,000.00 for each determination of a separate violation, and where the Commissioner determines a violation is continuing, each day's continuance may be deemed a separate offense from the date the violator is served with notice.

Does the disclosure apply to lease renewals?

A fresh disclosure is required for a new lease with a new lessee. Renewals are addressed directly by 40 CFR 745.101(d), which exempts renewals of existing leases in target housing in which the lessor has previously disclosed all information required under 40 CFR 745.107 and where no new information described in 745.107 has come into the possession of the lessor. Both conditions must hold. If you obtained a new lead report or learned of a hazard since the original disclosure, the exemption does not apply. Note that this federal renewal exemption does not touch your Vermont duties: the RRPM compliance statement still comes due on its own 1751(b)(11) cycle regardless of whether anyone signs a new lease.

Does non-disclosure void my Vermont lease?

No. EPA is explicit that the disclosure rule does not cancel leasing or sales contracts. A failure to disclose does not void the lease, and a tenant cannot treat the tenancy as a nullity on that basis alone. What non-disclosure does is expose you to the federal treble-damages action under 42 U.S.C. 4852d(b)(3), to federal civil money penalties, and in Vermont to an administrative penalty under 18 V.S.A. 1766. On the sales side, Vermont makes the parallel point in its own words at 18 V.S.A. 1767(g): noncompliance with that section shall not affect marketability of title.

What do I have to do when I sell a pre-1978 Vermont rental?

18 V.S.A. 1767 governs. Before the purchase and sale agreement is executed, the seller must give the buyer Commissioner-approved materials including a lead hazard brochure, plus a disclosure form that includes any lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment report or letter of exemption, and any incomplete assurance of discontinuance or administrative or court order. If the property is rental target housing, that disclosure must also verify that RRPM was utilized and that a current RRPM compliance statement has been filed with the Department. A sale cannot proceed while the unit is subject to an assurance or order unless the assurance or order is amended in writing to transfer the remaining obligations. And under 1767(f), a buyer who takes rental target housing that is not in full compliance with 1759 must bring it into compliance within 60 days after closing, though the Commissioner may grant a written extension for good cause.

Can the Vermont lead paint disclosure be signed electronically?

Yes. Electronic disclosure and signature are permitted under the E-SIGN Act, 15 U.S.C. 7001. EPA attaches conditions: give a clear statement of the right to receive paper documents, explain the procedure to withdraw consent and its consequences, explain how to access and retain the electronic records, and obtain the tenant's consent demonstrating they can actually access the materials. A link alone is not delivery. Retain the electronic record for the same three years.

Do I have to disclose records for other units in the building?

Yes, where they exist. For multi-unit buildings the records you must provide include those for common areas and other units that come from building-wide evaluations. The duty is not limited to the four walls of the leased unit: if a building-wide risk assessment identified hazards in a stairwell, a laundry room, or a neighbouring unit, that report is within scope for a pre-1978 building. Owners commonly disclose the unit file and overlook the building file.

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Free Vermont Lead Paint Disclosure

Q: Does Vermont have its own lead paint law?

Yes, and it is one of the most demanding in the country. Unlike most states, Vermont layers a substantial state duty on top of the federal disclosure rule. The operative section is 18 V.S.A. 1759, titled RRPM activities, in Chapter 38 of Title 18. It requires owners of pre-1978 rental target housing to perform a defined set of maintenance practices, to file an RRPM compliance statement with the Vermont Department of Health, and, under 1759(d)(1), to give prospective tenants Department-approved lead hazard materials and a copy of the most recent compliance statement before entering into a lease. The federal disclosure under 42 U.S.C. 4852d runs alongside it; neither substitutes for the other.

The federal disclosure every Vermont landlord must deliver before leasing housing built before 1978 — plus the part almost every other page gets wrong. Vermont adds a real, separate duty under 18 V.S.A. 1759, and the Essential Maintenance Practices section that most sites still cite was repealed in October 2022.

Federally Required 42 U.S.C. 4852d 18 V.S.A. 1759 Vermont Free PDF

Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Reviewed for Vermont ~22 min read

A Vermont lead paint disclosure is the federally mandated form a landlord delivers to a prospective tenant before any lease of residential property built before 1978. It carries the fixed federal lead warning statement, states the lessor’s actual knowledge of lead-based paint and hazards, lists the records being handed over, documents the tenant’s receipt of the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, captures any agent’s acknowledgment, and is signed and dated by every party. Authority is 42 U.S.C. 4852d (Section 1018 of Title X, the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992), implemented at 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F (EPA) and 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A (HUD). Vermont does not stop there. Unlike most states, Vermont imposes a substantial second duty of its own under 18 V.S.A. 1759 — including an RRPM compliance statement you must file with the Department of Health and hand to the tenant before the lease begins. Vermont also has an independent habitability duty under 9 V.S.A. 4457, covered in our Vermont habitability laws guide. Generate the form below, then read on for both layers.

Key Takeaways

Pre-1978 is the trigger for both layers. Original construction before 1 January 1978 makes the unit “target housing” federally and brings it inside Vermont’s Chapter 38 rental duties. The build date controls even if the unit was gutted and rebuilt in 1995.
Vermont has a real lead law — and it changed. 18 V.S.A. 1758, the Essential Maintenance Practices section, was repealed effective 21 October 2022. The duties were restructured into 18 V.S.A. 1759 as “RRPM activities”. Pages still telling you to perform EMPs are out of date.
You must hand the tenant your compliance statement. 18 V.S.A. 1759(d)(1) requires Department-approved lead materials and a copy of your most recent RRPM compliance statement before entering into the lease. This is a Vermont duty; the federal form does not cover it.
File with the Department; copy your insurer and your tenant. The compliance statement is filed with the Health Department, not the insurer — but the Vermont Lead Regulations, Section 6.3.1, still require an annual copy to your liability insurance carrier and an adult occupant of each unit.
The 10-day inspection window does not apply to leases. 40 CFR 745.110 gives it to purchasers only. The lessor rules at 40 CFR 745.113(b) contain no such item.
Compliance buys you a liability shield. 18 V.S.A. 1761(c) immunises a compliant owner against tenant lead-injury habitability claims — with four carve-outs that punish paper compliance.
Retain the signed disclosure three years from the start of the leasing period (40 CFR 745.113(c)). It is your primary defence in an enforcement inquiry.

▶ Watch overview

Vermont lead paint disclosure overview

Vermont Lead Paint Disclosure at a Glance

Trigger

Built before 1978

Federal Authority

42 U.S.C. 4852d

Vermont Statute

18 V.S.A. 1759

VT Filing

RRPM compliance statement

Filing Cycle

Within 365 days

Retention

3 years

Duty to test

No — but must inspect

10-day inspection

Sales only

The one-line answer: if your Vermont rental was built before 1978 and the lease runs longer than 100 days, you must hand the tenant the signed federal disclosure plus the EPA pamphlet before they are obligated under the lease, keep the signed copy for three years, and separately satisfy 18 V.S.A. 1759 — perform the RRPM practices, file your compliance statement with the Vermont Department of Health, and give the tenant a copy of it plus the Department’s approved lead materials before the lease is entered into.

What the Vermont lead paint disclosure does

The federal disclosure exists to move information that only the landlord has into the hands of the person who will live with the consequences. It does not require you to remove lead, to test for it, or to make the unit lead-safe. It requires you to tell the truth, in writing, before the tenant is committed, and to prove later that you did.

The form performs six jobs at once. It reproduces the prescribed federal lead warning statement. It records your actual knowledge of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in the unit. It lists the reports and records you are handing over. It captures the tenant’s acknowledgment that they received those materials and the EPA pamphlet. It captures any agent’s confirmation that they told you about your obligations. And it captures dated signatures certifying all of it.

In Vermont, that federal form is only half the job. The Vermont layer runs on a different clock and answers to a different agency, and the two are easy to confuse. The rest of this page separates them cleanly: what Vermont requires, then what the federal rule requires, then where they interact.

Does Vermont have its own lead paint law?

Yes — and it is one of the most demanding lead laws in the United States. This is the single biggest difference between Vermont and most other states. In Florida, Texas, or Georgia, a landlord’s lead obligations are essentially just the federal disclosure. In Vermont, the federal disclosure is the smaller of two duties.

Vermont’s lead law lives in Title 18, Chapter 38 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated (18 V.S.A. 1751–1767). Roughly two-thirds of Vermont’s housing stock predates 1978, which is why the state legislated well beyond the federal floor. The chapter does four things that matter to a residential landlord:

It imposes affirmative maintenance duties on owners of pre-1978 rental housing — not just disclosure, but actual, recurring physical work (18 V.S.A. 1759(a)(1)).
It requires an annual filing with the Vermont Department of Health: the RRPM compliance statement (18 V.S.A. 1759(c)(1), with the due date defined at 18 V.S.A. 1751(b)(11)).
It requires a pre-lease handover to the tenant of approved lead materials and a copy of that compliance statement (18 V.S.A. 1759(d)(1)).
It offers a liability shield to owners who genuinely comply (18 V.S.A. 1761(c)), and withdraws it from those who do not (18 V.S.A. 1761(d)).

The EMP repeal: why half the internet is describing a statute Vermont deleted

If you have researched this topic before, you have almost certainly read that Vermont requires landlords to perform Essential Maintenance Practices, or EMPs, and to file an annual affidavit with both the Department of Health and their insurance carrier. The name in that description is obsolete, and the filing mechanism is described wrongly — but do not over-correct: the annual cycle is real, and your insurance carrier is still in the picture. Here is the precise position.

18 V.S.A. 1758 was repealed effective 21 October 2022

The section that carried the Essential Maintenance Practices regime now reads, in its entirety: “Repealed. 2017, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), Section 2, eff. October 21, 2022.” The same act rewrote 18 V.S.A. 1759 and restructured the rental-housing maintenance duties into it under the RRPM framework. The phrase “essential maintenance practices” appears nowhere in the current Chapter 38, and it appears nowhere on the Vermont Department of Health’s own landlord guidance either.

This matters practically, not just pedantically. At the time of writing, pages still describing the EMP regime include the Vermont Attorney General’s own consumer lead page, the National Center for Healthy Housing’s Vermont summary, and Vermont Housing and Conservation Board material — and AI assistants asked about Vermont landlord lead duties routinely reproduce the repealed rules, because that is what the majority of the indexed web still says. Vermont’s own service portal even continues to serve a legacy /emp/ URL path.

The duty did not disappear; it moved and changed shape. Do not read “the EMP section was repealed” as “Vermont dropped its lead requirements”. The obligation to inspect, repair, clean, and file continues — under a new section number, a new name, and a modified structure. The section number changed; the substance largely did not.

Your insurance carrier: you do not file with it — but you must still copy it, every year

This is the single most garbled point on the Vermont lead internet, and the distinction is worth getting exactly right, because both the “you file with your insurer” version and the “that duty is gone” version are wrong.

The filing goes to the Department, not the insurer. 18 V.S.A. 1759(c)(1) requires an owner of rental target housing to “file with the Department an RRPM compliance statement pursuant to rules adopted by the Commissioner”. The word “insurer” appears nowhere in that duty, and the phrase “insurance carrier” does not appear anywhere in the current Chapter 38. Your statement is submitted to the Health Department, through the Department’s online system.

But a copy still goes to your liability insurance carrier, annually. Read the rest of the chain before concluding otherwise. 1759(c)(1) makes the filing subject to “rules adopted by the Commissioner”; 1759(c)(2) separately requires the owner to “abide by any rules pertaining to the maintenance of lead-based paint and provision of notice to tenants as may be prescribed by the Commissioner”; and 1759(f) authorises those rules. The Commissioner has exercised that authority. The Ve