Lead Paint Disclosure: 4 Mistakes Yorkville Sellers Make

Do You Have to Give a Lead Paint Disclosure When Selling a Home in Yorkville?

Yes, a lead paint disclosure is required for any home built before 1978. Before the buyer is bound by your contract, you share what you know about lead-based paint, hand over the EPA pamphlet and any records you have, attach a signed Lead Warning Statement, and give the buyer a 10-day window to inspect. Homes built after 1977 are exempt.

By Kealan O’Neil | October 4, 2026

Most sellers in Yorkville, Oswego, and Montgomery know the big Illinois disclosure items. The lead paint disclosure is the one that gets treated like a checkbox, and it is the one that causes trouble when it is handled late or left half done. If your home, townhome, or rental was built before 1978, here is how the process works and where sellers slip. Buyers will find the same steps useful, because they tell you exactly what you are entitled to see.

This applies across the Fox Valley. Many homes near the historic centers of Yorkville, Montgomery, Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Plano, and Sandwich predate 1978, and plenty of investor-owned rentals do too. If you are not sure of your year built, check your county records before you list, because the whole analysis starts there.

4 Lead Paint Disclosure Mistakes Yorkville Sellers Make

1. Treating “I don’t know” as “nothing to disclose”

The federal rule asks sellers, landlords, and agents to reveal any known information about lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards, and to hand over any records or reports they have. According to the EPA’s lead-based paint disclosure rule page, that includes reports on the condition of the home, not only a test result with your name on it.

You are not required to test the home before you sell. You are required to be honest about what you know. If a prior owner gave you an inspection report that mentions lead paint, or you scraped a window frame years ago and saw layers of old paint, that is information the lead paint disclosure form is asking for. Leaving it off is the mistake. If you truly know nothing, say that on the form and mean it.

I tell sellers to pull their closing file from when they bought the house. The answer is often sitting in a folder in the garage.

2. Waiting until after the contract is signed

Timing is where most sellers get tripped up. The disclosure has to happen before the buyer is obligated under the contract. As HUD’s Lead Disclosure Rule guidance lays out, you provide the EPA pamphlet, disclose known hazards with specifics about where they are and the condition of the painted surfaces, supply available records, and include a Lead Warning Statement in the contract or as an attachment. All parties sign it, and the statement confirms the seller has met the notification requirements.

In a Fox Valley deal, that usually means the paperwork should be ready the day you list, not scrambled together after an offer arrives. When you are negotiating a multiple-offer weekend, the last thing you want is to be hunting for the right form. Have your agent attach the lead paint disclosure to the listing file so every buyer’s agent sees it with the first showing packet.

The updated sample forms ask the parties to initial their statements rather than check boxes, which is a small change that makes it clear who is confirming what. Initial every line. A form with one blank line is the kind of thing a buyer’s attorney will flag.

3. Forgetting the buyer’s 10-day window is its own clock

Buyers have the right to a 10-day period to conduct a paint inspection or risk assessment for lead-based paint hazards. Per HUD, the parties can agree in writing to lengthen or shorten that period.

That 10-day window is separate from the general home inspection contingency in your contract. Sellers sometimes assume that once the regular inspection period ends, everything is closed out. It is not automatic. If the buyer has not agreed in writing to shorten the lead paint inspection period, the clock and the right are still alive. Our post on the inspection contingency in Illinois covers how that general period works, and your agent and attorney should line the two up so you know exactly when the buyer can no longer use either one.

Sellers also forget that a buyer who runs a lead paint inspection and finds hazards may come back with a repair request or a price conversation. That is a negotiation, not a violation. The disclosure rule is about telling the buyer what you know, and the inspection window gives the buyer time to look for themselves.

4. Not keeping the paperwork

Sellers and lessors must keep a copy of the disclosures for no less than three years from the date of sale, according to HUD. At closing, you are handing over a mountain of documents, and the signed lead paint disclosure is easy to forget once the keys are gone.

Scan it and save it with your closing statement. If your agent keeps a copy too, good. Agents share responsibility under the rule: the EPA says agents must inform sellers of their obligations and are responsible for compliance unless the seller withholds information from them first. That is one more reason to tell your listing agent everything you know about the home’s paint history on day one.

Before You Repaint or Renovate

The lead paint disclosure often comes up at the same moment sellers decide to freshen up the house, and that is where a second rule matters. The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to pre-1978 homes. According to the EPA’s RRP program page, anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in these homes must be certified as a lead-safe renovator or trained by one.

Homeowners working on their own pre-1978 residence are generally exempt, but the rule does apply if you rent out part of the home or you are flipping it for profit. If you are an investor selling a rental, that distinction matters. Before you hire a painter or a window contractor to get a pre-1978 rental ready for market, ask for proof of lead-safe certification. It protects the people doing the work and protects you from an expensive surprise.

Which exemptions might apply to you? The EPA lists housing built after 1977, zero-bedroom units such as studios, short leases of 100 days or less, homes certified lead-free by an inspector, and foreclosure sales. If your sale falls into one of those categories, the full lead paint disclosure package may not apply, and your attorney can confirm that for your situation.

What Buyers Should Do With a Lead Paint Disclosure

If you are buying a pre-1978 home in the Fox Valley, read the lead paint disclosure the day you receive it, not the night before your inspection deadline. Check three things: that you received the EPA pamphlet, that the form is fully initialed and signed, and that the seller’s answers match what you see in the house. Peeling paint on old window trim or a porch is worth a conversation with your inspector.

Then decide before your 10-day window ends whether to order a lead paint inspection or risk assessment. It is your choice, and your attorney can tell you how to shorten the period in writing if you are comfortable. If you plan to renovate after closing, factor in the cost of lead-safe work practices when you set your budget. Our posts on the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report and radon disclosure in Illinois cover the other paperwork you will see on the same deal.

Common Questions About Lead Paint Disclosure in the Fox Valley

These are the questions sellers and buyers ask most often when a pre-1978 home is involved.

Your Next Step With a Pre-1978 Home

The lead paint disclosure comes down to three habits: know your year built, disclose what you know before the contract, and keep the signed form. Do those, and a pre-1978 sale in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, or anywhere in the Fox Valley goes the same way as any other. If you want to talk through your own situation before you list or write an offer, I’m happy to walk you through it. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.

This post is part of our Illinois purchase contract guide.

About Kealan O’Neil
Kealan O’Neil is the Designated Managing Broker and founder of O’Neil Property Group, an independent real estate brokerage based in Yorkville, Illinois. He and his team help buyers and sellers in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, and the surrounding Kendall and Kane County communities, and he owns and manages a local rental portfolio, so he approaches every decision as both a broker and an investor. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.

This post is general information about real estate in the Fox Valley, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Real estate laws, tax rules, and municipal ordinances change, and how they apply depends on your specific situation. Talk with a licensed attorney, CPA, or lender before making decisions about a purchase, sale, or tax matter. O’Neil Property Group is a licensed Illinois real estate brokerage.