Fortunately, there are laws in place to protect renters from unsafe premises. The United States banned the use of lead-based paints in 1978. Now, landlords are required by federal law to disclose the presence of lead paint in their properties. This gives renters the information they need to make an informed decision about whether they want to rent the property.
If a landlord fails to disclose this information and someone gets sick from exposure to lead paint, he or she can be held responsible for this negligence. In our tenure assisting Chicago residents, we have seen both the hazards of lead paint and successful legal actions taken against responsible parties. Even the Illinois Attorney General became more involved last year when she filed a premises liability lawsuit against a property owner.