The Lead-Based Paint Addendum (OP-L) for San Antonio Homes Built Before 1978

If your house was built before January 1, 1978, federal law requires you to give the buyer a specific disclosure, a specific EPA pamphlet, and a specific opportunity to test for lead before they're bound to the contract. The form that does all three in a Texas sale is TREC No. OP-L, the Addendum for Seller's Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and Lead-Based Paint Hazards as Required by Federal Law. Skip it and you're exposed to real federal penalties plus treble damages in a private suit — not a technicality, and not something a FSBO seller can hand-wave.

This matters in San Antonio more than in a Sun Belt suburb built in 2005. Huge swaths of the city are "target housing" under the rule: Southtown, King William, Lavaca, Dignowity Hill, Denver Heights, Beacon Hill, Monte Vista, Mahncke Park, Tobin Hill, most of 78201 and 78228, large portions of Alamo Heights (78209), Terrell Hills, Olmos Park, and the older parts of the near-east and near-west sides. If you're selling any of these without an agent, OP-L is in your packet.

Why OP-L exists — and why a FSBO can't quietly skip it

The addendum implements the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Title X), specifically Section 1018, and the joint EPA/HUD rule at 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart F. The rule applies to the sale of "target housing," defined as any residential dwelling built before 1978 except:

• 0-bedroom dwellings (studios, lofts where the sleeping area is not separated)
• Housing for the elderly or persons with disabilities, unless a child under 6 resides or is expected to reside there
• Property that has been found free of lead-based paint by a certified inspector

Everything else built before 1978 is in. It doesn't matter that you're a FSBO. The obligation runs with the seller, not the agent — an agent, when involved, has a parallel duty, but the seller's duty is independent. A FSBO seller is simply the only person on the sell side carrying it.

What OP-L actually requires you to do

Three things, and the form documents all three:

1. Disclose any known lead-based paint (LBP) or lead-based paint hazards in the home, and provide any available reports.
2. Deliver the EPA-approved pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home (available free on epa.gov, current version in English and Spanish).
3. Give the buyer a 10-day opportunity to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for LBP and LBP hazards before they become obligated under the contract. The buyer can waive this period in writing, shorten it by mutual agreement, or use the full 10 days — their choice.

OP-L has a seller section with two checkboxes on knowledge (you either have knowledge of LBP/hazards or you don't), a second pair on records and reports (you either have them and are providing them, or you have none), and a buyer section acknowledging receipt of the pamphlet and electing the assessment period. Both sides sign and date. Keep the signed original with your closing file for three years — that's the federal recordkeeping requirement.

The EPA pamphlet is not a suggestion

Emailing a link is arguably not delivery. The safer practice is to hand the buyer a PDF or printed copy and have them initial the acknowledgment line on OP-L. I've seen buyers' attorneys later claim non-delivery when the seller couldn't produce proof. If you send it electronically, send it as an attachment with a read receipt or have the buyer sign the addendum confirming receipt that same day.

The 10-day assessment window and how it interacts with the option period

This confuses FSBO sellers because Texas already has a contractual option period under Paragraph 23 of TREC 20-17. They are not the same thing.

• The option period is a negotiated, paid-for unrestricted termination right under state contract law.
• The OP-L 10-day period is a federal right to test specifically for lead, and it exists whether or not the buyer bought an option.

In practice, buyers usually run both clocks together — they'll do their general inspection and, if the home is pre-1978, a lead risk assessment inside the option period. But if a buyer waives the option period to make their offer more competitive, they have not automatically waived the lead assessment period. You have to get that waiver in writing on OP-L itself (the form has a specific election for "waives the opportunity"). A FSBO seller who accepts a no-option offer on a 1952 Monte Vista bungalow and starts the clock without addressing OP-L has a contract with a soft spot in it.

San Antonio neighborhoods where this is almost every listing

You can check the year built on BCAD's public property search (bcad.org) in about 20 seconds. But as a rule of thumb, assume OP-L applies in:

Area	ZIP(s)	Typical vintage
King William / Lavaca	78204	1880s–1930s
Monte Vista / Tobin Hill	78212	1900–1940
Alamo Heights / Terrell Hills / Olmos Park	78209	1920s–1960s
Beacon Hill / Los Angeles Heights	78201	1920s–1950s
Dignowity Hill / Denver Heights	78202, 78203	1890s–1940s
Mahncke Park / Government Hill	78208, 78209	1910s–1950s
Jefferson / Woodlawn Lake	78201, 78228	1920s–1950s
Harlandale / South San	78210, 78214, 78221	1930s–1970s

Stone Oak (78258), Alamo Ranch (78253), Cibolo, most of Schertz north of FM 3009, and Helotes west of 1604 are almost entirely post-1978 — OP-L typically doesn't apply. If you're unsure, check BCAD.

The honesty question: what "knowledge" means

OP-L doesn't ask you to hire a lab. It asks what you actually know. If you had a lead test done in 2015 that flagged the original window sashes, you disclose and attach the report. If you've never tested and have no information, you check the "no knowledge" box — and that's defensible. What's not defensible is checking "no knowledge" when you had a contractor tell you in writing to watch the flaking trim on the soffit because "it's probably lead." That's a known hazard. Under 42 U.S.C. § 4852d(b)(3), knowing violations are subject to treble damages, attorney's fees, and costs in a private action — on top of civil penalties.

The Texas Seller's Disclosure Notice (Property Code § 5.008, TREC OP-H) is a separate obligation and asks different questions. Fill out both; they don't substitute for each other.

What most people get wrong

• Treating OP-L as boilerplate. It's not a signature formality; it's a federal compliance document. Get it signed before the effective date of the contract or at execution, not three days later when you notice it was missing.
• Assuming the buyer's agent will handle it. In a FSBO, there may not be a listing agent at all. The buyer's agent has their own duty, but yours is independent and survives closing for three years of recordkeeping plus any statute of limitations on claims.
• Confusing the 10-day federal window with the option period. These are separate rights. A waived option period does not waive the lead assessment unless the buyer specifically elects to waive it on OP-L.
• Delivering the pamphlet verbally or by web link. Give them the actual document and document the delivery on the form.
• Skipping OP-L on a "remodeled" old home. A 1948 bungalow down to the studs in 2019 is still target housing. Remodeling doesn't change the year built. Only a certified LBP inspection report finding the property free of lead exempts it.
• Forgetting that the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule is separate. If you or a contractor disturbed painted surfaces during a pre-sale refresh on a pre-1978 home, the RRP rule (40 CFR Part 745 Subpart E) may have required a certified firm. That's a different issue, but buyers' inspectors sometimes ask about it.

Penalties for getting it wrong

Civil penalties under Section 1018 are adjusted annually for inflation and run into the mid-five figures per violation as of recent cycles — check the current EPA civil penalty table for the exact number. Private plaintiffs can recover three times actual damages, attorney's fees, and costs. In a San Antonio context, "actual damages" in a case involving a child with elevated blood lead levels can be substantial, and homeowners insurance often excludes lead liability. This is not a form to cut corners on.

If anything about this makes you uncertain — you found a 1970s test report in a drawer, you did renovation work yourself, you're not sure whether a detached casita counts — talk to a Texas real estate attorney before the contract is signed. One hour of legal review is cheap compared to a treble-damages claim.

Closing the loop

OP-L, OP-H, and TREC 20-17 are the core paper on any pre-1978 FSBO sale in Bexar County. Get them right, keep signed copies for three years, and the rest of the transaction — title at a Bexar County title company, HOA resale certificate if applicable, survey — runs the same as any other resale.

If you're preparing to sell a pre-1978 home without an agent, you can list it FSBO free at /list-your-home, browse more seller guides at /resources, or find a San Antonio agent at /agents if the compliance side is more than you want to manage solo.