- Official section
- Illinois IV.E: Environmental Disclosures
- Broker weight
- Part of 25% of the Illinois state portion
- Expected scored items
- The current PSI broker outline assigns about 10 of 40 scored state items to Disclosures
Illinois environmental disclosure comparison
Radon vs. lead-based paint disclosure
Use the trigger before the hazard. Radon starts with Illinois property type, floor, transfer, or lease facts. Lead starts with whether the housing was constructed before 1978 and whether an exemption applies. Both move known information and records before obligation, but their forms, clocks, and testing rights are not interchangeable.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What is the difference at a glance?
Short answer: For a covered Illinois one-to-four-unit residential sale, the seller gives the buyer the approved radon sale pamphlet, statutory form, and possessed elevated-result information before the buyer is obligated. For a covered lease, the lessor gives a tenant-specific package and the tenant's initial test window is 90 days. Most pre-1978 target-housing sales and leases use the federal lead package: EPA pamphlet, known information, available records, warning language, certifications, acknowledgments, signatures, and dates before obligation. A covered lead purchaser gets a default 10-day evaluation opportunity unless changed or waived in writing; a lessee does not. Neither rule automatically requires every owner to test or remediate. Radon and lead disclosures also remain separate from the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report.
This comparison applies the Illinois Radon Awareness Act, including the tenant provisions effective January 1, 2024, current IEMA-OHS materials, 42 U.S.C. 4852d, and 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F as checked on August 1, 2026. Local ordinances, contract contingencies, federal housing programs, child-occupancy facts, environmental reports, and other laws can add duties. This is exam preparation, not health, testing, mitigation, abatement, lease-termination, or legal advice.
What changes from one term to the next?
- Terms
- Radon trigger vs. lead trigger
- Difference
- Illinois radon starts with property type, unit count, transfer or lease, and exclusions. Federal lead starts with housing constructed before 1978 and target-housing exemptions.
- Question cue
- Illinois property coverage versus federal construction year.
- Terms
- Radon pamphlet vs. lead pamphlet
- Difference
- A covered radon buyer receives Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions. A covered lead recipient receives Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.
- Question cue
- IEMA-OHS transaction guide versus EPA family guide.
- Terms
- Radon form vs. Lead Warning Statement
- Difference
- Illinois radon uses a statutory state disclosure form. Federal lead uses sale- or lease-specific warning language, certifications, and acknowledgments in the contract or attachment.
- Question cue
- State radon document versus federal contract package.
- Terms
- Radon buyer period vs. lead buyer period
- Difference
- Illinois radon sale law does not create a fixed buyer test period. Federal lead gives a default 10-day purchaser opportunity unless changed or waived in writing.
- Question cue
- Contract radon window versus statutory lead default.
- Terms
- Radon tenant right vs. lead tenant right
- Difference
- Illinois radon gives an initial 90-day test path with statutory response rules. Federal lead requires lease disclosure but no automatic buyer-style 10-day evaluation period.
- Question cue
- Ninety-day state path versus information package only.
- Terms
- No knowledge vs. no records
- Difference
- No knowledge describes what the owner knows about the hazard. No records describes whether reports are possessed or available. They are different factual statements.
- Question cue
- Mental knowledge versus documentary file.
- Terms
- Disclosure vs. testing
- Difference
- Disclosure moves required information, pamphlets, records, and statements. Testing measures radon concentration or investigates lead paint and hazards.
- Question cue
- Tell what is known versus gather new evidence.
- Terms
- Testing vs. mitigation or abatement
- Difference
- Testing identifies concentration or condition. Radon mitigation and lead reduction or abatement are physical responses governed by their own rules.
- Question cue
- Measure first, alter property second.
- Terms
- Federal lead package vs. Illinois seller report
- Difference
- The federal package targets lead-based paint in covered housing. The Illinois seller report separately asks about known unsafe conditions involving lead paint, water pipes, plumbing pipes, or soil.
- Question cue
- Federal target-housing layer plus state condition-report layer.
- Terms
- Third-story radon exclusion vs. lead target housing
- Difference
- Illinois radon excludes a dwelling on the third story or higher under Section 20. Federal lead coverage does not use that floor-level exemption.
- Question cue
- Do not carry an exemption from one law to the other.
How does the distinction change the answer?
An offer arrives before radon disclosure
Scenario: A buyer submits a signed offer on an Illinois two-unit property before receiving the radon sale form or approved pamphlet. The seller wants to accept immediately.
- The property and transfer fit the sale trigger unless an exclusion applies.
- When disclosure occurs after an offer, Section 10 requires completion before acceptance and an opportunity for buyer review and possible amendment.
Answer: The seller should deliver and complete the radon package before accepting the offer.
A 1950 home with no lead test
Scenario: A seller has no lead report and no knowledge of lead-based paint in a 1950 Illinois home. No target-housing exemption applies.
- The pre-1978 date starts the federal disclosure process despite the absence of a test.
- The seller can state no knowledge and no available records while still providing the pamphlet, warning, certifications, and buyer evaluation choice.
Answer: Complete the federal lead package without inventing a test result or skipping disclosure.
The buyer verbally shortens lead review
Scenario: A purchaser of covered target housing asks for a five-day lead evaluation period. The seller agrees by telephone, but the contract still shows 10 days.
- The parties may mutually agree to a different evaluation period.
- The different period must be in writing; a telephone agreement does not complete that requirement.
Answer: Record the five-day period in writing or retain the default 10-day opportunity.
A tenant tests on day 45
Scenario: An Illinois tenant tests during the initial leasing period, receives a result above 4.0 pCi/L on day 45, and gives the result to the lessor eight days later.
- The test occurred within the initial 90-day radon window.
- The result was transmitted within 10 days after receipt, preserving that statutory step before the lessor response is analyzed.
Answer: The tenant met the stated test and result-delivery clocks under the given facts.
A short lease can renew
Scenario: A lessor offers a 90-day lease of a pre-1978 cottage with an option to extend for another month and claims the federal short-term lead exemption.
- The short-term exemption requires 100 days or less.
- It also requires no renewal or extension; the option defeats that element.
Answer: Do not rely on the short-term exemption. Complete the covered lead lease package.
A third-floor 1965 condominium
Scenario: A condominium unit is on the third story above ground level and was built in 1965. The seller assumes both hazard-disclosure laws are inapplicable.
- Section 20 supplies a third-story-or-higher exclusion for Illinois radon awareness coverage.
- Federal lead coverage uses the pre-1978 target-housing analysis and does not copy that floor-level exclusion.
Answer: The radon exclusion may apply, but the federal lead package is still required unless a lead-specific exemption applies.
The HAZARD test for disclosure questions
- Housing trigger first. Check radon property coverage and exclusions or lead construction year and target-housing exemptions.
- Assemble the correct package. Match pamphlet, form or warning, known facts, available records, certifications, and signatures.
- Zero in on timing. Deliver before obligation and attach each testing or response clock to its correct event.
- Apply testing rights separately. Use lead's purchaser 10-day choice and radon's tenant 90-day path without swapping them.
- Record the file. Preserve signed acknowledgments, reports, delivery proof, and applicable retention records.
- Do not promise safety. Explain process, disclose actual knowledge, and refer testing, mitigation, abatement, health, and legal questions.
- Exam point
- Primary law
- Radon
- Illinois Radon Awareness Act
- Lead-based paint
- Federal 42 U.S.C. 4852d and 40 CFR 745
- Exam point
- Housing trigger
- Radon
- Covered residential property and lease
- Lead-based paint
- Most housing built before 1978
- Exam point
- Sale pamphlet
- Radon
- Radon Testing Guidelines
- Lead-based paint
- Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home
- Exam point
- Core disclosure
- Radon
- Illinois radon form
- Lead-based paint
- Lead Warning Statement package
- Exam point
- Known information
- Radon
- Elevated radon results
- Lead-based paint
- Known paint and hazards
- Exam point
- Existing records
- Radon
- Most current possessed elevated-result records
- Lead-based paint
- Available reports, including applicable common areas
- Exam point
- Buyer test opportunity
- Radon
- Contract controls period
- Lead-based paint
- 10 days unless changed or waived in writing
- Exam point
- Tenant test opportunity
- Radon
- Initial 90-day statutory path
- Lead-based paint
- No automatic buyer-style 10 days
- Exam point
- Automatic owner test duty
- Radon
- No
- Lead-based paint
- No
- Exam point
- Express retention
- Radon
- Illinois transaction-file rules apply
- Lead-based paint
- At least three years
Where do similar terms create traps?
- Trap
- No radon test means no Illinois radon paperwork.
- Correction
- A covered transaction still requires the pamphlet and form; the seller truthfully states the knowledge and records position.
- Trap
- Every Illinois seller must test and mitigate radon.
- Correction
- Section 10 says the disclosure requirement does not itself create a universal seller testing or mitigation obligation.
- Trap
- Target housing means built in 1978 or earlier.
- Correction
- The federal definition uses constructed before 1978. A 1978 build does not satisfy the age trigger by itself.
- Trap
- No known lead means no federal package.
- Correction
- No knowledge is one statement inside the package, not an automatic exemption for covered target housing.
- Trap
- The same pamphlet can cover radon and lead.
- Correction
- The laws require different approved information documents and different disclosure records.
- Trap
- Every buyer gets 10 days for radon testing.
- Correction
- The federal 10-day default is a lead purchaser right. Radon sale testing depends on the contract and applicable law.
- Trap
- Every renter gets a 10-day lead inspection period.
- Correction
- Federal lead law gives the automatic evaluation period to purchasers, not lessees.
- Trap
- The radon tenant's 90 days start at application.
- Correction
- The testing period starts at commencement of the agreed leasing period; document delivery can occur earlier at application.
- Trap
- A tenant can keep a radon result private and use the statutory termination path.
- Correction
- The tenant must provide the lessor copies within 10 days after receiving the result under the stated path.
- Trap
- A 90-day lead lease is always exempt.
- Correction
- The federal short-term exemption also requires that no renewal or extension can occur.
- Trap
- The third-story radon exclusion also removes lead disclosure.
- Correction
- Each law has its own exemptions. A floor-level radon exclusion does not override federal target-housing coverage.
- Trap
- The Illinois seller report replaces both hazard packages.
- Correction
- The state property-condition report is a separate layer and does not replace Illinois radon or federal lead documents.
Can you separate the terms in a new fact pattern?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. Which construction year satisfies the federal lead target-housing age trigger by itself?
- 1977
- 1978
- 1988
- Any year with peeling paint
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 1977
Target housing is generally housing constructed before 1978, so 1977 fits and 1978 does not by age alone.
2. What is the default federal lead evaluation opportunity for a purchaser of covered target housing?
- 5 days
- 10 days
- 30 days
- 90 days
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 10 days
The purchaser receives 10 days unless the parties choose another period in writing or the purchaser waives in writing.
3. When does the initial Illinois tenant radon testing period begin?
- When the application is requested
- When the landlord advertises
- At commencement of the agreed leasing period
- At the first lease renewal only
Show answer and explanation
Answer: At commencement of the agreed leasing period
Document delivery can occur at application, but Section 26 starts the 90-day testing path at lease commencement.
4. A buyer submits an offer before receiving the Illinois radon package. When must the seller complete disclosure?
- After closing
- Before accepting the offer
- Only if the buyer tests
- At the recording office
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Before accepting the offer
The buyer must be able to review the radon information and possibly amend the pending offer before seller acceptance.
5. How long must the seller and applicable agent retain the completed federal lead sale attachment?
- Until closing day only
- At least one year
- At least three years from sale completion
- Forever
Show answer and explanation
Answer: At least three years from sale completion
40 CFR 745.113 requires retention for no less than three years from completion of the sale.
Where do these ideas appear on the outline?
- Topic
- Radon hazard
- What to know
- Gaseous radioactive decay product, uranium, thorium, indoor concentration, picocuries per liter, pCi/L, radon hazard, IEMA, EPA, recommended Radon Action Level, 4.0 pCi/L, measurement, test, mitigation, radon contractor, and certification
- Best exam move
- Use the statutory number and terminology without interpreting an individual result or guaranteeing health safety.
- Topic
- Lead-based paint hazard
- What to know
- Lead-based paint, federal concentration, lead-based paint hazard, deteriorated paint, friction surface, impact surface, accessible surface, lead-contaminated dust, lead-contaminated soil, adverse health effect, child under six, inspection, risk assessment, interim control, and abatement
- Best exam move
- Distinguish the presence of lead-based paint from an exposure condition classified as a lead-based paint hazard.
- Topic
- Covered radon sale
- What to know
- Seller, buyer, consideration, estate, interest, manufactured housing lot, residential real property, one dwelling unit, two units, three units, four units, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, mixed-use parcel, sale, and transfer
- Best exam move
- Confirm the Illinois one-to-four-unit residential definition and check every Section 20 exclusion.
- Topic
- Covered lead transaction
- What to know
- Target housing, constructed before 1978, 1977, 1978, single-family, multifamily unit, attached porch, attached stoop, sale, lease, sublease, purchaser, lessee, seller, lessor, housing for elderly, persons with disabilities, zero-bedroom, child under six, and exemption
- Best exam move
- Start with construction before 1978, then apply the target-housing definition and transaction exemptions.
- Topic
- Radon sale package
- What to know
- Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions, IEMA-OHS approved pamphlet, Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards, warning statement, elevated result, current record, report, no knowledge, no records, mitigated, buyer acknowledgment, agent acknowledgment, certification, signature, and date
- Best exam move
- Count the pamphlet, form, applicable records, acknowledgments, and signatures rather than treating one checkbox as the whole package.
- Topic
- Lead sale package
- What to know
- Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, EPA-approved pamphlet, known paint, known hazard, location, condition, available records, Lead Warning Statement, seller statement, purchaser receipt, evaluation opportunity, waiver, agent certification, signatures, dates, contract, and attachment
- Best exam move
- Assemble all federal components before obligation and include the purchaser's evaluation-or-waiver record.
- Topic
- Known radon information
- What to know
- Elevated concentration, seller possession, most current record, report, known present, explanation, prior mitigation, remediation, no knowledge, no test, no record, accurate initial, buyer receipt, and material adverse physical fact
- Best exam move
- Read no knowledge and no records separately; neither eliminates the required sale pamphlet and form.
- Topic
- Known lead information
- What to know
- Known lead-based paint, known lead-based paint hazard, basis, location, surface condition, deteriorated paint, owner statement, no knowledge, agent, accuracy, actual information, Illinois seller report, lead pipe, lead soil, and material defect
- Best exam move
- Disclose the owner's known presence and hazard details truthfully without converting no test into a claim that no lead exists.
- Topic
- Available lead records
- What to know
- Possession, reasonably obtainable, inspection, risk assessment, reduction record, common area, hallway, stairway, laundry, playground, fence, multifamily building, other unit, building-wide evaluation, no records, list, and delivery
- Best exam move
- Include applicable common-area and building-wide materials rather than limiting disclosure to the apartment's interior.
- Topic
- Before-obligation timing
- What to know
- Buyer obligated, purchaser obligated, lessee obligated, contract, lease, offer, seller acceptance, disclosure after offer, review, possible amendment, electronic delivery, consent, access, retainability, closing, move-in, and proof of receipt
- Best exam move
- Complete both packages before contractual obligation, with the radon post-offer process finished before seller acceptance.
- Topic
- Lead purchaser evaluation period
- What to know
- Purchaser, default 10 days, risk assessment, inspection, certified professional, mutual agreement, written different period, longer, shorter, written waiver, contingency, result, negotiation, and no oral waiver
- Best exam move
- Give the buyer 10 days unless a different period or waiver is recorded in writing.
- Topic
- Radon buyer testing
- What to know
- Strong recommendation, test before purchase, occupancy, contract inspection contingency, negotiated period, licensed measurement, seller permission, result, mitigation request, amendment, cancellation right, no fixed sale period, and no universal seller duty
- Best exam move
- Look to the contract for the radon sale-testing window rather than borrowing the federal lead 10-day rule.
- Topic
- Radon tenant package
- What to know
- Prospective tenant, current tenant, application, before lease, request during term, Radon Guide for Tenants, hazard records, Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards to Tenants, dwelling unit, acknowledgment, lessor, tenant, signature, and leases from 2024
- Best exam move
- Use the tenant-specific radon pamphlet and form, not the sale documents.
- Topic
- Radon tenant clocks
- What to know
- Commencement, agreed leasing period, initial 90 days, tenant test, result receipt, 10-day delivery, lessor notice, radon hazard, lessor retest, licensed radon contractor, 30 days, disprove, mitigation election, missing documents, 60 days, and termination
- Best exam move
- Anchor each number to its event: 90 to test, 10 to transmit, 30 to retest, and 60 in the missing-document remedial path.
- Topic
- Lead lease package
- What to know
- Lessor, lessee, pre-1978 target housing, Lease Lead Warning Statement, known information, records, pamphlet receipt, agent certification, lessor signature, lessee signature, date, no buyer evaluation acknowledgment, renewal, prior disclosure, and new information
- Best exam move
- Use the lease-specific warning and omit the purchaser-only automatic evaluation choice.
- Topic
- Exemptions
- What to know
- Radon court order, foreclosure, fiduciary, co-owner, succession, spouse, lineal family, relocation, government, third story or higher, lead elderly housing, disability housing, child under six, zero-bedroom, certified lead-free, foreclosure, short lease 100 days, no renewal, renewal, and no new information
- Best exam move
- Match the correct exemption to the correct law; radon's third-story rule does not become a lead exemption.
- Topic
- Testing and remediation
- What to know
- Disclosure, recommendation, no positive test duty, buyer inspection, tenant test, licensed radon contractor, risk assessor, lead inspector, mitigation, abatement, reduction, repair, owner-paid test, contract duty, local law, health program, and no safety warranty
- Best exam move
- Separate information delivery from testing and separate testing from physical remediation.
- Topic
- Agent duties and records
- What to know
- Inform seller, inform lessor, agent acknowledgment, ensure compliance, personally ensure, actual knowledge, owner-hidden information, transmit records, federal agent definition, buyer-only representative, Illinois licensee, material fact, signed attachment, three years, transaction file, delivery proof, and referral
- Best exam move
- Inform, ensure, transmit, document, and refer scientific or legal conclusions without concealing actually known material facts.
How do you make the distinction stick?
- Session
- Session 1
- Focus
- Learn the two triggers
- Proof you are ready
- Classify twenty properties by radon unit, transfer, floor, and exclusion facts and lead construction-year and target-housing facts.
- Session
- Session 2
- Focus
- Build both sale packages
- Proof you are ready
- Reconstruct the radon pamphlet, form, records, and acknowledgments and the lead pamphlet, facts, reports, warning, certifications, and buyer choice.
- Session
- Session 3
- Focus
- Master timing
- Proof you are ready
- Solve fifteen before-obligation, post-offer, 10-day, written waiver, and contract-test-window scenarios.
- Session
- Session 4
- Focus
- Compare tenant tracks
- Proof you are ready
- Explain radon's application delivery and 90, 10, 30, and 60-day numbers without giving a lead lessee the buyer's 10-day right.
- Session
- Session 5
- Focus
- Audit exemptions and records
- Proof you are ready
- Correct twenty examples involving third-story units, 1978 builds, short leases, renewals, common areas, no knowledge, and no records.
- Session
- Session 6
- Focus
- Complete a mixed environmental set
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90% and justify each answer by hazard, property trigger, transaction, package, timing, testing right, exemption, and file proof.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
Turn the comparison into a test-day decision
From concept to decision
Drill this topic, then review the explanation
Pass Illinois gives you original national and Illinois questions, topic-by-topic study, clear explanations, timed practice, flashcards, progress tracking, and Math Coach. Start free, find the weak distinction, and focus the next session there.
Questions students ask about Illinois Radon vs. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
What radon documents must an Illinois home seller provide?
For a covered sale, the seller provides the IEMA-OHS approved Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions and the Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards. The seller also provides possessed information and the most current records or reports about elevated radon concentrations.
What lead documents must a seller provide in Illinois?
For most covered pre-1978 target housing, the seller provides the EPA pamphlet, discloses known lead-based paint and hazards, supplies available records, and includes the Lead Warning Statement, certifications, acknowledgments, signatures, and dates in the contract or attachment.
When must Illinois radon disclosure occur in a sale?
The buyer must receive the required radon package before becoming obligated under a purchase contract. If the buyer has already submitted an offer, the seller completes disclosure before accepting it and allows the buyer an opportunity to review the information and possibly amend the offer.
When must lead disclosure occur?
The federal package must be completed before the purchaser or lessee is obligated under the contract to buy or lease covered target housing. It is not a closing-day cleanup item. Electronic delivery can work when applicable consent, access, and retention requirements are satisfied.
Do radon and lead disclosure require the seller to test?
Neither disclosure rule itself creates a universal seller-paid test duty. The owner must disclose the known information and provide the required existing records and materials. The lead rule gives a covered purchaser an evaluation opportunity, and Illinois radon law strongly recommends testing, but those are not automatic seller testing mandates.
How do the buyer testing periods differ?
Federal lead disclosure gives a covered purchaser a default 10-day opportunity for a risk assessment or inspection, unless the parties choose a different period in writing or the purchaser waives in writing. Illinois radon sale disclosure does not create that same fixed statutory period; contract inspection terms govern the buyer's radon testing opportunity.
How do radon and lead rules apply to Illinois tenants?
For covered Illinois leases, the lessor provides the Radon Guide for Tenants, the tenant radon form, and qualifying hazard records at application, before lease, or on request. The tenant has an initial 90-day radon testing path. Federal lead rules require the disclosure package for covered pre-1978 leases but do not give lessees the buyer's automatic 10-day evaluation period.
What is the Illinois radon action level?
The current tenant form identifies 4.0 picocuries per liter, written 4.0 pCi/L, as the IEMA recommended Radon Action Level. A licensee may communicate the stated number and records but should not interpret a measurement, prescribe mitigation, or guarantee safety.
How long are radon and lead disclosure records kept?
Federal lead law requires sellers, lessors, and applicable agents to retain the signed record for at least three years from sale completion or lease commencement. Illinois brokers should preserve radon forms, receipt evidence, reports, and delivery evidence under applicable recordkeeping requirements.
Are these official Illinois broker exam questions?
No. They are original questions aligned to Illinois disclosure topics in the broker outline effective June 24, 2026. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act, current IEMA-OHS materials, federal lead statute, current eCFR, and EPA guidance were checked through August 1, 2026.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- 420 ILCS 46, Illinois Radon Awareness Act
- IEMA-OHS, radon and real estate forms and approved guidance
- 420 ILCS 44, Radon Industry Licensing Act
- 42 U.S.C. 4852d, federal lead disclosure statute
- 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F, current federal lead disclosure rule
- US EPA, real estate disclosures about potential lead hazards, updated May 27, 2026
- US EPA, Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home
- 765 ILCS 77/35, Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report
- 225 ILCS 454/15-25, Illinois licensee duties to customers
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.