H.R. 4247 — Asbestos Exposure in Housing Reduction Act of 2025

This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the EPA Administrator to jointly issue, within two years of enactment, regulations requiring sellers or lessors of dwellings constructed before 2019 (as defined in the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §3602, without exemptions under 42 U.S.C. §3603(b)) to disclose known asbestos or asbestos-based hazards (i.e., conditions causing adverse health effects from asbestos exposure) and available evaluation reports to purchasers or lessees before contract obligation, and to permit a 10-day period (or mutually agreed alternative) for risk assessment or inspection. The regulations must require contracts for sale or lease to include an Asbestos Warning Statement—printed in large type on a separate sheet—notifying parties of potential asbestos risks (e.g., lung disease, mesothelioma) and recommending inspection; the purchaser or lessee must sign acknowledging review and the inspection opportunity. Agents must ensure compliance on behalf of sellers or lessors. This section makes knowing violations prohibited acts under TSCA §§15 and 409 (15 U.S.C. §§2614, 2689), subject to civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation under TSCA §16 (15 U.S.C. §2615); it also imposes (1) civil money penalties under the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. §3545), (2) injunction authority for the Secretary, and (3) joint and several liability for treble damages plus prevailing party court costs, attorney fees, and expert witness fees. (Thus, non-compliance triggers TSCA enforcement alongside housing-specific remedies.) It preserves the validity of contracts, liens, and titles and provides definitions for key terms (e.g., risk assessment as on-site investigation including sampling and reporting).