Lead Exposure in Rental Housing
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, Oct. 20-26, 2019
Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act (also known as the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 or Title X) requires disclosure of known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most housing built before 1978.
Buildings built before 1978 are much more likely to have lead-based paint. Lead-based paint is the most common source of lead poisoning in adults and children. Lead paint chips, flakes, and peels deteriorate into lead dust, becoming toxic to any person who inhales or ingests it. Even small levels of exposure to lead paint can harm adults and children.
Landlords can help protect the health and safety of tenants by disclosure of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in the rental unit.
There is no law requiring landlords to remove lead paint in rental houses and apartments. However, federal law requires a landlord to provide certain important information about lead paint before a prospective tenant signs the lease agreement. The prospective tenant must receive:
- An EPA-approved information pamphlet on identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards, Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home.
- Any known information concerning the presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the home or building.
For multi-unit buildings, the notification requirement includes records and reports concerning common areas and other units when such information was obtained as a result of a building-wide evaluation.
Both landlord and tenant must sign the EPA approved disclosure document, the Lead Warning Statement, to acknowledge that the landlord complied with EPA notification regulations. The landlord must retain the document in his rental records for at least three years from the date of the landlord-tenant lease agreement.
Title X covers most residential private, public, and federal owned housing, and housing receiving federal assistance. There are a few exceptions, including:
- Housing construction started after January 1, 1978,
- Housing certified as lead-free,
- Short-term rentals of 100 days or less,
- Single rooms rented in a residential dwelling,
- Residential rental units that contain zero bedrooms (e.g., studio, lofts, etc.),
- Housing designed for persons with disabilities unless children under age 6 live there or are expected to live there,
- Housing designated for seniors (one occupant 62 years of age or older) unless children under age 6 live there or are expected to live there.
Property Renovations and Repairs
The most common way to absorb lead in the body is from inhaling or ingesting microscopic lead dust. Many new cases of lead poisoning in children can be directly linked to common renovation activities and/or demolition work in rental properties.
Landlords have a duty to mitigate exposure to lead hazards by notifying their tenants of planned property repairs and renovations for a pre-1978 residential building.
The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) requires: renovators are trained in the use of lead safe work practices; renovators and firms are certified; providers of renovation training are accredited; and renovators follow specific work practice standards.
RPP regulations mandate that any contractor or maintenance staff, including specialty trades such as plumbers, electricians and painters, who disturbs more than six square feet of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects, replaces windows, or does demolition in housing, child care facilities and schools built before 1978 must be Lead-Safe Certified and trained in lead-safe work practices. These regulations are the standard of care for the industry.
If a rental property manager or his employees conduct renovation, repair, or painting activities in a pre-1978 residential building then the RRP requires that the property manager/firm become a lead-safe certified firm. However if the surface to be painted is not disturbed by activities that may cause dust, the work is not considered renovation and EPA’s lead program requirements do not apply. Painting projects that involve surface preparation that disturbs paint, such as sanding and scraping, would be covered by EPA requirements. If the work is hired out, only a lead-safe certified firm for building maintenance, repair, or painting could perform work that disturbs lead-based paint.
The RRP also requires that certain actions be taken to protect tenants. In housing built before 1978, the contractor must:
- Distribute EPA’s lead pamphlet to the owner and occupants before renovation starts.
- In a child-occupied facility, the lead pamphlet must be distributed to the owner of the building or an adult representative of the child-occupied facility before the renovation starts.
If the renovation is to be performed in common areas of multi-family housing, the contractor must:
- Either distribute renovation notices to tenants or post informational signs about the renovation or repair job. Informational signs must:
- Be posted where they will be seen;
- Describe the nature, locations, and dates of the renovation;
- Be accompanied by the lead pamphlet or by information on how parents and guardians can get a free copy;
- Obtain confirmation of receipt of the lead pamphlet from the owner, adult representative, or occupants (as applicable), or a certificate of mailing from the post office;
- Retain records for documentation of compliance for three years following completion of a renovation.
RRP Rule Emergency Provision
Emergency renovations are those activities that were not planned but result from a sudden, unexpected event that, if not immediately attended to, present a safety or public health hazard, or threaten equipment and/or property with significant damage.
Contractors performing activities that are immediately necessary to protect personal property and public health need not be RRP trained or certified and are exempt from the following RRP rule requirements: information distribution, posting warning signs at the renovation site, containment of dust, and waste handling. Firms are not exempt from the RRP rule’s requirements related to cleaning, cleaning verification, and recordkeeping. Further, the exemption applies only to the extent necessary to respond to the emergency. Once the portion of the renovation that addresses the source of the emergency is completed, the remaining activities are subject to all requirements of the RRP rule.
There are RPP emergency guidelines specific to natural disasters. A natural disaster may significantly damage or destroy housing that could pose serious health and safety risks to the occupants. For buildings that will be reoccupied, immediate renovation and repairs will be necessary to stabilize the structure, protect the contents, and prevent further property damage and loss of value.
In the aftermath of a natural disaster, renovation and repair firms may utilize the RRP emergency provision to the extent necessary to respond to urgent safety and public health hazards and threats of significant property damage. As noted above, the firms must still comply with RPP’s cleaning requirements (performed by certified renovators or trained workers), cleaning verification requirements (performed by certified renovators), and certain recordkeeping requirements. Once the safety and public health hazards and threats of significant property damage have been addressed, the emergency provision can no longer be utilized.
Other Non-Emergency RPP Provisions
Generally the RPP rule does not apply to a project that demolishes and rebuilds a structure to the extent that the structure is effectively new construction.
The RPP rule generally applies to all other renovation and rehabilitation projects, including partial removal of painted surfaces or projects that involve only one level of a multi-level structure.
Temporarily unoccupied or vacant homes are not exempt from the RPP rule.
When all renovation and cleanup of a project have been performed to RRP rule requirements, additional work can be performed without following the rule requirements provided further disturbances of paint will not occur. Activities that do not disturb paint (e.g., applying paint to already prepared walls) are not regulated under the RRP rule if they are conducted after post-renovation cleaning verification has been performed.
State Statutes
Most states and many municipalities have lead-hazard reduction programs. These programs establish standards for the reduction, elimination, and abatement of lead based hazards including notification requirements and procedures for conducting lead-based paint activities. The standards as established in many of these states and municipalities could be more stringent in requirements and notifications than the federal standard.