Lead-Based Paint Inspections
Here at Home, we continue to do our best to keep you apprised of meaningful legislation and deadlines that may affect you and your clients in the real estate industry. This week we wanted to remind you about the upcoming deadline under NYC Local Law 31 of 2020 (“LL 31”) which went into effect on August 9, 2020 (the “Effective Date”), and requires certain property owners to complete at least one (1) investigation for the presence of lead-based paint utilizing an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer by no later thanAugust 9, 2025(unless required earlier as discussed below).
Several key components of the LL 31 are set forth below:
- XRF analyzer inspections are now required for all surfaces in every rental unit for “multiple dwelling” buildings built prior to 1960 (as well as for buildings built between 1960 and 1978 with known lead-based paint). Note - the law now also applies to tenant-occupied, one- and two-family dwellings and Cooperative and Condominium Units that are not occupied by the Shareholder, Unit Owner or their immediate family members (ie. rental units in such Cooperative or Condominium).
- XRF lead inspections must take place within five (5) years of the effective date of the law (by August 9, 2025) or within one (1) year if a child under the age of 6 resides in or moves into the unit. Note – the term “resides” is defined to apply to a child who either lives in, or routinely spends 10 or more hours per week in a dwelling unit in a pre-1960 building.
- Inspections must be conducted by a third-party, EPA-certified lead inspector or risk assessor, independent of the owner or any firm hired to perform lead-based paint remediation.
- Home improvement contractors must show evidence that they are EPA-certified and follow lead-based safety standards and a sample Affidavit of Lead-Based Paint Testing can be found at the following link:https://www.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downloads/pdfs/services/sample-affidavit-certified-individual-testing.pdf
- Local Law 66 revised the definition of lead-based paint to be paint or other similar surface coating material containing 0.5 milligrams per square centimeter (mg/cm2) of lead or greater as determined by laboratory analysis or by an instrument verified to be able to test at the lower action level of 0.5 mg/cm2. This replaced the previous definition of 1.0 mg/cm2 of lead or greater. Per Local Law 66, the current the threshold for defining lead-based paint is 0.5 mg/cm2.
- Owners must retain records for ten (10) years of any notices required to be distributed and records of work performed under the law. Owners must transfer such records to a new owner, where applicable, and make the records available to HPD upon request.
Below is a link to NYC Housing Preservation and Development’s (“HPD”) website which includes more information regarding both LL 31 and its requirements and possible exemptions:https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/lead-based-paint.page
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