Effective November 12, 1999, owners and managers are in a new ball game with regards to lead paint. Local Law 38 of 1999 imposes numerous duties on owners and managers.
The law requires owners/managers to generate a "Lead Paint Notice" to (a) new tenants upon signing a lease and (b) annually to all tenants in place. This notice is similar in format to the annual window guard notice.
The Notice
Notices must be sent to all tenants in residency by (regular first class) mail or hand delivered between January 1st and January 15th of each year. Notices can also be enclosed with the January rent bill if it is sent out after December 15th. The notice must be sent in English and Spanish with an additional copy for the tenant. A similar notice must be attached to all leases for new tenants. (Owners must provide a lead paint pamphlet to all new tenants. Lead paint is defined as 1.0 milligrams per square centimeter or greater. Lead based paint is presumed in any dwelling erected prior to January 1, 1960 where a child 6 years of age or under resides. A lead based paint hazard exists in any unit that has any peeling paint or paint covering a deteriorated surface where a child under 6 resides in the unit.
The Inspection
Owners/managers must inspect any unit that (a) a tenant returned a notice acknowledging that a child 6 or under resides, or (b) any unit that the owner/manager has actual knowledge of a child aged 6 or under residing. The inspection is a visual inspection of every surface of every room. "Every surface" includes walls, ceilings, doors, windows, moldings, cabinets, etc. Every surface also includes inside of closets, behind furniture (mirrors, wall units, headboards, etc.)
A detailed written record of the inspection must be (a) kept for each inspection performed; (b) be made available to the tenant or HPD upon request; and (c) be maintained for a minimum of three years. If the owner/manager discovers peeling paint and/or paint covering a deteriorated surface (bubbling, cracked, etc.) It must be repaired.
Correction and Repairs
Repairs provisions are considerably more complicated than in the past. Some of the correction highlights are as follows:
Seal off the area where practicable.
Prepare the area by covering the floor and all movable objects with heavy plastic slating. Work crews should wear safety type disposable clothing to prevent excessive spread of lead dust.
Wet scrape a previously wet wall with a rubber type scraper; walls should be wet during the entire scraping process.
HEPA vacuum all affected surfaces and floors or wash all areas with a detergent.
Repaint all affected areas.
Wet mop or HEPA vacuum all affected areas at the end of each workday to insure no paint chips, dust, etc. were released outside the work area.
Insure that all paint chips, plastic slating, etc. is properly disposed of.
Adjust all doors, cabinets and windows to insure that paint did not "bind" to surface.
Dust Wiping
Dust wiping is a process where a trained, licensed tester uses wipes that are sent to an independent laboratory for testing. Dust wiping requirements: An owner/manager who does lead paint abatement without a violation performs dust wiping on wood windows and trims only. This can be performed by anyone who has completed dust wipe training.
A minimum of three dust wipe samples (floors, windows, trim) must be performed by anyone who completed dust wipe training.
A minimum of three dust wipe samples completed by an independent vendor not related or employed by the owner, manager, or deleading contractor.
All dust samples must be sent to an independent lab for testing.
Violations
HPD will issue violations to owners/managers upon discovery of lead paint in a unit. HPD will inspect upon receipt of complaint from a tenant, or upon discovering peeling paint during a regular inspection.
Owners will have 21 calendar days to correct a lead paint violation. Owners/managers who fail to correct lead paint violations within the 21 days, will be subject to NYC DOH regulations, which are considerably more difficult (and expensive) to comply.
A fine of $250.00 per day is imposed on owners/managers for failure to correct a lead paint violation.
Owners/managers who falsely certify lead paint violations face a minimum of a $10,000 to $25,000 fine as well as possible criminal misdemeanor charges.
Summary
This article barely scrapes the surface (pun intended) on local law 38 and Department of Health rules. It is not a replacement for the complete text of the law or the advice of your attorney and/or insurance company.
The city's health, housing, and legal departments are still finalizing rules, regulations and procedures.
Guides, laws, rules, regulations, and forms are available from the appropriate agencies and are also available on the following websites:
www.ci.nyc.ny.us/health
www.rsanyc.org
www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/hpd/home.html
Stephen Elbaz, nyarm is President of Esquire Management Corporation, a full service management firm licensed in New York & New Jersey.