The New York City Council has recently passed a series of bills designed to strengthen safeguards against lead paint conditions. However, well-intentioned they may be, the bills (which await the mayor’s signature) would result in greater costs for remediation and compliance. If signed into law, these bills would among other things:
- Mandate that the lead-based paint abatement activities currently required upon turnover— including the removal of lead-based paint on friction surfaces on doors and window— be performed in dwelling units where a child under the age of six resides, even if there is no vacancy in the unit, and the current tenant remains in occupancy. Failure to perform this work by July 1, 2027 would result in the issuance of a class c violation.
- The Owner could be temporarily exempted from this new requirement if tenant refuses to relocate to accommodate the remediation work, assuming such relocation is required for remediation. Owner would need to document its good faith efforts at compliance to HPD, and, then be required to perform the required turnover remediation work upon turnover of the unit. (Intro 6)
- Require that, whenever HPD issues a lead-related violation, Owner produce records for the immediately previous year, including the annual notice, etc. The bill also establishes a process for building owners to correct violations issued for the failure to keep or produce of records for 10 years. (Intro 5)
- Impose three additional requirements in any building in which a child under six resides:
- peeling or chipped lead-based paint in common areas of buildings would be deemed a class C “immediately hazardous violation”;
- owner’s “5 year obligation” to test for lead would be expanded to encompass not only individual apartments, but the common areas of buildings in which children under six reside.
- HPD inspectors called to a building to inspect a particular unit, must expand their search to include the common areas along their path to the unit they are inspecting. (Intro 193)
- Require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) publish biannual reports on objections filed by building owners in response to the city’s lead abatement orders, specifying why any of owner’s objections were found to be meritorious. (Intro 200)
The Mayor has not indicated whether he will sign these bills into law.
Contact Us
For more information about changes, feel free to contact your BBG attorney of record or contact us.