The city council passed a set of new lead paint laws in August 2023. Here’s a rundown of what’s coming, and how your team can stay prepared in light of these changes.

Record Production & Record Violation Removals

INT 0005(A)-2022 focuses on record production for lead paint information, as well as how to specifically remove violations for failure to produce lead paint records.

Record Production

Per the new law, whenever a violation for § 27-2056.6 is issued, owners will have to provide key records to the department within 45 days. § 27-2056.6 specifically references:

Violation in a dwelling unit.
The existence of lead-based paint in any dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling where a child of applicable age resides shall constitute a class C immediately hazardous violation if such paint is peeling or is on a deteriorated subsurface.

Records must include the annual notice and investigations for the immediately previous year. And after August 1, 2025, they will also require all records of any x-ray fluorescence analysis conducted (pulling from the final date for Local Law 31).

Resolving Violations For Record Production

In addition to new record production requirements, the city has specified how to resolve violations for failure to submit records for 10 years. Violations will be dismissed if:

• The owner submits the violation dismissal request form with 10 consecutive years of records, including records for the year when the dismissal request is made; OR 
• The owner submits the violation dismissal request form demonstrating that the owner has kept required records for a period of at least 3 consecutive years, including records for the year when the dismissal request is made. When the department notifies the owner that the documents they submitted are sufficient, the owner will then be responsible for paying $1,000 for each year of the 10 years that were not submitted

The above law is set to go into effect on September 1, 2024. 

Friction Surface Removal & Abatement Activities

INT 0006(A)-2022 centers on work that’s currently required during the turnover process. Now, the city will require lead-based paint abatement steps, including friction surface removal on doors and windows, to be completed in all applicable dwelling units where a child under the age of six resides, by July 1, 2027. 

It’s similar to Local Law 31 in terms of timing. Now, instead of waiting until a turnover to do friction surface and other abatement-related work, the work must be performed by whichever comes first:

• Turnover of any dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling erected prior to January 1, 1960; OR
• By July 1, 2027 for any dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling erected prior to January 1, 1960 where a child of applicable age resides as of January 1, 2025; OR
• Within 3 years after the date a child of applicable age begins to reside in any occupied dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling erected prior to January 1, 1960 prior to turnover.

Work must be done according to the law & safe work practices, and includes:

• Remediate all lead-based paint hazards and any underlying defects, when such underlying defects exist, for each turnover of a dwelling unit;
• Make all bare floors, window sills, and window wells in the dwelling unit smooth and cleanable for each turnover of a dwelling unit;
• Provide for the removal or permanent covering of all lead-based paint on all friction surfaces on all doors and door frames; and
• Provide for the removal or permanent covering of all lead-based paint on all friction surfaces on all windows, or provide for the installation of replacement window channels or slides on all lead-based painted friction surfaces on all windows.

Failure to do so would be subject to a Class C violation, and a requirement to produce appropriate lead-related records for the previous year.

But What About The Residents?

Per the city, if the dwelling occupant must “temporarily relocate from the dwelling unit in accordance with the safe work practice rules” in order to comply, and they refuse, “the owner shall be exempt from such compliance upon approval by the department of documentation demonstrating the owner’s good faith effort to perform the required work and the occupant’s refusal to relocate.”

The department will create rules outlining exactly how to document a good faith effort, and show the occupant’s refusal to relocate. The department would also dismiss violations that were the basis for the owner’s request for the exemption, or that were issued after the exemption was granted (prior to any turnover). The exemption would remain in place until the unit is turned over to a new occupant.

Lead Paint Property Audits And Inspections

The final lead-related law that passed this session focuses on audits – specifically, record audits for 200 properties each year.

INT 0750-2022 states that the department will identify 200 properties each year (in consultation with DOHMH) that may pose a risk of lead exposure to children who reside in said buildings. The department will proactively inspect those properties for lead-related violations.

Criteria for these audits includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Buildings with peeling lead-based paint violations issued as a result of positive x-ray fluorescence tests pursuant to section 27-2056.6
• Buildings with violations that have been issued for other indicators of deteriorated subsurfaces including, but not limited to, mold and leaks
• Buildings with violations that have been issued pursuant to section 27-2056.8
  • Specifically, violations related to turnovers

This law takes effect 1 year after its signing, bringing it to late August/early September of 2024.

What Comes Next?

The laws are currently on the Mayor’s desk for his signature. If they go unsigned, they’ll become law automatically after 30 days.

That said, there’s a lot here, but there’s more information to come. 

Given that the effective date for these laws is on or around September 1, 2024, it’s likely that HPD will propose rules in the interim to clarify some of the requirements. Stay in touch with your expert environmental vendors, and stay tuned to the blog for any updates. You can also join us at this year’s RealFocus conference this October, where HPD and industry experts will be speaking to rules and regulations, including lead paint. Space is limited, so save your spot today.