Lead-based paint

The fact that this remains a hot button issue is amazing. HUD requires that a home built prior to 1978 have no deteriorated or peeling paint on the inside and outside of the unit if the unit is occupied by children under the age of six (or a pregnant household member). The cost of removal and refinishing can be prohibitive but pales when compared to the cost of lawsuit or having a unit remain vacant because of noncompliance. Any landlord that knows or suspects his/her properties contain lead based paint and does nothing to remedy the situation is knowingly compromising the health of the children residing in the unit. Inexcusable!

It was previously thought that lead poisoning was caused primarily from the ingestion of paint chips containing lead, however current data suggest that: adults and children are poisoned by the inhalation of lead dust – when cracking and peeling paint is removed by dry scraping or other currently prohibited methods, lead dust is generated and young children come in contact with the lead dust, put their fingers in their mouth ingesting it. Children under the age of six are severely harmed by excessive levels of lead in the blood. Additional information can be found at the HUD site and on the following fact sheet

http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/leadsaferule/1012fs.pdf

Properties that are exempted from the new Lead Safe Housing Rule include:

 Units with no deteriorating paint
 Units built after 1978
 Units not occupied by children under the age of six (or a pregnant household member)
 Units used exclusively for the elderly or disabled
 Zero-bedroom units
 Properties certified as lead-free by a certified lead inspector