As property owners and managers, staying up-to-date with regulatory changes is crucial to our role. This is especially true when it comes to lead regulations. Because of the health hazard that lead can cause, NYC is constantly updating the regulations and cracking down on non-compliance. Recently, NYC unveiled new lead paint laws that can significantly affect NYC property owners, managers, and the properties they oversee.

Here’s a quick rundown of what these laws mean for you.

As you know, the existence of lead-based paint in any dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling where a child under the age of six lives is a class C immediately hazardous violation if the paint is peeling or is on a deteriorated subsurface. Because of the high-risk lead presents for young children, these violations are taken seriously and can come with heavy fines and penalties.

KEEPING RECORDS & TAKING NAMES

In addition, the new laws now stipulate that when a lead violation is issued, owners need to provide critical records, including your annual notice and investigations from the past year, within 45 days. After August 2025, these records must also include the reports for your XRF inspection as per LL31.

If you fail to provide these records, and you may be required to submit records for ten years, you will be in violation. The new law also stipulates the procedure in which to resolve these violations.

As per this law, you must submit the violation dismissal request form with ten consecutive years of records, including records for the year when the dismissal was requested. If you cannot submit all ten years of records, you can submit the violation dismissal request form with the required records for at least three consecutive years, including records for the year when the dismissal request was made. But be aware that once the department notifies you that the documents they submitted are sufficient, you will be responsible for paying $1,000 for each year of the ten years that were not submitted.

This is precisely why our lead department team recommends a thought-out and efficient record-storing system. That way, if you ever need to provide these records, you have them ready to go and can avoid penalties and fines. As a PSA, if our lead department team is doing your inspections, all this data can be easily accessed and downloaded from the client portal or the Jaffa deFINEd app.

While the above law is due to go into effect on September 1, 2024, with ten years of records needed to be produced, you may want to evaluate your record-keeping methods now and ensure that you are ready for this law when it goes into effect.

FRICTION: IT’S NOT JUST FOR TURNING OVER ANYMORE

While inspections and removal of lead-based paint abatement steps, including friction surface removal on doors and windows, are already required by apartment turnovers, the new law, similar to LL31’s required XRF testing by August 9, 2025, requires this task to be done in ALL applicable units where a child under the age of six lives by July 1, 2027.

With the passing of this law, friction surface, and other abatement-related work must be performed by whichever of the following comes first: turnover of a multiple dwelling erected before January 1, 1960, July 1, 2027, of ANY unit with a child under the age of six, or within three years of a child under six moving into a unit of a multiple dwelling erected before January 1, 1960.

The work you must do according to this law includes the remediation of all lead-based paint hazards and any underlying defects. If such underlying defects exist, then during unit turnover or before July 1, 2027 (as per this new law), you must take care of the following items:

• Make all bare floors, window sills, and window wells in the dwelling unit smooth and cleanable.
• Remove or permanently cover all lead-based paint on all friction surfaces on all doors and door frames.
• Remove or permanently cover all lead-based paint on all friction surfaces on all windows.
• Install or replace window channels or slides on all lead-based painted friction surfaces on all windows.

Again, because of the high risk of lead to children, you will be issued a Class C violation if you fail to perform any of these remediations and will be required to produce your lead-related records.

If you must temporarily relocate residence to perform any of these tasks, and they refuse, YOU ARE EXEMPT from complying with these laws. However, you must demonstrate your good faith effort to perform the required work and your tenant’s refusal to relocate.

The city will outline how to document your good faith effort and your tenant’s refusal to relocate, but as always, documenting any attempts and tenant responses is always a good idea. Again, this documentation can be done directly in our Jaffa deFINEd app so it’s easy to record, easy to track, and easy to provide to the city if ever required. In short, it’s just easier with the Jaffa deFINEd app. In addition, any violations issued on the basis of the owner’s request for exemption or issued after the exemption was granted will be dismissed. However, this exemption only applies when the current tenant resides in the unit and is no longer applicable once a new tenant moves in.

OH, THE JOY OF AUDITS & INSPECTIONS

The final law focuses on AUDITS (one of a property owner or manager’s most dreaded words). As per this new law, the department will identify, proactively inspect and audit 200 properties annually. The city will choose those properties that seem to pose a risk of lead exposure for children, per the DOHMH recommendations. These risks include:

• Buildings with peeling lead-based paint violations issued as a result of positive x-ray fluorescence tests,
• Buildings with violations issued for other indicators of deteriorated subsurfaces, including, but not limited to, mold and leaks
• Buildings with violations issued regarding non-compliance with lead-related tasks due upon unit turnovers

This law takes effect one year after its signing (it is currently waiting to be signed by the Mayor but will become law automatically after 30 days), so it will most likely go into effect in late August or early September of 2024. To avoid being one of the 200 properties that will be audited, make sure that your properties are in compliance with all of the above.

If you need assistance with your compliance with any of the discussed laws, please reach out to our lead department. They can help you avoid penalties, stay compliant and stay ahead of any new laws.