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A new law that was signed by the Governor in July 2021 went into effect on July 21st, 2022. This law requires all properties built before 1978 to have lead testing performed at tenant turnover.
Here at LCA, we understand all the obstacles that sellers, buyers, and landlords encounter in minimizing the costs to increase profits when dealing with real estate transactions and rental requirements.
LCA has been working with homeowners and investors since 1996, and we will guide you through the mandatory requirements in a timely, and cost-effective manner.
Subsequent to passing both Houses in the NJ State Assembly with an overwhelming majority (70-30-1) on June 24, 2021, the new NJ Lead Paint Inspection Law was approved on July 22, 2021.
The Original Bill was introduced in the NJ State Senate and referred to the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee on February 3, 2020, then transferred to the Senate Economic Growth Committee a month later. The updated legislation requires lead paint inspection prior to home purchases and tenant turnover and establishes an educational program on lead hazards.
Nearly 4,000 children in New Jersey are found to have high levels of lead in their blood each year, according to Isles, a Trenton-based organization that advocates for lead abatement measures.
That number is likely an undercount because testing requirements are difficult to enforce.
The following statement is from the original legislation introduced in February 2020 and available on the New Jersey Legislature website.
This bill (S1147) would require every contract of sale of real property to include a provision requiring, as a condition of the sale, a lead evaluation contractor, certified to provide lead paint inspection services by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), to inspect any dwelling located on the real property for lead-based paint hazards.
If a lead evaluation contractor finds that no lead hazards exist in dwellings located on the property, then the lead evaluation contractor would certify the property as lead-safe on a form prescribed by the DCA.
Additionally, this bill would require municipalities to inspect every single-family, two-family, and multiple rental dwelling located within the municipality for lead-based paint hazards at tenant turnover. Municipalities would charge a fee for the inspection at a rate proportional to the current “Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law” fee schedule.
Moreover, the bill requires municipalities to impose an additional fee of $20.00 per unit inspected by a certified lead evaluation contractor or permanent local agency for deposit into the “Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund.”
Dwelling units that pass visual tests for intact paint frequently contain invisible lead dust hazards detectable through dust wipe sampling. Thus, in municipalities that have a higher concentration of children with elevated blood lead levels, the bill requires a lead evaluation contractor or permanent local agency to inspect for lead-based paint hazards through dust wipe sampling.
In municipalities with a lower concentration of children with elevated blood lead levels, the bill allows a lead evaluation contractor or permanent local agency to inspect for lead-based paint hazards through visual assessment.
Rental properties that have been certified to be free of lead-based paint or lead-safe, properties that were constructed during or after 1978, and seasonal rental units would be exempt from the inspection and registration requirements. However, the bill eliminates the exemption for seasonal rentals from the cyclical inspections required under the “Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Act.”
Lastly, the bill requires the DCA, in consultation with the Department of Health, to establish a Statewide, multifaceted, ongoing educational program designed to meet the needs of tenants, property owners, realtors and real estate agents, insurers and insurance agents, and local building officials about the nature of lead hazards, the importance of lead hazard control and mitigation, and the responsibilities set forth in this bill.
Places like daycare centers, private schools, and other facilities serving small children should be a top priority for lead inspections.
The bill requires the DCA to establish guidelines and a trainer’s manual for a lead hazard seminar for rental property owners. The lead hazard seminar established under this bill would not exceed three hours in length and would be offered for a maximum fee of $50.00 per participant.
Property owners who complete the lead hazard seminar may be eligible to self-inspect their properties under this bill. In order to self-inspect, the Department of Community Affairs, a permanent local agency, or a certified lead evaluation contractor would have had to certify the dwelling as lead-safe within the preceding five years.
