Understanding
Lead Paint in Maryland Rental Properties
In
1994, the Maryland Legislature passed the Lead Poisoning Prevention
Program. This landmark legislation finally provided relief to landlords
from liability suits. Landlords were being sued for putting a hazardous
product on the market, that is, "selling" the rental of apartments
that were hazardous to live in. Landlords were in a "catch
22". It was too costly to remove the lead paint---resulting in
reduced housing stock; yet, the landlord was being sued for providing affordable
housing. The landlord did not put the lead paint there, yet he was being
held liable for the acts of paint manufacturers and previous property
owners. The law determined that the landlord was negligent for leaving the
hazardous lead paint in place, yet the science indicated that it created even
worse hazards to disturb lead paint surfaces in the process of removing
lead.
The benefit of this
legislation was to establish objective criteria by which a landlord could rent a
"safe" product. Hence, the term "lead safe" refers to
apartments and houses that have received certain cost-effective treatments that reduce the
incidence of lead poisoning while not going to the expense of completely eliminating lead-based paint
from the dwelling.
Who must comply with this law?
The law applies to residential rental units built
before 1979 (The federal government banned lead-based paint in 1978).
Exempt from the law are Government-owned housing (which are subject to a
stricter standard), hotels, motels, and seasonal rentals, and dwelling units
that have been certified lead-free according to MDE (Maryland Department of the
Environment) standards.
What fees are involved?
 |
All units built before 1950 pay an annual
registration fee of $10 per unit. |
|
Any units built after 1950 where the owners
choose to participate, or "opt-in" to the program, an annual
registration fee of $10 per unit. |
|
Owners of units built between 1950 and 1978 may
choose not to participate, or "opt-out" of the program, whereupon
they pay an annual registration fee of $5 per unit. |
|
Owners of units built after 1979 are presumed to
not contain lead-based paint and neither have to register or pay a fee. |
|
If a unit built before 1979 has been
"certified lead-free", the owner pays a one-time fee of $10 per
unit at the time the unit is so certified. |
The law requires that all units covered under this
program be registered with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)...
|
Each owner is assigned an "owner
number" by MDE. To obtain an owner number, call
410-631-8048. |
|
Fill out the MDE form, which lists each unit in
your portfolio and indicates whether you are obligated to participate or
whether you are "opting-in" or "opting-out". |
|
All units built before 1950 are required to be
registered. |
|
Changes in ownership or a change of property
managers must be reported to MDE within 30 days. |
|
Registering is easy. Call 410-631-8048 to
obtain your unique owner number and fill out a form. MDE can mail the
form to you or you can get on the web at http://www.mde.state.md.us/health/lead/RPR_Parts_AC.pdf |
When is compliance with the Program required?
|
A landlord is required to comply with the
program at each "turnover", that is, when an old tenant moves out
and before a new tenant moves in. |
A landlord has two choices. The
landlord may
-
Perform dust wipes, which measure the
lead-content of the dust in each room of the unit (you pass if the
lead-content of the dust is within in the guidelines established by HUD and
MDE).
-
Perform "Risk Reduction" standards and
have the unit inspected by a State Certified Inspector to insure that the
10-step Risk Reduction has been completed according to MDE standards.
| 50% of the units in a landlord's portfolio
must be made "lead safe" by February 2001. |
|
100% of the units in a landlord's portfolio must
be made "lead safe" by February 2006, regardless of whether or not
the unit has "turned over". |
What is the latest research on the problem of lead
poisoning?
Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute of the
Johns Hopkins University, the Baltimore City Health Department, and others have
identified that
|
Removing lead paint based actually creates more
of a hazard than leaving it in place. |
|
In the old days, we thought the problem of lead
poisoning was caused by children actually eating chips of paint or chewing
on window sills. |
|
Today, we understand that lead poisoning is
mostly caused by ingesting lead dust particles common in our environment. |
|
A clean house will greatly reduce the incidence
of lead poisoning. |
|
A healthy diet, especially leafy green vegetable
(and the avoidance of high-fat fried foods) helps the body to expunge excess
lead. |
|
Rather than paint chips, it is the dust that is
naturally ingested by young children who crawl on floors and then, quite
naturally suck on their fingers, that is a large cause of lead poisoning. |
|
Lead is in our environment from many sources,
including diesel exhaust, lead water pipes, lead from the days before
lead-free gasoline, the glazing on some china, the glazing on some window
shades. |
|
When paint is disturbed (chipping, flaking, and
peeling), it creates chips and dust, some of which may contain lead. |
|
Even though a dwelling has not been painted with
lead-paint for many years, the lead-based paint that is several layers down
can deteriorate, chip, and peel, and ultimately cause a lead dust problem. |
What exactly is "Risk Reduction"?
Risk Reduction involves performing 10 steps which
have been identified by the State of Maryland as contributing the most to a
reduction in the likelihood that lead dust will be a problem in a dwelling
unit. It includes addressing these 10 items:
- No
chipping flaking or peeling paint inside the unit, on the outside of the
building, or in a public hall.
- Repair
any structural defect that causes chipping, flaking, or peeling paint (for
example, a roof or plumbing leak must be fixed).
- Floors
must be smooth and cleanable, or covered in wall-to-wall carpet.
The floors cannot have gaps between the boards wider than a coin such
as a quarter.
- The
floors in the kitchen and bathroom must be smooth, cleanable, and water
resistant.
- All
doors cannot rub against the door jamb.
Some doors require replacement of the hinges if the hinges are caked
in layers of old paint.
- Windows
must be treated as follows:
- Interior
window sill is either (a) replaced, (b) scraped to bare wood and painted, or
(c) covered in vinyl or aluminum
- Exterior
window well is replaced or covered in vinyl or aluminum.
- Top
sash is screwed into place so it cannot be moved (not applicable if the
window is a vinyl replacement window).
- The
entire unit must then be cleaned using TSP and vacuumed using a vacuum with
a HEPA filter.
| Risk Reduction
work must be completed under the supervision of someone licensed as a
Contractor-Supervisor by MDE. |
| After Risk
Reduction is completed, the unit must be inspector for compliance by an MDE
certified private contractor. The inspector will issue a certificate
of compliance at the time of inspection. Inspectors usually charge
between $25 and $60 per unit. |
|
