New Jersey’s new lead law targets pre 1978 rental properties
Beginning July 2022, all NJ rental properties are required upon their first turnover or within two years of the effective date to complete their initial Lead Safe Certification inspection. This law requires property owners to continually re-certify their units as Lead-Safe at either turnover or every three years (whichever comes first) and Lead Safe Certifications are only valid for 2 years.
The inspection will be either a visual or dust wipe inspection depending on the municipality where the rental is located. In Bergen County all municipalities are visual inspection except for Alpine, Harrington Park, Haworth, Park Ridge and South Hackensack which require dust wipe inspection. You can look up what is required for your New Jersey property here, listed by county.
Visual or wipe sampling – which is best for your dwelling?
A visual assessment is an examination of all painted building components for deteriorated paint or visible surface dust, debris, or residue.
Dust wipe sampling is collected by wiping a representative surface, including floors, windowsills, and other surfaces, and testing in accordance and sent for laboratory analysis. These samples must be undertaken properly to ensure that results are accurate.
Contact Detail Associates for your inspection
If no lead-based paint hazards are found during the inspection, we will certify the dwelling unit as lead-safe and provide a Lead Safe Certificate to the owner.
Lead-Safe OR Lead-Free Certification?
Detail Associates also provides an XRF lead-in-paint test which measures lead paint through X-ray fluorescence and can penetrate multiple layers of paint without any disturbance to the structure. This type of test offers a lead-free certificate, and it is valid for as long as you own your home. Testing every two years is not required if you have a lead-free certificate.
If lead based paint hazards are found in either inspection, they must be properly addressed by either lead-based paint abatement or lead based paint hazard control methods. We cannot provide the required certificate until the lead problem is addressed and the area is retested.
Lead exposure in children can cause nervous system and kidney damage, as well as learning disabilities, attention-deficit disorder, and decreased intelligence. It can also cause behavior, speech, and language problems, hearing damage, decreased muscle and bone growth, and poor muscle coordination.
Failure to comply with NJ Lead Safe Certification requirements can incur fines of up to $1000 per unit per week.