NEW Lead Remediation REQUIREMENTS Take Effect July 22

June 30, 2022

Beginning July 22, 2022, lead paint inspection and remediation will be required for residential one- and two-family rental properties upon tenant turnover or by July 24, 2024 if there is no tenant turnover. Inspection requirements may vary depending on the community. This new law is not currently tied to time-of-sale requirements.

July 22, 2022 Requirements 

  • Rental properties subject to the new law must be inspected upon tenant turnover or within two years if there is no tenant turnover (no later than July 22, 2024)
  • The type of inspection will depend on the lead levels in children in the municipality where a rental is located
  • See questions 6, 7 and 8 on the DCA Q&A website: https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/resources/leadpaint.html

Remediation Requirements

  • Properties where lead is found during an inspection will need to undergo remediation, either to make it lead safe or lead free
  • The type of remediation will determine if future inspections are required
  • Measures to temporarily make a property free of lead paint will make it lead safe
  • Measures to completely eliminate lead paint will make it lead free
  • See questions 4, 6, 9 and 10 on the DCA Q&A website: https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/resources/leadpaint.html

Properties Subject to New Lead Paint Law

  • Single-Family Residential Rental Homes Built Before 1978
  • Two-Family Residential Rental Homes Built Before 1978
  • Click here for exceptions.

Properties Not Subject to New Lead Paint Law

  • Homes Built During or After 1978
  • One and Two-Family Seasonal Rental Dwellings Rented for Less than 6 Months that Do Not Have Consecutive Lease Renewals
  • Dwellings Certified to be Free of Lead Paint
  • This new law is not currently tied to time-of-sale requirements.

Resources

THE ISSUE

Lead paint is hazardous and can prove harmful to children, leading to differentiated health issues. For more than two decades, New Jersey Realtors has consistently advocated for common-sense lead remediation to protect the children of the state while also protecting the rights of private property owners. Lead paint was banned in 1977, so when talking about lead we focus on homes built prior to 1978—of which there are more than 1.1 million in New Jersey, many of which are concentrated in poorer, minority, urban communities.

THE HISTORY

NJ Realtor®s has been engaged on this issue for almost 20 years.  The original bill was introduced in 2003 by Sen. Ron Rice and over the years we've worked with many legislators and gubernatorial administrations to ensure that this legislation did not have a detrimental impact on the housing market. In February of 2020 Sen.Teresa Ruiz introduced S1147 which would require that a lead paint inspection take place before the sale of a home or tenant turnover. With our apprehensions about the negative effect on the time it may take to close a sale, and the costs that may be incurred, we reached out to the sponsor of the bill to try and come up with a compromise that would result in a more friendly process towards reaching the goal of remediation.

The bill was later substituted with new language that removed the original time-of-sale requirement. The substitution requires lead inspection once there was tenant turnover at a residence or within two years of the bill’s effect date, the need for an inspection would be triggered, and $3.9 million dollars was put aside for grants that property owners would be able to apply for to address the lead-based hazards in the home. The bill also helps to address the lack of lead inspectors in the state by requiring that towns who have a dedicated inspection agency to provide the inspection of the necessary properties. The bill also calls for the Department of Community Affairs to develop materials and a seminar that will be given to relevant stakeholders, like Realtors®, so that they know what is going to be required of them in the process, and what they can do to help address the issues of lead in homes. The bill was signed by Gov. Murphy on July 22, 2021, and the contents of the bill will go into effect one year from the signing date. This bill will help New Jersey move towards having healthier places to live in, without having property owners incur thousands of dollars in remediation costs.

THE LAW

Since Gov. Murphy signed S1147 on July 22, 2021, it is now law. The contents are as follows:

  • requires lead inspection once there was tenant turnover at a residence or within two years of the bill’s effect date, the need for an inspection would be triggered,  
  • $3.9 million dollars was put aside for grants that property owners would be able to apply for to address the lead-based hazards in the home.
  • Addresses the lack of lead inspectors in the state by requiring that towns who have a dedicated inspection agency to provide the inspection of the necessary properties
  • calls for the Department of Community Affairs to develop materials and a seminar that will be given to relevant stakeholders, like Realtors®, so that they know what is going to be required of them in the process, and what they can do to help address the issues of lead in homes.
  • The bill was signed by Gov. Murphy on July 22, 2021, and the contents of the bill will go into effect one year from the signing date.

Source: njrealtor.com