October 22-28, 2017 is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.

Federal, state, and local agencies and community organizations conduct various public outreach events during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week to:

• Raise awareness about lead poisoning
• Urge people to take steps to reduce lead exposure
• Highlight efforts to prevent childhood lead poisoning
• Stress the importance of screening the highest risk children younger than 6 years of age (preferably by ages 1 and 2)

Lead hazards in housing

Lead-based paint is the most common source of lead poisoning in the home. When lead-based paint deteriorates from age or from painted surfaces not being properly maintained, it wears down into flakes, chips, and dust. The lead dust mixes with household dust which can contaminate household objects. Children can become lead poisoned by ingesting lead dust or playing in contaminated soil. Renovation or maintenance work that disturbs a lead-based painted surface can also create lead dust hazards.

The Lead Disclosure Rule

Congress passed the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, also known as Title X, to protect families from exposure to lead from paint, dust, and soil. Section 1018 of this law directed HUD and EPA to require the disclosure of known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most housing built before 1978.

Most private housing, public housing, federally owned housing, and housing receiving federal assistance are affected by this rule.

Landlords and Property Managers

Landlords and property managers play an important role in protecting the health of tenants and their children. Buildings built before 1978 are much more likely to contain lead-based paint. Federal law requires landlords and property managers to provide certain important information about lead paint before a tenant signs a lease.

Landlords and property managers must:

• Give an EPA-approved information pamphlet on identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards (“Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home”).
• Disclose any known information concerning lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. A landlord must also disclose information such as the location of the lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, and the condition of the painted surfaces.
• Provide any records and reports on lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards which are available to the landlord. For multi-units buildings, this requirement includes records and reports concerning common areas and other units, when such information was obtained as a result of a building wide evaluation.
• Include an attachment to the lease agreement or insert in the lease agreement itself a Lead Warning Statement and confirm that the landlord has complied with all notification requirements. The attachment is to be provided in the same language used in the rest of the lease agreement.

Landlords and tenants must sign and date the attachment to the lease agreement. Landlords must retain a copy of the disclosures for no less than three years from the date the leasing period begins.

Renovation and Maintenance

Many new cases of childhood lead poisonings are diagnosed each year. Research shows that many of the new cases can be directly linked to renovations where the work environment was not properly contained allowing lead to enter the body from inhaling or ingesting microscopic dust.

EPA regulations mandate that any contractor or maintenance staff, including specialty trades such as plumbers, electricians and painters, who disturbs more than six square feet of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects, replaces windows, or does demolition in housing, child care facilities and schools built before 1978 must be Lead-Safe Certified and trained in lead-safe work practices. These regulations are the standard of care for the industry.

The Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) requires that renovators are trained in the use of lead safe work practices, that renovators and firms be certified, that providers of renovation training be accredited, and that renovators follow specific work practice standards.

If a rental property manager or his employees conduct renovation, repair, or painting activities in a pre-1978 residential building then the RRP requires that the property manager/firm become a lead-safe certified firm. However if the surface to be painted is not disturbed by sanding, scraping, or other activities that may cause dust, the work is not considered renovation and EPA’s lead program requirements do not apply. Painting projects that involve surface preparation that disturbs paint, such as sanding and scraping, would be covered by EPA requirements. If the work is hired out, only a lead-safe certified firm for building maintenance, repair, or painting could perform work that disturbs lead-based paint.

The RRP also requires that certain actions be taken to protect tenants. In housing built before 1978, the contractor must:

• Distribute EPA’s lead pamphlet to the owner and occupants before renovation starts.
• In a child-occupied facility, the lead pamphlet must be distributed to the owner of the building or an adult representative of the child-occupied facility before the renovation starts.

If the renovation is to be performed in common areas of multi-family housing, the contractor must:

• Either distribute renovation notices to tenants or post informational signs about the renovation or repair job. Informational signs must:
• Be posted where they will be seen;
• Describe the nature, locations, and dates of the renovation;
• Be accompanied by the lead pamphlet or by information on how parents and guardians can get a free copy;
• Obtain confirmation of receipt of the lead pamphlet from the owner, adult representative, or occupants (as applicable), or a certificate of mailing from the post office.
• Retain records for documentation of compliance for three years following completion of a renovation.

Emergency Provision of the RRP Rule

The following information is excerpted from the EPA website regarding RRP emergency provisions.

To ensure that property owners and occupants are able to act quickly to preserve their homes and property in the wake of disasters, the RRP rule includes an emergency provision exempting firms from certain requirements. Emergency renovations are defined as renovation activities that were not planned but result from a sudden, unexpected event that, if not immediately attended to, present a safety or public health hazard, or threaten equipment and/or property with significant damage.

Under the emergency provision of the RRP rule, contractors performing activities that are immediately necessary to protect personal property and public health need not be RRP trained or certified and are exempt from the following RRP rule requirements: information distribution, posting warning signs at the renovation site, containment of dust, and waste handling. Firms are NOT exempt from the RRP rule’s requirements related to cleaning, cleaning verification, and recordkeeping. Further, the exemption applies only to the extent necessary to respond to the emergency. Once the portion of the renovation that addresses the source of the emergency is completed, the remaining activities are subject to all requirements of the RRP rule.

Landlords and property managers should conduct due diligence to determine applicability of the emergency provisions of the Rule to their particular circumstances such as recent regional hurricane disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.

State Statutes

The majority of states and many local jurisdictions have lead-based hazard programs with standards and procedures that may be more stringent than federal rules and regulations on lead-based hazards. Federal, state, and local programs have common goals that establish standards for the regulation of lead-based paint hazard activities, training and certification of workers engaged in such activities, and accreditation of lead-based paint hazard training programs.

Many states and local jurisdictions have programs and services established under departments of Health Services to prevent, detect and treat lead-based paint poisoning.

There may be additional state or local requirements or emergency relief regarding repair of pre-1978 properties damaged during the recent natural disasters. Landlords and property managers should consult with state agencies or appropriate certified agencies to determine compliance with state regulations.

ANSWER:
You should carefully review your state’s landlord-tenant statutes and local ordinances that may address the issue of required security devices including locks and alarm systems. Some states and a few municipalities do have statutes or codes that allow specific alterations by a tenant such as installing an alarm system or permitting installation of legally required door and window locks if the landlord fails to provide compliant devices.
Many commonly used lease agreements contain a clause that prohibits repairs and alterations to the property by the tenant except as provided by law or as authorized by prior written consent of the landlord. Using a lease agreement clause similar to this, customized to your properties as needed, would require your tenant to ask for your permission before making any changes such as installing additional locks, security systems, re-keying locks, or otherwise altering existing locks for doors and windows. If a tenant asks for your permission, before giving the tenant your answer, you may want to ask a few questions regarding why the tenant thinks it necessary for extra protections. The tenant’s answer may provide information of another nature that might need to be resolved. If you refuse your permission for alterations or additions, a crime is committed at a later date that could have been prevented with additional security measures, and the tenant files suit against you, you may have little defense against the tenant’s claim of landlord negligence if the case goes to trial.
If you are agreeable to the tenant’s requested changes, you should make your consent conditional upon receiving duplicate keys to installed locks or re-keyed locks. If an alarm system is installed, you will also need instructions on how to disarm the alarm including codes and the contact information for the alarm company. The tenant should be reminded that, in the event of a true emergency, you as the landlord must have access to the rental premises. Additionally, per statutes of most states, the landlord has the right to enter the leased premises with proper notice to the tenant for reasons listed by statute.
Accordingly, your lease agreement should have an additional clause that the tenant will provide the landlord with keys to additional locks, re-keyed locks, or altered locks as well as information and instruction on any installed security alarm systems.

QUESTION:
I understand that California law requires certain types of locks on doors and windows. Can you provide the information or tell me where I can I find it?

ANSWER:
California state requirements for installing and maintaining door and window locks for residential rental properties can be found in California CIVIL CODE Section 1941.3. The following information is excerpted from the Code. You should review the all applicable sections of the Code to determine your legal requirements.
A landlord or his agent is required to install and maintain an operable deadbolt lock on each main swinging entry door that leads into the inside of a dwelling unit. When in the locked position, the bolt shall extend a minimum of 13/16 of an inch in length beyond the strike edge of the door and protrude into the doorjamb.
A deadbolt provision does not apply to horizontal sliding doors or to existing deadbolts of at least ½ inch in length. Existing locks with a thumb turn deadlock that have a strike plate attached to the doorjamb and a latch bolt held in a vertical position by a guard bolt, plunger, or auxiliary mechanism are exempt. However when these locks are repaired or replaced, the replacement deadbolt must satisfy the requirement of at least 13/16 of an inch in length.
A landlord or his/her agent must install and maintain operable window security or locking devices for windows that are designed to be opened. Louvered windows, casement windows and all windows more than 12 feet vertically or six feet horizontally from the ground, a roof, or any other platform are excluded.
A landlord or his/her agent must install locking mechanisms that comply with applicable fire and safety codes on the exterior doors that provide ingress or egress to common areas with access to dwelling units in multifamily housing.
The tenant is responsible for notifying the owner or authorized agent when the tenant becomes aware of an inoperable deadbolt lock or window security or locking device in the dwelling unit. However, the landlord should always check for proper operation of locks when inspecting an occupied unit or when preparing a vacant unit for the next tenant.

QUESTION:
Do I need to re-key the locks when the tenant moves out? What are some tips for key control?

ANSWER:
Always check your state’s landlord-tenant statutes for issues that affect tenant move-in and move-out, including required security measures. You may be required by statute or local laws to protect the new tenant by re-keying locks to the rental unit.
The safety and security of tenants depends in part on the measures the landlord takes to adequately protect entry to rental units and common areas.
A landlord has no way to know how many keys are in existence or who might have keys to the rental unit when a tenant moves out. Accordingly, the best policy is to re-key every lock each time there is a change in tenants.
Key control is a safety and security measure which restricts access to master and back-up keys and provides documentation of the use of those keys.
Failure to take reasonable steps to secure back-up keys and control access to master keys may be considered negligence on the landlord’s part if there is an event where unauthorized access was obtained.
Keys to the rental unit should be given to the new tenant only after lease signing, receipt of all monies in accordance with the lease agreement, and completion of the landlord-tenant move-in checklist. A landlord should document in the tenant’s file all keys given to the tenant, including entry keys, gate keys, garage doors keys and openers, laundry room keys, and any other keys to landlord provided amenities. The tenant will be required to return all keys at time of move-out.
Master keys and back-up keys should be kept in a locked key box in a secure location. Access to keys should be limited to designated individuals. A key log should be maintained to document key use. The key log should contain entries for the date, time, reason for key access/use, and the identity of the individual requesting use. The return of the key should be documented to complete the log.
As a safety and security recommendation, keys should be coded in such a way that the tenant’s information (name, unit address, and building designation) is protected. A separate, secured document should be used to provide the key code assigned to the individual tenant. The tenant should be advised that such measures are taken as a precaution for their safety against potential criminal acts.
Key access to rental units for repairs and maintenance should be controlled and supervised by the landlord or his designated agent for safety and security purposes.