Topics:
I live in the projects. Does the housing authority have to take care of the lead paint problem?
Yes. In 1988, Congress toughened the law requiring the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prevent lead poisoning. In the past, HUD has not protected tenants enough from the dangers of lead. Now HUD must make sure housing authorities test for and abate (remove or cover with hard material) hazardous lead paint in family projects. (Projects that are only for the elderly are not covered by lead paint regulations.) After the housing authority has abated lead in the apartment, it must reinspect to make sure the lead is gone.
Top of page
What must the housing authority do to take care of lead in my home?
If you live in a project that was built before 1978, your unit should already have been tested for lead paint. Ask the housing authority for a copy of the test results on your apartment. They should be less than 1 mg/cm2. If there is more than 1 mg/cm2 of lead, the housing authority has to remove or permanently cover the lead paint the next time your apartment is modernized. In some apartments, that has already been done.
But it could be years before all the apartments in the projects with lead paint in them are modernized. So, in September 2000, HUD issued a new regulation to protect young children in apartments that contain lead paint until their apartments are modernized and the lead paint is removed or permanently covered. By March 2002, housing authorities had to inspect all of the apartments in the projects that still contained lead paint. The purpose of the inspection was to find out if the lead paint was posing an immediate hazard. The housing authority must test dust and soil to see if they contain dangerous levels of lead.
They must also look for lead paint that is chipping or peeling. If the housing authority finds any lead hazards in an apartment where a child under six lives, it must fix them within 90 days. It must fix hazards within one year if there are no children under six in the apartment. These temporary repairs of lead hazards are called “interim controls.” Generally, the repairs involve fixing any chipping or peeling lead paint and cleaning up any lead- contaminated dust. They also may involve sealing off lead paint from being hit or rubbed and covering or fencing off lead-contaminated soil.
After the temporary repairs are done, the housing authority has to do a visual inspection and test the dust in the apartment again to make sure that all of the hazards have been fixed. That is called a “clearance” inspection. Also, the housing authority must conduct ongoing maintenance of the paint and periodic reevaluation to be sure the housing remains lead-safe. When the apartment is finally modernized, the lead paint must be removed or permanently covered with a hard material. The housing authority has to give tenants notice of all lead testing, inspections, or repairs that it does.
Housing authorities should be doing a lot of testing and lead paint removal. You might want to get a copy of HUD’s Guidelines on lead paint so that you know what the housing authority is or should be doing.
Top of page
What is the housing authority required to do if my child has a high level of lead in the blood?
If your child has a blood lead level of 20 µg/dL or more and you live in a project, the housing authority must remove all lead hazards from your apartment right away. It must also remove all lead hazards right away if your child has a blood level of 15-19 µg/dL on two tests done at least three months apart. Within 15 days after it learns of your child’s high blood lead level, the housing authority must inspect your apartment for lead hazards. If the local health department does an inspection within 15 days, the housing authority can use the local health department’s inspection report and does not have to do another inspection of its own. The housing authority then has 30 days to remove all lead hazards found during the inspection. After the work is done, the housing authority or local health department has to reinspect the apartment to make sure all lead hazards have been removed.
Residents should never be present in the work area where lead hazards are being removed. Sometimes the work area can be sealed off from the rest of the apartment. But often, the housing authority must move you to another apartment while it does removal work in your apartment.
Top of page
I have a Section 8 apartment. I pay part of my rent, and the housing authority pays my landlord the rest. Does my landlord have to do anything about lead?
Yes, if your home was built before 1978. If you have a Section 8 voucher and there is a child under six or a pregnant woman in your household, then during your first and periodic inspections, the inspector must look for chipping, cracking, scaling, peeling, or loose paint. This is the responsibility of the housing authority. If such paint is found, it must be removed or covered within 30 days. Paint stabilization and maintenance is the responsibility of the landlord. The housing authority must ensure that the landlord incorporates ongoing maintenance into regular building operations. All clearance activity after paint stabilization must be performed by the housing authority, although it is the responsibility of the landlord to provide the tenant notice of clearance.
If you have a child under six in a Section 8 apartment who has a blood lead level of 20 µg/dL or more, then the apartment must be inspected for lead hazards. It is the responsibility of the housing authority or local health department to do this and to verify your child’s blood level. The apartment must also be inspected if your child has a blood lead level of 15-19 µg/dL on two tests done at least three months apart. The landlord, not the housing authority, then has 30 days to remove all lead hazards from your apartment. The housing authority or local health department is responsible for clearance after the work has been done. The housing authority must notify the health department that your child has elevated blood levels, unless the health department was the original source of that information.
Top of page
I have an FHA mortgage on my house. My neighbor bought his house from HUD with a HUD-insured mortgage. Are there any rules about lead for either of our houses?
If they were built before 1978, then certain rules apply. Pre-1978 houses should have been inspected for peeling paint before HUD approved the mortgage or sale. If there was peeling paint, then it should have been repaired. Check your documents and papers to see if they refer to an inspection for peeling paint or lead. If you can’t find anything, call or write HUD’s Regional Office (contact the FHA office instead of the Fair Housing office). Ask for information about whether an inspection for peeling paint or lead was done and, if so, what was found.
What about other types of HUD housing? Do they have rules about lead?
Yes. Almost all HUD-associated housing has rules about lead. There are too many programs to cover them all in this handbook. For copies of the rules for a particular HUD program, call the National Lead Information Center, 1-800-424-LEAD.
Top of page
View other sections:
|
