Landlords and Lead Paint
Housing built before 1978
Housing built before 1978 may contain lead paint. If you are a landlord, it is important that you know the laws relating to lead in Connecticut.
Landlords have the responsibility to ensure that all painted surfaces remain intact. If landlords need to complete renovations, repairs and/or painting, it is important to follow the state and federal rules relating to lead-based paint.
Landlords are prohibited from:
- Dry scraping or sanding painted surfaces
- Power washing painted surfaces of pre-1978 buildings (some municipalities have local ordinances prohibiting power washing)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule), which requires landlords to take protective measures during renovations, repairs and painting activities. These activities can create hazardous lead dust when surfaces with lead paint are disturbed.
Renovations, Repair and Painting
The RRP Rule requires landlords to hire an EPA RRP-certified firm to complete renovations and repairs on pre-1978 housing. For direction on how a landlord may locate an EPA RRP-certified firm, click here.
For more information on the EPA RRP Rule, click here.
If a landlord believes that a firm is violating the RRP rule, click here to submit a tip or complaint to the EPA.
Lead Abatement
If a child under the age of 6 is determined to have an elevated venous blood lead level, the local health department is required to complete an epidemiological investigation (the completion of a comprehensive lead inspection and child related questionnaire).
Epidemiological Investigation Steps:
- The local health department will contact the child’s parents or guardians to schedule a comprehensive lead inspection.
- The local health department will conduct a comprehensive lead inspection, which includes testing of all painted surfaces (interior, exterior, and common areas), along with collecting dust, soil and water samples.
- If lead hazards are discovered, the local health department must issue a lead abatement order to the landlord. This lead abatement order will outline the lead hazards that were discovered during the comprehensive lead inspection.
- The landlord must post signs at the entry of the home within two (2) days of receiving the lead abatement order letter. For a sample of the signage, click here.
Lead Abatement Steps:
The landlord must submit a written lead abatement plan to the Director of Health upon receipt of the lead abatement order. For a sample of a lead abatement plan, click here.
- The local health department must review and approve the lead abatement plan and notify the landlord that the plan is acceptable as submitted or needs updates.
- Lead abatement activities can only begin once the local health department has approved the lead abatement plan.
Post Lead Abatement Steps:
- Upon completion of abatement and prior to reoccupancy, the local health department shall complete a visual assessment of the property to ensure that abatement is complete. The local health department shall complete clearance dust wipe sampling to ensure that no lead dust hazards are present.
- If any intact lead based paint remains, the landlord will be required to submit a lead management plan to the local health department for review and approval. For a sample of a lead management plan, click here.
- Following the above, the local health department shall issue a letter of compliance/post abatement inspection report indicating that lead abatement has been completed satisfactorily.
Educational Materials
Lead Paint Safety: A field guide for interim controls in painting and maintenance
HUD-funded programs that may assist landlord in abating lead hazards