New Mandate Requires Co-Ops and Condos to Test for Lead in Common Areas

Beginning March 17, New York building owners including co-op and condo boards, must include testing of common areas when they perform lead paint testing of dwelling units in their buildings, which is already required under the law. The new mandate, passed to lower the risk of lead poisoning was issued by the department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and states that the testing of common areas must be completed no later than Aug. 9 of this year. The testing is required to be done using X-Ray Fluorescence or XRF, which measures the concentration of lead in old paint.

Laws to Protect Tenants and Children

The law also provides for HPD inspections of common areas. A Class C violation may be issued if inspectors detect the presence of peeling lead paint in a common area of a multiple dwelling where a child 6 years old or younger resides. A Class C violation is issued when there is a “hazardous” breach of the Housing Maintenance Code, which requires immediate attention. Failure to do repairs can result in a fine of $250 a day to a maximum of $10,000.

Building owners/managers who are fined for a lead hazard violation must provide records of annual notice and investigations for lead-based paint hazards conducted in the previous year. Owners will pay $1,000 for each year of the 10 years that they do not submit records. Before turning over the apartment to a family that includes a young child, building owners/managers are required to repair all lead-based hazards in the unit. Any remediation work must be performed in compliance with city and federal safe-work regulations.

New York City has strict lead paint laws designed to protect tenants, especially young children, from the harmful effects of lead exposure. The primary law governing lead paint in residential buildings is Local Law 1 of 2004, which requires property owners/managers to take proactive measures to prevent lead poisoning in rental properties built before 1960 (or before 1978 if lead-based paint is known to be present).

Key Provisions of NYC Lead Paint Laws

• Annual inspections: Property owners/managers must conduct annual inspections of apartments where children under the age of 6 reside to identify and address lead-based paint hazards.
• Remediation requirements: If peeling lead paint or dust hazards are found, property owners/managers must use safe work practices including hiring certified contractors and following lead-safe removal methods to minimize exposure.
• Tenant notification: Property owners/managers must inform tenants of their rights and provide information about lead hazards, including a Lead Poisoning Prevention Notice every year.
• HPD enforcement: HPD enforces lead paint laws and conducts inspections. If violations are found, property owners/managers must remediate within strict timeframes. Property owners/managers who fail to comply with lead paint regulations may face steep fines.

Tenants in New York City can report peeling or deteriorating paint to 311 for an inspection. If property owners/managers fail to make repairs, tenants may take legal action or withhold rent until the issue is resolved. If you or your child have been affected by lead paint, it is important that you contact an experienced lead poisoning lawyer to better understand your rights.

NYC Lead Poisoning Lawyer

Whether you have been living as a tenant at a private apartment complex or in a public housing unit (the Projects), please remember that you have legal rights. If your child has been diagnosed with high blood lead levels, regardless of whether you live in public or private housing, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the NYCHA (the Projects) or private landlords (building owners and building managers) for damages. Those who have been affected can seek compensation for damages including medical expenses, cost of diagnostic tests, permanent injuries, lost income and benefits, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.

If your child has been affected by lead poisoning, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.

Our firm recovered $1,162,500 for a child who suffered lead poisoning from paint in her apartment. The child’s injuries were subtle and difficult to recognize. We recovered $162,500 above the $1 million dollar total insurance policy in this case. Despite the judge’s efforts to settle the case for $950,000, we fought hard and recovered $162,500 more than the insurance policy of one million dollars. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.

Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.

Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com

Source: https://www.habitatmag.com/Publication-Content/Building-Operations/2025/March-2025/nyc-coop-condo-lead-paint-mandates