The law requires that all rental units constructed prior to 1978 be certified as lead safe (unless they qualify for one of the exemptions below).

To be certified as lead safe a unit must be inspected to ensure that it is free of any hazards caused by lead paint.

This must be done every 3 years or at every tenant turnover (whichever comes first).

In addition, the first inspection must be conducted by July 22nd, 2024 regardless of whether there is tenant turnover.

The exemptions include

1) Units certified as Lead Free

2) Constructed during or after 1978

3) Is in a multiple dwelling that has been registered with the Department of Community Affairs as a multiple dwelling for at least 10 years, either under the current or a previous owner, and has no outstanding lead violations from the most recent cyclical inspection performed on the multiple dwelling under the “Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law,”

4) Seasonal Rentals

• defined as dwelling which are rented for less than six months duration each year by tenants that do not have consecutive lease renewals

5) Units with a valid lead safe certification

• Certificates are issued at the time of inspection and are valid for 2 years. So this essentially means that if you have a tenant turnover within 2 years of your inspection you aren’t required to reinspect for that turnover.

• However please keep in mind that you still will be required to inspect at the 3 year mark and many find it easier to prepare a unit for inspection while it is vacant.

Landlords will be required to file

1) A lead safe certificate showing that they passed their inspection

2) Evidence of most recent tenant turnover

These pieces of information must be filed with the local muncipality. The procedures to file may vary depending on the municipality.

Property owners must also maintain a record of the lead-safe certification which shall include the name or names of the unit's tenant or tenants, if the inspection was conducted during a period of tenancy.

The law is new and as of now many municipalities have yet to set in place the systems that they need to track compliance.

However every day more municipalities are passing ordinances to fulfill their obligations.

Regardless of the time it takes for a muncipality to begin tracking inspections and certifications we strongly advise that landlords act proactively.

When the muncipality has established infrastructure protocols for filing a lead safe certificate, you will also be required to provide evidence of the most recent tenant turnover.

This aspect of the law ensures that municipalities will be able to look back and confirm that a property was inspected during any turnover that occured.

We recommend that landlords prepare their unit at time of turnover (while the unit is vacant) as it will be much easier to conduct any repairs and/or cleaning to pass an inspection.

Inspectors are required to report any failures to the local municipality. The remediation efforts must be conducted by an RRP (you can find a list of RRP firms here).

Once the remeditation efforts are completed the unit must be reinspected to ensure the proper steps were taken to ensure that the hazard no longer exists.

The law dictates that “the property owner shall first be given 30 days to cure any violation by conducting the required inspection or initiate any required remediation efforts. If the property owner has not cured the violation after 30 days, the property owner shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed $1,000 per week until the required inspection has been conducted or remediation efforts have been initiated.”

For this reason, we strongly recommend checking out our landlord pre-inspection checklist.

If a lead hazard is identified in an inspection of one of the dwelling units in a building consisting of two- or three- dwelling units, then the lead evaluation contractor or permanent local agency shall inspect the remainder of the building's dwelling units for lead hazards, with the exception of dwelling units that have been certified to be free of lead-based paint. The lead evaluation contractor or permanent local agency may charge fees in accordance with this section for such additional inspections.

Inspections will be required every 3 years or at tenant turnover whichever comes first. However, if the tenant turnover takes place within 2 years of your most recent inspection then you are exempt because you have a valid lead safe certificate.

So realistically you have at least 2 years from inspection date. If there is turnover between years 2 and 3 then you will be required to get inspected prior to the new tenant moving in. If there isn’t turnover or if the turnover happens before the 2 year certificate expires you will have 3 years from the most recent inspection date.

It’s important to note that despite a property being exempt from inspection at turnover because it has a valid certificate, it still may be favorable to get an inspection done regardless. Many find it easier to prepare for inspection when the unit is vacant and the landlord is able to have full control over the condition of the property.

We strongly recommend checking out our landlord pre-inspection checklist.

There are two ways a lead safe inspection can be conducted.

1) Visual Only

2) Visual + Dust Sampling

In many municipalities, the state allows inspectors to conduct Visual only inspections. This is because these municipalities have lower rates of childhood lead poisoning.

In municipalities with higher rates of childhood lead poisoning inspectors are required to conduct both a visual inspection and dust wipe sampling. Dust wipe sampling analyzes the lead content of dust taken from the home.

When you fill out a request for an inspection on our form here, it will let you know what type of inspection is required.

The inspection can only be conducted by lead risk assessors certified by the NJ Department of Community Affairs.

Municipalities are required to begin offering inspections however landlords are allowed to seek out inspections from private companies like us, which provide better, more affordable, and more convenient service.