Lead Paint Resources for REALTORS

Do you list, buy, manage, own or lease residential rental property that was built before 1978?

A major new lead law will go into effective on November 1, 2005. This law requires owners of most pre-1978 rental property to comply with new education, inspection, and mitigation requirements. The law is triggered by tenant turnover of a unit or the tenancy of a child under six or pregnant woman (“at risk” tenants); therefore, most landlords will not be required to bring all of their rental units into compliance by this date. The law was recently amended to exempt certain types of properties.

Protect yourself and your clients by making sure that you understand the basics of this new law.

To read the latest version of this law, click here:
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText05/SenateText05/S1174B.pdf

REALTORS: Click here for your RISK REDUCTION GUIDE

If you’d like to voice your opinion about the regulations, call your state senator and state representative. Call the Secretary of State Elections Division at 401-222-2340 or click here to look up this information on-line.

Search On-line for Properties That Have Lead Certificate

Do you need to find out whether a home or rental property has been issued a lead certificate? Whether you’re working with a landlord, tenant, seller or buyer, this information will be helpful. A new feature on the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission (HRC) web site lets REALTORS and members of the public to search properties by street address or community to learn whether they have been issued a lead Certificate of Conformance. 

Use this link to search by street address or community:
http://www.ri.gov/HRC/index.php?property

According to the HRC, “a Certificate of Conformance is proof that a unit has met the requirements of the Lead Hazard Mitigation Law. This means that a Licensed Lead Inspector or Lead Inspector Technician has performed an Independent Clearance Inspection on your property and that any lead hazards on the property have been corrected. It does not mean that the property is free of lead but rather that your property does not currently pose a hazard to tenants.  A Certificate of Conformance is issued by a Rhode Island Licensed Lead Inspector or a Lead Inspector Technician once a rental property has met the requirements of the Lead Hazard Mitigation Law based on visual inspection and dust testing.”

Click here for frequently asked questions about the lead law:
http://www.hrc.ri.gov/misc/mitigation_faq.php