How long does my lead safe rental certification last?
Lead Safe Certifications are valid for 2 years.
No you can't get a longer duration certificate, as the 2 year expiration is mandated as part of the law,as per P.L. 2021, c. 182.
Your New Jersey lead safe certification lasts 2 years, starting from date of issue.
You can have a tenant leave before the 2 year mark and NOT HAVE to reinspect. But a tenant leaving when the lead safe certification has expired (after 2 years) triggers the need for another lead risk assessment inspection.
In fact, you can defer your next lead safe certification to a maximum of 3 years if the tenant in the unit was occupying the unit during the 2 year window when the cert was valid and stays into year 3.
Reinspection is required before this 3-year mark or when this long-term tenant vacates between the 2-year certificate expiration and your 3-year limit.
The time frame for lead safe inspection is confusing so here it is explained again:
An inspection upon tenant turnover is not required if the owner has a valid lead-safe certificate. Lead-safe certificates are valid for two years. Accordingly, if the lead-safe certificate has not expired upon tenant turnover, the next inspection will be three years from the prior inspection. If the lead-safe certificate has expired upon tenant turnover (i.e., more than two years after the issuance of the certificate, but before the three-year mark), an inspection will be necessary upon tenant turnover.
Pro Tip
You want to pass your lead risk assessment and also maintain your investment, so you are safest performing the inspection when a tenant vacates as opposed to inspecting during tenant occupancy. This affords you the owner the ability to inspect the unit and make any repairs that are necessary. You are allowed to maintain your property, tenants do not always follow this philosophy. It should be expected that any unit under habitation will experience wear and tear.
Bottom line you want to pass your lead paint risk assessment and your odds are higher when you can refresh your unit.
Within a week of your tenant moving into your rental property and more so when furniture is involved, wear and tear will have occurred. Walls get banged during most move ins.
So if you have a duplex and one tenant is vacating and one is not and you want to get both units inspected, DON'T. Life is harsh and tenants can add wear and tear to your rental.
The photo below has deteriorated paint.
Learn more about lead free certification here. Lead Free Certification
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What if Lead Paint hazard is Found?
If Lead based paint hazards are found, then you are required to address them by either lead-based paint abatement or lead based paint hazard control methods. When lead-based paint hazards are found to be present in a dwelling after inspection the inspection pursuant to this law, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Community Affairs is required to be notified.
What are the requirements of property owners under P.L. 2021, c. 182?
If lead-based paint hazards are identified, then the owner of the dwelling shall remediate the hazards through abatement or lead-based paint hazard control mechanisms. Property owners must also report all tenant turnover activity to the municipality. Lastly, property owners must provide a copy of N.J.A.C. 5:28A, any lead-safe certifications, and the accompanying guidance document, Lead-Based Paint in Rental Dwellings, to any prospective owners of the dwelling during the real estate transaction, settlement, or closing.
What Does the Landlord do with the Lead Safe Certification?
Landlords are required to provide copies of all Lead Safe Certifications (per unit) and leases to the DCA inspector during their 5-year multiple dwelling inspection. Property owners will be required to provide copies of a current or newly issued Lead Safe Certificate to new residents specific for the unit they will be renting as part of the lease documents. If a resident resides within the unit during the Re-Lead Safe Certification renewal cycle (3 year) the resident must sign a copy of the Lead Safe Certification and such documentation must be maintained.
Failure to comply with NJ Lead Safe Certification requirements can incur fines of up to $1000 per unit per week.
What properties are exempt from Lead Inspections?
- Properties that have been certified to be free of lead-based paint.
- Properties constructed during or after 1978.
- Rental units in a multiple dwelling that have been registered with the DCA 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.
- Single-family or two-family seasonal rental dwelling which is rented for less than 6 months duration each year by tenants that do not have consecutive lease renewals.
- Properties that already have a valid lead-safe certification issued in accordance with this section.
Pro Tip
If you have not tested for lead-based paint and the property is pre-1978 original construction, the law states you must assume it is lead-based paint, which can be an expensive and costly lack of knowledge. The safe approach is to test for Lead and then know if or where it exists and then how to manage the risk.
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