Painting your NYC apartment used to be easy, now you need to know the rules!

New York City has always had the one of the strictest lead-paint laws in the country and now according to a new Environmental Protection Agency, there’s a new regulation put in place as of April 22nd which has contractors and building managers concerned.

Since April 22nd, all professional renovation projects in apartments and homes built before 1978 (when the use of lead in paint was banned) that test positive for lead have had to meet federal guidelines and be performed by workers certified in lead-safe practices.

The new rule “The Renovation, Repair, & Painting Rule” requires owners to follow lead safe work practices when disturbing a painted surface (sanding, demolition, renovation, repair, etc.) in pre-1978 housing (“target housing”) and child occupied facilities. The rule will change make a remarkable difference in the way property managers, renovation and remodeling contractors, maintenance workers, painters and other specialty trades do business in housing built before 1978 and child occupied facilities. It includes new training requirements, additional notifications and disclosures, new work practices, new clearance requirements and expanded records requirements. Property managers and owners should be diligent in making sure their building staff and outside contractors thoroughly understand their obligations under the new EPA rule.

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