The law imposes an obligation on municipalities to perform or hire a certified lead evaluation contractor to perform inspections of certain single-family, two-family, and multiple rental dwellings for lead-based paint hazards, at times specified in the law.
A municipality shall permit dwelling owners/landlords to directly hire a certified lead evaluation contractor for this purpose. Municipalities may – and are encouraged to – perform supplemental inspections in some dwellings where the owner has directly hired a certified lead evaluation contractor to perform the periodic lead-based paint inspections to confirm that such inspections are being conducted in accordance with the legal requirements.
The municipality can prohibit dwelling owners from directly hiring a lead evaluation contractor if the owner has previously failed to have the periodic inspections completed or if there is a perceived or actual conflict of interest between the owner and their choice of lead evaluation contractor as determined by the municipality, and instead require owners to utilize municipal inspectors or lead evaluation contractors contracted by the municipality for this purpose.
If lead-based paint hazards are identified, then the owner of the dwelling shall remediate through abatement or lead-based paint hazard control mechanisms.