EPA Maintains Lead Paint Certification Rule Change

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The EPA’s policy change takes effect March 21. Here are the key details.

On January 21, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) affirmed new certification requirements for property management companies (PMCs) under the lead-based paint renovation, repair, and painting (RRP) rule for all properties constructed before 1978. Under existing policy, any entity engaging in the potential disturbance of lead-based paint must receive a firm or renovator certification and follow specific safety procedures.

This certification rule previously applied only to the company or firm that was conducting the RRP activity. In other words, a PMC would not be obligated to receive certification if it hired a certified renovation firm to perform the RRP activity. The recent updates to the rule specify that both the PMC and their contractor will need to be certified by the EPA and that a PMC may be liable for violations of RRP procedure committed by their contractor. The changes to the rule were made by way of withdrawal of previously published answers in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document published by the EPA. The withdrawal will proceed on March 21, 2022.

In December of 2021, NAA filed comments with the EPA opposing the rule change. It is legally deficient to change EPA policy by removing answers from an FAQ document. We will continue our federal advocacy with the EPA to help them understand how their lead-based paint policies impact the rental housing industry.

For more information about lead-based paint issues, please reach out to Ben Harrold, Manager of Public Policy at NAA.