NAAEI can assist apartment communities with required training and certification based on a federal law to go into effect April 2010.
A federal lead-based paint rule goes into effect in April and has spurred a partnership between the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) and a leading real estate due-diligence and environmental-training firm. The firm, Connor, of Baltimore, will provide training and technical assistance services to NAA affiliates and members regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule.
“In a nutshell, the RRP Rule is going to impact millions of renovation, repair and painting projects”—terms that, in the apartment industry, will frequently apply to unit turnovers and minor rehabilitation work, says Jack Anderson, Connor’s Vice President of Governmental Operations.
The RRP Rule, which becomes fully effective on April 22, 2010, applies to renovations performed for compensation that may disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 housing and in pre-1978, child-occupied facilities. It requires owners and occupants of these housing units and facilities to receive information on lead-based paint hazards before renovations can begin and requires EPA certifications for individuals and firms involved in the renovation.
During the renovation, contractors must meet lead-safe work practice standards and perform a cleaning verification. The intent of the RRP Rule is to “do no harm” during renovation, repair and painting projects, not to abate lead-based paint, according to Connor.
Many apartment firms, including third-party property management and residential rental property owners, are affected by the rule and their maintenance employees will require training, so NAAEI is partnering with Connor to provide a training solution that can be implemented quickly.
“NAAEI will connect our state and local affiliates with Connor as a training provider,” says Maureen Lambe, CAE, Executive Vice President for NAAEI. “We are pleased to be able to provide a turn-key training solution.” Affiliates would schedule EPA Certified Renovator training classes with Connor and promote them to members.
In addition to providing class instruction, Connor, an EPA-certified training firm, will provide limited technical assistance on how to prepare to comply with the RRP Rule, administer the certification and maintain certification records.
While the training requirements under this rule do not take effect until April 2010, one requirement is already in place. Firms engaged in renovation, repair or painting projects that are likely to disturb lead-based paint must provide a revised EPA booklet, titled “Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools,” to the adult residents of an occupied dwelling unit. This pamphlet replaces the pamphlet, “Protect Your Family,” which is still required to be provided to residents at lease signing.
Apartment firms still must comply with state and local lead paint laws if they are more stringent than the RRP rule. HUD’s Lead Safe Housing Rule for federally assisted housing, in effect since 1999, also is affected by the new EPA RRP Rule.
For information, visit Connor’s background page on the RRP Rule at http://tinyurl.com/dywqrj or the EPA’s page on the rule at http://tinyurl.com/dezz7k. A memo from NMHC about how HUD requirements interact with the RRP Rule is available at www.naahq.org.
Jeffrey Lee is NAA’s Manager of Communications. He can be reached at jeffreylee@naahq.org or 703/797-0647.
To Test, or Not to Test?
The Residential Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1993, or Title X, has specific requirements for owners of residential (or child-occupied) facilities built prior to 1978. The Renovation, Repair and Painting rule is the last rule to be promulgated under Title X. Although owners and managers of pre-1978 federally assisted properties have been dealing with specific lead safe worker training requirements since 1999, there has been no requirement that workers on market-rate properties receive formal certification of lead safe worker training.
Members are reminded that compliance with Title X entails detailed record keeping requirements; failure to comply will result in significant federal fines. The law presumes that all pre-1978 property contains lead-based paint. The only way to rebut the presumption is to have the property tested by a state-certified inspector using the protocols found in Chapter 7 of the HUD Guidelines (http://tinyurl.com/cs7ph5). No other testing protocol is acceptable for the purposes of determining whether or not a property must comply with Title X overall, including the requirement for notification of the presence of lead at the time of lease execution. HUD’s own data has found that lead paint is not very common in housing built after 1960, and testing can determine where lead paint is located, if it exists. The information is essential in making a business decision about how to manage the property.
Source: Eileen Lee, Vice President of Energy and Environmental Policy, National Multi Housing Council
Get The Word Out
The EPA has launched an ad campaign, placing ads in various publications and venues to get the word out to contractors and those who influence them about the new Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requirement that contractors must be lead-safe certified by April 22, 2010. If you are a contractor or someone who interacts regularly with contractors, you can help spread the word about EPA’s new rule by downloading these outreach materials at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/outreach_camp.htm and distributing them by mail, e-mail, or your place of business.