As of April 22, 2010, new EPA safety regulations, the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) regulations take effect, which will require owners of market-rate properties built before 1978 to comply with new rules when doing any renovation or repair work.
Under the regulations, if renovation or repair work is undertaken that disturbs more than 6 square feet of interior surface, or 20 square feet of exterior surface, the work must be done by a trained EPA certified contractor. In addition, residents must be notified and given a copy of the EPA pamphlet, Renovate Right, which is a different pamphlet than the EPA Protect Your Family pamphlet. There are also record keeping requirements for the owner and the contractor who provides the work.
The RRP rules also expand the Lead Safe Housing (LSH) rules for compliance obligations on pre-1978 properties that receive Federal assistance, including Section 8. Under the new RRP rules, these properties must comply with more stringent regulations.
My husband, a general contractor in Columbus, Ohio, was among the first (and few) in this area to become a Certified Renovator. When he came back from the training, I was amazed at what these new regulations entail.
The details are too much to include in this blog post. Here is a link: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm
The NAR has information specific to REALTORS. They have a short video presentation which you can link to: http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/lead_paint_main
This is going to have a HUGE impact on everyone who owns a property built before 1978, those who work on those homes, and those who sell those homes.
The next few months are going to be interesting as we see how these new regulations affect all of us. It's going to take some lawsuits to iron out the particulars, I'm afraid. Right now Sierra Club is pushing for eliminating the exemption for homeowners who have no children or pregnant women living in the home.
The good news is that fewer children will be poisoned by lead paint once these regulations become common practice. The bad news is it's going to cost more money and take longer to complete a renovation project...that's providing, of course, you can even find contractors who are certified.
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