NORRISTOWN LEAD SAFE CERTIFICATE

---

Each year hundreds of children in Norristown get lead poisoning from living in older properties that have lead paint. 

Many homes in Norristown built before 1978 have lead paint on the inside and outside of the building. When old paint cracks and peels, it makes lead dust. Children get lead poisoning from swallowing flakes of paint or paint dust on their hands and toys. Children can also breathe in lead dust. 

Even small amounts of lead can cause very serious harm to the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Lead in a child’s body can: 

• Slow down growth and development
   
• Damage hearing and speech
   
• Cause behavior problems
   
• Make it hard to pay attention and learn
  Some of the health problems caused by lead poisoning may never go away. The best thing we can do is to prevent a child from becoming lead poisoned in the first place.
   

1. Beginning January 1, 2022, lead paint inspections (for buildings built before 1978) will be required for all rental properties, child day-care centers, condemned buildings, and for property transfers.
   For a full copy of the Norristown Lead Poisoning Prevention & Lead Hazard Control Ordinance (Municipal Ordinance 21-14 of 2021), please visit www.Norristown.org.
    

Does the ordinance apply to me? 

The Norristown Lead Poisoning Prevention & Lead Hazard Control Ordinance applies to any landlord who rents a property in Norristown that was built before 1978. Beginning January 1, 2022, rental units will have to certify as lead-free or lead-safe. 

What is the purpose of the ordinance? 

The purpose of the ordinance is to prevent Norristown children from becoming lead poisoned, and to ensure they live in lead-free or lead-safe housing by requiring landlords to certify properties as either lead safe or lead free. 

Despite years of progress, each year significant numbers of children in Norristown suffer the irreparable harm of lead poisoning because of exposure to deteriorated lead paint and lead dust in their homes. 

How is this ordinance different from existing code requirements?
The Norristown Building Safety, Property Maintenance, & Housing Code already requires landlords to correct any peeling paint, cracked or loose plaster, decayed wood, and other defective surface conditions in a rental unit. Norristown’s Lead Poisoning Prevention and Lead Hazard Control now requires that the landlord certify that the property is lead-free or lead-safe. 

What does the ordinance require? 

Landlords must have their rental property inspected for lead paint/dust and obtain a Lead-Free Certificate or Lead-Safe Certificate for their rental property. All rental properties in Norristown are required to be inspected and certified as lead free or as lead safe regardless of a child residing in the property. All new rental properties must be inspected and certified as lead free or lead safe prior to the issuance of a new rental license and all existing rental properties must be inspected and certified as lead free or lead safe prior to renewing their rental license. 

The landlord is required to send the Department of Buildings & Code Compliance a copy of the lead-free certificate along with the XRF testing results / inspection report or a copy of the lead-safe certificate along with the dust wipe sample test results. 

What does it mean to be lead-free under this ordinance? 

A property is considered lead-free when the property has been inspected and certified by a licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor that it does not have any lead-based paint based on EPA/HUD standards. Once the property has been certified lead-free, this designation is valid indefinitely (unless the Lead-Free Certification is rescinded, invalidated, or otherwise determined to be void). This designation stays with the property and will be transferrable to the next property owner. 

What does it mean if a property is certified lead-safe 

under this ordinance? 

A certification that a property is lead-safe means that a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or an EPA Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician has determined the property is free of deteriorated, flaking, chipping, peeling, chalking or not-intact paint and interior dust samples were collected, tested, and found not to contain hazardous levels of lead-contaminated dust based on EPA/HUD regulations and standards. Lead-Safe Certificates are valid for three years. 

Who can complete a lead-free certificate? 

A Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor. 

Who can complete a lead-safe certificate? 

• Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor
   
• Certified EPA Lead Dust Sampling Technician
  When does this ordinance start?
  Ordinance 21-14 was adopted by Norristown Council on November 16, 2021 and enforcement of the ordinance begins January 1, 2022.
   

What should I do to comply with the ordinance? 

• Obtain a Lead-Free Certificate from a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor.
  To find and/or verify the License of Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor, please visit the Lead Occupations webpage of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management- Relations/bois/Pages/Lead-Occupations.aspx.
  OR
   
• Obtain a Lead-Safe Certificate from a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or from an EPA Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician.
  To find and/or verify the Certification of an EPA Dust Sampling Technician, please visit the EPA Locate Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician Firms webpage: https://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/pub/index.cfm?do=main.firmSearch.
  Links
  Lead-Free Certificate
  Lead Safe Certificate
  Find / Verify PA Lead Inspector - Risk Assessor
  Find / Verify EPA Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician
  What do I need to do to show I have complied with the ordinance?
   

• Submit to the Department of Buildings & Code Compliance a copy of the lead-free certificate along with the XRF testing results / inspection report or a copy of the lead-safe certificate along with the dust wipe sample test results. 

Please email the documents to leadcert@norristown.org. You may also submit the documents in-person or via mail. 

How does this ordinance affect my rental license? 

All new rental properties must be inspected and certified as lead free or lead safe prior to the issuance of a new rental license and all existing rental properties must be inspected and certified as lead free or lead safe prior to renewing their rental license. If you do not comply you will not be able to receive a new rental license or renew your existing rental license. 

What happens if my property does not pass a visual inspection and/or dust wipe clearance?
If your rental property does not pass either a visual inspection and/or dust wipe clearance, you must repair the property so it passes clearance before the tenant can move into the unit. 

What do I need to know about repairing the property? 

If your rental property does not pass either a visual clearance or dust wipe clearance, you must repair the property, so it passes clearance. 

The Federal EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Law requires that all landlords, property managers, realtors, and contractors engaged in renovation, repair, and/or painting work in homes and residential buildings, built prior to 1978 must be certified, use trained workers, and follow specific regulations and standards to prevent lead contamination. 

Please visit the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Law website to learn more about how the RRP program applies to you as a: 

• Consumers
   
• Renters
   
• Operators of Child Care Facilities
   
• Property Managers
   
• Do-It-Yourselfers
   
• Real Estate Agents
   

When lead-based paint is disturbed during renovation, repair or paintingactivities, dangerous amounts of lead dust can be created. Jobs such as demolition, window replacement, opening up walls, etc., can also releaseaccumulated lead dust into the home. Even after a typical renovation cleanup, dangerous levels of lead dust can remain. 

If the landlord does his own repair work on the rental property and or uses their own employees to do so, the landlord must also become an EPA Certified RRP firm and only use trained and certified workers to do the work. If the landlord hires a contractor to do the work, the landlord does not need to be certified, but the contractor doing the work does. 

If you hire external parties to do this work, you should ensure they are certified and use lead-safe work practices. When performing work on anoccupied property, contractors performing the work must distribute a pamphlet entitled The Lead- Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right and obtain a signed receipt from the occupants before starting work. 

Once the property passes the visual clearance and dust wipe clearance, the Licensed PA Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or the EPA Certified Dust Sample Technician should complete and submit the lead-safe certificate. 

Links 

EPA Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right 

What should I do if a tenant reports deteriorated paint? The landlord must promptly inspect and correct any defective conditions including repair of deteriorated paint. All work must be done in accordance with the EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) law. 

What are the penalties if I do not comply with this ordinance? 

A landlord who does not comply with this ordinance can be subject to fines under Municipal Code including but not limited to being denied a new rental license or the renewal of an existing rental license. 

What are the tenant’s responsibilities under this ordinance? 

A tenant must provide reasonable access to allow the landlord to make anynecessary repairs. The tenant is advised to report peeling and chipping paintto the landlord for repair and keep children away from lead paint and dust. 

What Realtors Need to Know 

Does the ordinance apply to my client? 

The Norristown Lead Poisoning Prevention & Lead Hazard Control Ordinance applies to any property in Norristown that was built before 1978. Beginning January 1, 2022, property transfers will have to certify as lead-free or lead- safe. 

What is the purpose of the ordinance? 

The purpose of the ordinance is to prevent Norristown children from becoming leadpoisoned, and to ensure they live in lead-free or lead-safe housing by requiring property owners to certify properties as either lead safe or lead free. 

Despite years of progress, each year significant numbers of children in Norristown suffer the irreparable harm of lead poisoning because of exposure to deteriorated lead paint and lead dust in their homes. 

How is this ordinance different from existing code requirements?
The Norristown Building Safety, Property Maintenance, & Housing Code already requires property owners to correct any peeling paint, cracked or loose plaster, decayed wood, and other defective surface conditions. Norristown’s Lead Poisoning Prevention and Lead Hazard Control now requires that the property owner certify that the property is lead-free or lead-safe. 

What does the ordinance require? 

For all structures that are subject to the property transfer inspection process, a lead paint inspection shall be performed within six months of the property transfer and the corresponding lead inspection report (passed or failed) shall be submitted as part of the real estate transfer inspection process. 

Property owners must have their structure inspected for lead paint/dust and obtain a Lead-Free Certificate or Lead-Safe Certificate for their property or submit a failed lead inspection report as part of the real estate transfer 

inspection process. All properties are required to be inspected and certified as lead free or as lead safe regardless of a child residing in the property. 

The property owner and/or their authorized agent is required to submit to the Department of Buildings & Code Compliance a copy of the lead-free certificate along with the XRF testing results / inspection report or a copy of the lead-safe certificate along with the dust wipe sample test results at the time of the property transfer inspection. If the property does not qualify for a lead-free certificate or a lead-safe certificate, the failed lead paint inspection report must be submitted to the Department at the time of the property transfer inspection so that it can be recorded on the inspection report that the property failed its lead inspection. 

If a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or an EPA Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician determine that a Lead-Free or Lead-Safe Certification cannot be issued due to the need to perform renovations, repairs, or painting to reduce lead-based paint hazards or abatement activities to eliminate lead-based paint hazards, such findings shall not constitute a substantial violation as defined in Chapter 128 of the Municipal Code (relating to change of use and occupancy) but shall be considered a violation for purposes of issuing a temporary certificate of occupancy and therefore providing the property owner the same time in which to take appropriate measures to obtain a Lead-Free Certification or Lead-Safe Certification and provide to the Municipality such certification and report. 

Please note that failure to submit a lead paint inspection report does constitute a substantial violation. 

What does it mean to be lead-free under this ordinance? 

A property is considered lead-free when the property has been inspected and certified by a licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor that it does not have any lead-based paint based on EPA/HUD standards. Once the property has been certified lead-free, this designation is valid indefinitely (unless the Lead-Free Certification is rescinded, invalidated, or otherwise determined to be void). This designation stays with the property and will be transferrable to the next property owner. 

What does it mean if a property is certified lead-safe under this ordinance?
A certification that a property is lead-safe means that a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or an EPA Certified Lead 

Dust Sampling Technician has determined the property is free of deteriorated, flaking, chipping, peeling, chalking or not-intact paint and interior dust samples were collected, tested, and found not to contain hazardous levels of lead-contaminated dust based on EPA/HUD regulations and standards. Lead-Safe Certificates are valid for three years. 

Who can complete a lead-free certificate? 

A Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor. 

Who can complete a lead-safe certificate? 

• Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor
   
• Certified EPA Lead Dust Sampling Technician
  When does this ordinance start?
  Ordinance 21-14 was adopted by Norristown Council on November 16, 2021 and enforcement of the ordinance begins January 1, 2022.
  What should my client do to comply with the ordinance?
   

• Obtain a Lead-Free Certificate from a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor. 

To find and/or verify the License of Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor, please visit the Lead Occupations webpage of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management- Relations/bois/Pages/Lead-Occupations.aspx. 

OR 

• Obtain a Lead-Safe Certificate from a Licensed Pennsylvania Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or from an EPA Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician. 

To find and/or verify the Certification of an EPA Dust Sampling Technician, please visit the EPA Locate Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician Firms webpage: https://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/pub/index.cfm?do=main.firmSearch. 

Links 

Lead-Free Certificate
Lead Safe Certificate
Find / Verify PA Lead Inspector - Risk Assessor
Find / Verify EPA Certified Lead Dust Sampling Technician 

What does my client need to do to show they have complied with the ordinance? 

• Submit to the Department of Buildings & Code Compliance a copy of the lead-free certificate along with the XRF testing results / inspection report or a copy of the lead-safe certificate along with the dust wipe sample test results or a copy of the failed lead paint inspection report to the inspector at the time of the property transfer inspection. 

What does my client need to know about repairs? 

The Federal EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Law requires that all landlords, property managers, realtors, and contractors engaged in renovation, repair, and/or painting work in homes and residential buildings, built prior to 1978 must be certified, use trained workers, and follow specific regulations and standards to prevent lead contamination. 

Please visit the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Law website to learn more about how the RRP program applies to you as a: 

• Consumers
   
• Renters
   
• Operators of Child Care Facilities
   
• Property Managers
   
• Do-It-Yourselfers
   
• Real Estate Agents
   

When lead-based paint is disturbed during renovation, repair or painting activities, dangerous amounts of lead dust can be created. Jobs such as demolition, window replacement, opening up walls, etc., can alsorelease accumulated lead dust into the home. Even after a typical renovation cleanup, dangerous levels of lead dust can remain. 

If the client does their own repair work on the rental property and or uses their own employees to do so, the client must also become an EPA Certified RRP firm and only use trained and certified workers to do the work. If the client hires a contractor to do the work, the client does not need to be certified, but the contractor doing the work does. 

If you /your client hire external parties to do this work, you /your client should ensure they are certified and use lead-safe work practices. When performing work on anoccupied property, contractors performing the work must distribute a pamphlet entitled The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right and obtain a signed receipt from the occupants before starting work. 

Once the property passes the visual clearance and dust wipe clearance, the Licensed PA Lead Inspector / Risk Assessor or the EPA Certified Dust Sample Technician should complete and submit the lead-safe certificate. 

Links 

EPA Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right 

What are the penalties if my client does not comply with this ordinance?
A property owner who does not provide a passed or failed lead paint inspection report as part of the property transfer inspection process can be subject to the fines and penalties under Municipal Code. 

What are a tenant’s responsibilities under this ordinance? 

A tenant must provide reasonable access to allow the landlord to make any necessary repairs. The tenant is advised to report peeling and chipping paint to the landlord for repair and keep children away from lead paint and dust. 

January 2022 

ALL THIS INFO IS DIRECT FROM NORRISTOWN .ORG WEBSITE