The VAR legal team occasionally receives questions from property managers regarding lead in rental dwellings. Who is responsible for any lead exposure that the tenants may have? What am I responsible for in the home? What am I responsible for outside of the home? This should serve as a quick explanation of lead in your rental property.  

Lead exposure affects everyone, adults and children; however, since children are still developing and maturing, the effects can be devastating. The EPA states –  

Children are especially vulnerable to the impacts of lead exposure, which can cause irreversible and life-long health effects, including behavioral problems, lower IQ, slowed growth, and more. In adults, exposure can cause increased risk of cardiovascular disease and may cause cancer. EPA estimates that this rule will reduce the lead exposures of up to nearly 1.2 million people every year, of which 178,000 to 326,000 are children under the age of six. 

Objectively, we can all agree that lead exposure is a health hazard. That said, your tenant sends you a report from a laboratory that indicates their child has lead poisoning. What are you responsible for? 

First things first, where did the lead come from? Was the dwelling built prior to 1978? Has the tenant informed you of any paint chips or damage to any walls? Have you received a notice from the water company informing you of lead in the water?  Depending on the answers, there are a few things you are responsible for.  

Initially, when a tenant moves in, you must hand them the Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards. This gives notice to the tenant of lead paint in the property and instructs the tenant to use causation if lead is present. It also instructs the tenant to notify you if there is any damage to the walls, windows, doors, etc. that may contain lead. While the tenant always must notify you of this sort of damage, it becomes especially important if lead is involved because children do sometimes ingest the paint.  

After you’ve been notified, what must you do when you are conducting the repairs? Make sure to follow the law and guidance of the Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule (RRP) to minimize or eliminate any exposure.  

What if there is no damage to any lead paint surface, but you received a notice from the water company that there are “lead pipes” serving your property? “Lead pipes” generally means that lead solder was used to join the pipes together. This solder eventually leaks into the water and can result in lead exposure. One thing to point out is that this has nothing to do with the RRP rule, meaning there is no set year that will automatically indicate there is lead in solder or lead pipes in the water stream. You instead have to know by notice from the water company that in fact there is lead in the pipes.  

If this is the case, then there is hardly anything you can do. You are responsible for the water pipes in your property, not outside of it. You, however, must inform the tenant that the water company has notified you of the presence of lead and what they can do to protect themselves from exposure.  

To circle back on the question that kicked off this blog, you are responsible for several things; following the RRP rule and guidance and following the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act (VRLTA) when it comes to your duties. You should also remind the tenant of their duties to notify you of any damage. If there are “lead pipes” outside of the property, you are responsible for notifying the tenant of the presence of them; but there is no duty to repair. In short, you are responsible for following the law.