MARYLAND LEAD PAINT LAWS

• MARYLAND LEAD POISONING PREVENTION PROGRAM
• TO OBTAIN LIABILITY PROTECTION, OWNERS MUST:
• REGISTRATION 
• NEW TENANCY
• REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE 
• WINTER WAIVERS
• LANDLORD’S LIABILITY
• RETALIATORY ACTIONS PROHIBITED
• LEAD POISONING PREVENTION COMMISSION
• COMMUNITY OUTREACH
• TITLE X - FEDERAL RESIDENTIAL LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD REDUCTION ACT OF 1992
• TYPES OF HOUSING EXEMPTED FROM TITLE X’S REQUIREMENTS
• LEAD-BASED PAINT:  USE PROHIBITED; LANDLORD'S RESPONSIBILITY; RENT ESCROW

(Maryland Code,  Environment, Sec, 6-801- 6-852;  Article 48A, Secs. 734-737; Real Property, Sec. 8-208.2)

In 1994 the General Assembly established the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for the purpose of reducing the incidence of childhood lead poisoning while maintaining the stock of affordable rental housing.  This program requires owners of older residential rental properties to meet certain risk reduction standards.   It also provides more affordable insurance and the protection of limited liability for owners who comply.  It is administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).  For more information call the Lead Poisoning Hotline at 1-800-776-2706, or TDD (410) 631-3009.

Following is a summary of the law:

The owners of all rental dwelling units built before 1950 must comply with this law.  Owners of units built between 1950 and 1978 may choose to comply and thus benefit from limited liability.

The law exempts rental units owned or operated by federal, state, or local government or by a public, quasi-public, or municipal corporation, provided the property is subject to standards that are at least as strict as the standards established by this law.

TO OBTAIN LIABILITY PROTECTION, OWNERS MUST:

Register all rental dwelling units with the Maryland Department of the Environment before December 31, 1995.  Owners who acquire affected property after that date must register within 30 days after acquisition.

Beginning February 24, 1996, owners must distribute, by a verifiable method, the “Notice of Tenant’s Rights” and “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home” pamphlets to all new tenants at the inception of a new tenancy.  For existing tenants, they must receive both copies every two years by a verifiable method.

Meet the Full Risk Reduction standard upon each change in tenant occupancy before the unit is re-rented.  These standards can be met by either passing a test for lead dust or by undertaking appropriate lead hazard treatment such as removing chipping, peeling, or flaking paint, stripping and repainting, replacing, or enclosing interior window sills with approved materials, making bare floors smooth and cleanable.

Have all treated units certified by an MDE-accredited inspector.

Comply with specific Risk Reduction standards when notified of certain conditions such as chipping paint or the presence in the unit of a child or pregnant woman with an elevated blood lead level of 15 Fg/dl or higher.

By February 24, 2001, certify that at least 50% of the owner’s rental units meet the Full Risk Reduction standards, and by February 24, 2006, certify that 100% of the units have meet the Full Risk Reduction standard.

REGISTRATION

Registration must be renewed annually, and any change in ownership, management, or insurance must be reported within 30 days.  Registration forms are open for public inspection, but MDE may not provide a list of properties owned by an individual landlord.  However, MDE must disclose, upon request, whether the landlord has registered a particular unit or complied with the percentage requirements for inventory cleanup.  In addition, MDE will establish its own database to track the status of affected properties.  Each time occupancy changes after the first time, the dwelling unit must meet risk reduction standards prescribed by MDE.

Owners are responsible for the cost of temporarily relocating tenants because of a required cleanup. 

NEW TENANCY

At the beginning of a new tenancy, the owner must give the tenant two notices: 1) the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family from Lead in your Home” and 2) the MDE pamphlet “Notice of Tenants’ Rights”.  New notices and packets must be given to all tenants every two years.  Notices and packets must be provided in a verifiable manner, such as by certified mail.

REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE

If an owner of affected property undertakes repairs or maintenance that will disturb the paint on any interior surfaces greater than 3 square feet, the owner must make reasonable efforts to ensure that all “Persons at Risk” (children under 6 and pregnant women) are removed from the property while the work is being done, and to ensure that all other persons are not present in the area where the work is being done.

Tenant must allow reasonable access so that the work can be done.

if it is necessary that the tenant vacate the property for 24 hours or more, the landlord must pay the reasonable expenses that the tenant incurs because of relocation.

WINTER WAIVERS

An owner may apply to local housing authorities for a “winter waiver” for exterior work during the period November 1 - April 1.  The postponed work must be done within 30 days after the end of the waiver period.

LANDLORD’S LIABILITY

The law provides a detailed formula and definitions for determining the extent to which an owner’s liability is limited.  With certain exceptions, an owner who is in compliance with the registration, notification, and cleanup requirements is protected by payment caps under the Qualified Offer.  A Qualified Offer is a legal offer that a Landlord may make to a Person at Risk (child under 6 or pregnant woman) poisoned with a blood lead level of 25 Fg/dl or greater.  In return for accepting a Qualified Offer, the Person at Risk (or parent or guardian) agrees not to sue their Landlord for possible damages.  The Qualified Offer Benefits pay to relocate “Persons at Risk” to lead-safe housing and to pay for medical treatments related to lead poisoning.  The caps on Qualified Offer Benefits are currently $7,500 for uncovered medical expenses and $9,500 for relocation expenses.

Property Owners and tenants can call the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning’s Qualified Offer Counseling Service at 1-800-370-5323 for more details on the Qualified Offer process.

RETALIATORY ACTIONS PROHIBITED

The owner of any dwelling units covered by this law may not evict or take any other retaliatory action against a tenant “primarily” as a result of the tenant providing information to the landlord in accordance with this law.  Prohibited retaliatory actions include: 1) arbitrary refusal to renew a lease; 2) termination of tenancy; 3) arbitrary rent increase, or decrease in service to which a tenant is entitled, or 4) any kind of constructive eviction.

A tenant who was subjected to a retaliatory eviction or other prohibited action is eligible for the relief and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs as provided in the state law prohibiting retaliatory actions by landlords.

This section does not affect landlord’s or tenant’s rights arising from a breach of the lease.

LEAD POISONING PREVENTION COMMISSION

The law establishes a broadly representative 18-member Lead Poisoning Prevention Commission.  The Commission is responsible for studying and gathering information on economic, medical, and other issues relating to the effectiveness of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (HB760), including the need to expand the scope of the law to cover child care centers, family day care homes, and preschool facilities.  Each year, the commission is to review the implementation of the Program and submit a report to the Governor.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

The Maryland Department of the Environment has the responsibility of establishing community outreach programs in areas of high lead risk, and if necessary, assisting local governments to provide public health case management services to persons at risk with elevated levels of blood lead.

TITLE X - FEDERAL RESIDENTIAL LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD REDUCTION ACT OF 1992

Among other things, this law requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to jointly issue regulations to require disclosure of known lead-based paint hazards by persons selling or leasing housing built before the phase out of residential lead-based paint use in 1978.  The law went into full effect on December 6, 1996, for owners of pre-1978 properties.  Following is a summary of the requirements:

• Sellers and lessors of most residential housing built before 1978 must disclose the  presence of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing;

• Sellers and lessors must provide purchasers and lessees with any available records of reports pertaining to the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards;

• Sellers and lessors must provide purchasers and lessees with the “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home” educational pamphlet;

• Sellers must provide purchasers with a 10-day opportunity to conduct a risk assessment or inspection for the presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards before the purchaser is obligated under any purchase contract;

• Sales and leasing contracts must include certain disclosure and acknowledgment language; and

• Agents must ensure compliance with Title X’s requirements.

• Title X applies to most pre-1978 rentals and sales of residential housing. 

TYPES OF HOUSING EXEMPTED FROM TITLE X’S REQUIREMENTS ARE

Zero bedroom units, such as efficiencies, lofts, and dormitories; housing leased for less than 100 days, such as vacation houses or short-term rentals; housing for the elderly (unless children live there); housing for the handicapped (unless children live there); rental housing that has been inspected by a certified inspector and found to be free of lead-based pain; and housing sold at a foreclosure sale

Effective dates: For owners of five or more dwelling units, the regulations took effect on September 6, 1996.  For owners of one to four dwelling units, they took effect on December 6, 1996.

LEAD-BASED PAINT:  USE PROHIBITED; LANDLORD'S RESPONSIBILITY; RENT ESCROW

(Maryland Code, Environment, Sections 6-301 and 6-302; Real Property, Section 8-211.1)

USE PROHIBITED

State law prohibits any person from using lead-based paint on any interior surface, on the porch of any dwelling, on any exterior surface to which children may commonly be exposed, and on any household use article except where a lead-based industrial paint is applied to a household appliance.  A violation of this law is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 30 days or both.  Each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense.

RENT ESCROW

Regardless of any other provision of law or any agreement, written or oral, where lead-based paint is found on any interior, exterior, or other surface of a residential unit that is readily accessible to a child, if the landlord fails to remove the paint within 20 days after being notified of its presence, tenant may begin to deposit his rent payments in an escrow account with the clerk of the Maryland District Court for the district where the dwelling is located.

In addition to depositing the rent in an escrow account, tenant may seek any other remedy available at law or equity.

The money in the escrow account may be released to landlord if a certificate has been issued by the local health authority stating that the premises have been inspected and the lead-based paint violations have been corrected, or the money may be released to tenant or other person who has corrected the violations on presentation of a bill for the cost and the proper certification by the local health authority.

Where tenant has pursued the remedies offered by this law and paid the rent on time to the escrow agent, any attempt by landlord to evict the tenant, end the tenancy, or raise the rent, within two months after certification that the violations have been corrected, shall be presumed to be retaliatory and shall therefore be void.  

Last date of legal review 3/15/07 (MLAN/AC)

Source:Baltimore neighborhoods Inc. (BNI)