Lead paint rights for NYC tenants

If you rent in a New York City building built before 1960 and a child under six lives with you, your landlord must check your apartment for lead paint hazards every year and fix peeling paint using certified workers and safe work practices. That duty comes from Local Law 1 of 2004; if the landlord doesn't act, call 311 and HPD will inspect and can order (or make) the repair.

The Health Department says lead paint and its dust are the most common source of lead exposure for NYC children: kids touch surfaces covered in lead dust and then put their hands in their mouths, and lead exposure can cause learning and behavior problems. Here are the rules that protect you.

Which apartments are covered

HPD says Local Law 1 applies to:

• Buildings with three or more apartments built before 1960
• Buildings with three or more apartments built between January 1, 1960 and January 1, 1978, if the owner knows there is lead-based paint
• Tenant-occupied units in one- and two-family houses built before 1960
• Co-op and condo apartments rented to tenants (not lived in by the owner or the owner's family)

In these buildings, the owner must presume paint is lead-based unless it has been tested by a certified inspector and HPD has granted an exemption based on that testing. Check your building's year built on Roofy's building lookup.

What your landlord must do

1. 1

   Send the annual notice

   Every January you should get a notice asking whether a child under six lives in, or routinely spends 10 or more hours a week in, your apartment.
2. 2

   Inspect at least once a year

   If a child under six resides there, the owner must inspect your apartment and the common areas for lead paint hazards, such as peeling paint and dust created when doors and windows stick or rub together.
3. 3

   Repair hazards safely

   Any peeling paint must be repaired by certified workers using safe work practices, whether or not there is a violation.
4. 4

   Do turnover work

   When an apartment becomes vacant, or when a child under six comes to reside, the owner must remove lead-based paint from doors and windows and make other required repairs.
5. 5

   Test all paint once

   By August 2025, owners of pre-1960 rental buildings were required to test all painted surfaces in apartments and common areas for lead.
6. 6

   Keep records for 10 years

   Owners must keep records of notices, inspections and repairs for at least 10 years. HPD audits these.

Your part: the annual notice and access

1. January

   Annual notice arrives

   Fill it in honestly. A child under six who spends 10+ hours a week counts, even if they don’t live there full time.

2. By February 16

   Return the notice

   This tells the landlord they must inspect your unit. Keep a copy or photo.

3. During the year

   Allow the inspection

   Let the owner in at least once a year to check for lead paint hazards.

4. Any time

   Report peeling paint and leaks

   Tell the landlord right away so the surface can be repaired. Leaks damage paint.

5. Ages 1 and 2

   Get your child tested

   New York State requires health care providers to test all children at ages one and two, and the Health Department says doctors should assess lead exposure every year until age six.

How to request an HPD lead inspection

File a complaint through 311 about peeling paint or anything that causes it, such as a leak. If a child under six lives in an apartment in a pre-1960 building, HPD treats it as a lead-based paint complaint. HPD notes that filing is free and your immigration status doesn't affect your right to complain.

• XRF testing. The inspector checks every room for peeling paint and tests it with an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) machine that measures lead content. Only peeling paint is tested.
• If you didn't mention a child. If the inspector finds a child under six lives there, they do a visual survey; another inspector may return within about two weeks to test with XRF. If that can't happen, HPD can issue a violation for a presumed lead hazard.
• Results. HPD sends you a letter with the XRF results. If lead is found and your child hasn't had a blood test, call 311 to ask about testing.

After a violation

Lead paint violations (HPD orders 616, 617 and 624) are all Class C, immediately hazardous. The owner has 21 days from service to correct them, and the work must be done by an EPA-certified firm using safe work practices. To certify the repair, the owner submits lead dust clearance results from a lab certified under New York State's Environmental Laboratory Approval Program, plus the dust sampler's training certificate and affidavit, and HPD re-inspects before clearing the violation.

If the owner doesn't fix it, HPD says it will send an inspector, hire a certified contractor through its Emergency Repair Program, and take dust samples afterwards to make sure no lead dust remains. You'll get those clearance results too. Give HPD access to re-inspect.

Renovation dust: what's not allowed

Work that disturbs old paint has to be contained. HPD tells tenants with young children to keep the child out of the work area, make sure workers separate it from the rest of the apartment, and file a 311 complaint if dust isn't contained or isn't cleaned up daily. After work on painted surfaces, a dust-wipe clearance test should confirm no lead dust remains.

Federal disclosure before you sign

Separately from NYC law, the federal Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule covers most housing built before 1978. Before you sign a lease, the EPA says landlords and agents must:

• disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards in the unit and building
• give you any available records and reports
• give you the pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home"
• include a "Lead Warning Statement" in or attached to the lease

The federal rule also exempts housing for the elderly or people with disabilities (unless a child under six lives there), housing tested lead-based-paint free by a certified inspector, housing built after 1977, and foreclosure sales. More on lease paperwork in Required NYC lease riders and disclosures.

Check a building before you rent

Lead violations are public. Look up the address on Roofy for open Class C violations and the building's year built. Our lead paint violations report shows trends by year and borough. If you have a child under 11, also read about NYC window guard rules.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. For health questions, talk to your child's doctor or call 311.