New York State Department of Health Updates New Yorkers On Nation-leading Lead Rental Registry Program

Lead Rental Registry Program Will Inspect, Certify and Track Pre-1980 Rentals in Communities of Concern

Landlords and Contractors Encouraged to Review Draft Regulations and Program Website Here, Prepare for the New Requirements

New York State Awarded Nearly $16 million to 20 Local Health Departments to Combat Childhood Lead Exposure in Rental Properties in High-Risk Areas

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 30, 2024) – The New York State Department of Health today updates New Yorkers on progress in advancing New York State's nation-leading childhood lead poisoning prevention program and encourages landlords and local health departments to review draft regulations in preparation for November 2025 when the regulations are expected to take effect. New York's Lead Rental Registry is part of Governor Kathy Hochul's initiative to eliminate lead exposure in New York State and will tackle the leading source of exposure – poorly maintained lead-based paint in older rental homes.

"We stand with Governor Hochul and her dedication to addressing childhood lead exposure through this new Lead Rental Registry," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. "Lead exposure can cause brain damage, permanent injury and life-long disabilities. This new Lead Rental Registry is a welcomed enhancement to the Department's lead prevention programs and we look forward to working with the local health departments and local governments on this initiative to further protect public health."

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "Elevated lead levels are a particular problem in places with aging housing stock and wreak havoc not only on the health and wellbeing of children, but on the economic health of families and the entire state. I commend Governor Hochul for tackling this issue head-on as part of a proactive approach to increasing New York's supply of safe and affordable housing. HCR has contracts with 16 counties with high-risk communities, and we are proud to be part of a solution that brings local partners and building owners together to drastically reduce lead exposure risk in rental housing."

New York State is making great progress in removing lead from drinking water, construction materials and more, and yet peeling and chipping lead-based paint in older homes remains one of the largest sources of childhood lead exposure. The Lead Rental Registry regulations create safer housing throughout the state.

This Lead Rental Registry program is part of Governor Hochul's plan to support homeowners, tenants and public housing residents as included in New York's FY2024 and FY2025budgets. Regulations will go into effect in November 2025 and will require property owners, health departments and local governments in communities of concern to work together to identify housing-related lead hazards and remove the sources of lead.

New York's Lead Rental Registry Regulations are available here on page 29. The public comment period will close on February 22, 2025.

Before the regulations go into effect, contractors and property owners are encouraged to use this time to become EPA certified in lead renovation, repair, and painting. Lead-safe certification is federally mandated when projects disturb paint in a pre-1978 rental property. Landlords and contractors in the Lead Rental Registry communities of concern across the state must be educated and trained to avoid creating worse lead hazards when trying to remove peeling or chipping paint. Become familiar with the program and requirements by visiting the Department's Lead Rental Registry Program website.

The program will require that rental properties built before 1980 with two or more units are inspected and documented as free of lead-based paint hazards before they can be issued a lead safety certification. It will require prompt cleanup and lead-safe repairs when hazards are identified. Property owner compliance will be tracked and monitored, and compliance will be enforced.

Properties must be certified every three years beginning in Fall 2025. The registry will require registration, lead hazard inspections, prompt remediation or abatement where necessary, certification, and tracking of property owner compliance.

The registry will include all residential dwellings located in areas identified by the Department of Health as Communities of Concern, as per New York State Public Health Law (PHL) § 1377. The communities of concern include: Albany, Amsterdam, Auburn, Binghamton, Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Elmira, Gloversville, Jamestown, Kingston, Middletown, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Rome, Schenectady, Spring Valley, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, Watertown and Yonkers. These are high-risk communities outside of New York City that have populations of less than 1 million people, and have both the highest number of homes built before 1980 and highest prevalence of children with cases of elevated blood lead levels.

To help prepare property owners and contractors for the new regulations, the State Health Department is working directly with local health departments, state and local officials, and landlord and housing associations. Once regulations are finalized, webinars and other training will be offered to landlords, contractors and local code enforcement officers.

The New York State Department of Health has already awarded nearly $16 million to 20 local health departments to build capacity and assist the communities of concern in their county with implementing the Lead Rental Registry.

The $16 million awarded to local health departments will be used to support:

  • Staffing needs to support lead hazard inspections and landlord regulatory compliance and enforcement activities.
  • Training and certification programs to increase the number of EPA certified lead risk assessors and abatement contractors qualified to identify and remove lead hazards from homes.
  • Outreach and education efforts about tenant rights as well as what families can do to prevent childhood lead poisoning.

The FY2024 and FY2025 New York State Capital Budgets each made available an allocation of $20 million for the purposes of lead hazard remediation. New York State Homes and Community Renewal has awarded grant funding to 16 counties with jurisdiction over Communities of Concern to provide technical and financial assistance to landlords to address lead hazards in rental properties. Up to $40 million is available to date and applications are currently being accepted from county and not-for-profit administrators https://hcr.ny.gov/leading-lead-prevention-pilot-program.

Learn more about the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at www.health.ny.gov/lead.

Learn more about the Rental Registry at health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/lead_rental_registry.htm