Lead Paint Work Required at Apartment Turnover in NYC

Covered rentals

Local Law 1 of 2004 requires owners to presume that paint is lead-based in the following buildings, unless HPD has granted an exemption based on testing.

• Multiple dwellings (three or more residential units) built before 1960.
• Multiple dwellings built from January 1, 1960 to 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 condominium units that are rented out and not occupied by the owner or the owner's family.

Owners of two-family houses often assume the rules skip them because the building is not a multiple dwelling. HPD lists tenant-occupied units (opens an external site) in pre-1960 one- and two-family houses among the covered dwellings, and the XRF testing requirement applies to them as well.

XRF testing and the deadlines to track

Under Local Law 31 of 2020 (opens an external site), every rental unit and common area in a covered building had to be tested for lead-based paint at the 0.5 mg/cm² action level by August 9, 2025. The test must be performed by an EPA-certified lead inspector or risk assessor who is not the owner, the owner's agent, or a contractor involved in lead paint remediation. Failure to test can bring a Class C immediately hazardous violation and civil penalties of $1,500 per unit or common area.

When testing finds no lead-based paint, or after lead-based paint has been permanently removed or encapsulated, the owner may apply for a lead-free exemption through HPD's Lead Exemption Online Portal (LEOP). Exemptions are granted only for testing with an XRF device whose Performance Characteristic Sheet is issued at the 0.5 mg/cm² level. Exemptions granted under the former 1.0 mg/cm² standard are revoked automatically at the next turnover, and the owner should file an Affidavit of Turnover with HPD.

Work required before the next tenant moves in

HPD requires the following at every turnover (opens an external site) in a covered unit, regardless of whether the incoming tenant has a child.

• Repair all peeling paint and the underlying defects, such as leaks. At a minimum, wet scrape and repaint.
• Remove lead-based paint from chewable surfaces with bite marks, or encapsulate them with an approved hard, puncture-resistant encapsulant applied by a certified contractor.
• Remove lead-based paint from window sashes and window frames.
• Remove lead-based paint from all door and door-frame friction surfaces, which may mean replacing the door and frame.
• Make all bare floors, windowsills and window wells smooth and cleanable.
• Perform all of the above using the required safe work practices.

Door and window friction surfaces must be abated even when the paint is intact, unless they were abated previously. Work missed at one turnover must be completed at the next, or sooner if a child under six moves in. Once the work is finished, the owner certifies compliance on the Lease/Commencement of Occupancy Notice for Prevention of Lead-Based Paint Hazards, gives the tenant the Lead Paint Hazards in the Home pamphlet, and provides documentation of the work on request.

Dust clearance and the September 2026 thresholds

After lead work, dust wipe samples from floors, windowsills and window wells must come back below the clearance thresholds. The samples must be taken by an EPA-certified firm independent of both the firm that did the work and the owner. On September 17, 2026, the Board of Health adopted lower thresholds (opens an external site) and a requirement that laboratories hold both NLLAP and ELAP accreditation.

Confirm the effective date of the new thresholds with the Health Department or HPD before scheduling clearance. Lower limits mean more thorough cleaning. Old wood floors with open joints and worn finishes are the hardest surfaces to clear; sealing or covering them is often the practical way to make them smooth and cleanable.

Safe work practices, records and HPD audits

• In a unit or common area where a child under six resides, safe work practices are required, with records kept, whenever lead-based paint or paint of unknown lead content is disturbed over more than two square feet per room, or over more than 10 percent of a small component such as a windowsill or door frame.
• Work that disturbs lead-based paint must be performed by certified workers and firms. Work that corrects an HPD or Health Department violation must be performed by an EPA-certified abatement firm, not a renovation firm.
• Wet methods, plastic containment and HEPA vacuums keep dust under control. Dry sanding and high-heat paint removal on old sashes and trim make clearance much harder to pass.
• Replacing old windows and doors is often more practical than stripping friction surfaces, and new windows also cut drafts and heating costs.
• When work cannot be done safely with occupants present, the owner must offer suitable temporary relocation in a unit without lead-based paint hazards.

Owners must keep records of turnover inspections, all work performed, contractor certifications, safe work practice documentation, annual notices and tenant responses, testing results and any exemptions for at least 10 years, and transfer them to a new owner when the property is sold. HPD selects buildings for record audits and issues a Record Production Order. In fiscal year 2025, HPD audited close to 700 buildings (opens an external site), and almost 650 of them received violations for failing to produce the requested documents. Missing work or missing records can each result in Class C immediately hazardous violations.

Planning the turnover

The cost of lead work at turnover depends mainly on the number of windows and doors, whether they are stripped or replaced, the condition of the floors, and how many clearance rounds are needed. Doing the lead work with the rest of the turnover avoids repainting and recleaning twice. Our guide on reducing rental turnover costs covers finishes and scheduling for the rest of the unit.

We plan the turnover scope and, as an EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certified firm, perform the turnover work with lead-safe work practices, along with the related repairs, window and door replacement and finishes. Where the work calls for certified abatement workers, such as correcting an HPD or Health Department violation, a certified abatement firm carries it out within the turnover schedule. We coordinate the independent clearance testing and assemble the documentation package HPD may request. We do not perform XRF testing or clearance sampling, which must remain independent. None of the above is legal advice; HPD's Lead Information Line is 212-863-5501.