How Can I Keep My Children Safe from Lead-Based Paint?

Get your child tested for lead

If your child is two years old or younger, your doctor must test her for lead poisoning. If your child has never been tested, you should ask your doctor to do the test. If you have Medicaid, they should pay for the test.

Ask for the lead test results from your doctor

Always ask your doctor to tell you the lead test results, even if the doctor does not think it is elevated, that is, a lead level of A15 or more. In most cases, if the test results say that your child has a lead level of A15 or more, the doctor will call the city health department to find out why your child became sick. If there’s any lead in your child’s blood, even if it’s below A15, you should call 311 to get your home tested for lead paint.

Tell your landlord about peeling paint

If the paint in your home is peeling or cracked, tell your landlord about it in writing. If you have children under seven and there’s any chance that there’s lead paint in your home, your landlord in most cases is required to inspect your home once each year to see if the paint is peeling.

If your paint is peeling, call 311 and get your home tested for lead

If you have children under seven years of age and the paint in your home is peeling, call 311 and ask them to send someone from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (AHPD) to inspect your home. When HPD comes to inspect, make sure they know that you have small children in your home, or they may not look for lead paint problems. If they find lead paint, the city will order your landlord to fix the problem, but if he doesn’t the city will send workers to repair the lead paint.

File an HP Action to get repairs

If your landlord will not make the repairs you have asked him to make, you may want to take him to court to get repairs done. An HP action is a type of case filed by tenants in Housing Court to get repairs. The judge will only hear your complaints about repairs and will not listen to any other matters, even if you owe rent. Your landlord will most times agree to repair any problems HPD found in your home when they came to inspect. You may need to bring the case back to court if your landlord does not complete all the repairs.

Insist that your landlord use trained workers to fix lead paint problems

If HPD told you that there is lead paint in your home, the landlord must fix it using the methods required by law. The law says that your landlord must only use a trained worker to fix lead paint problems. The workers must be trained by HPD, the Environmental Protection Agency, or the Department of Housing and Urban Development to do the repairs the right way. If your landlord sends someone to fix the paint, you should ask to see proof that he is trained by one of these offices.

Know your rights. Talk to a lawyer.

Call our office to talk to someone about your need for repairs. There are some reasons why a tenant may not want to sue her landlord for repairs, so get the facts before you take action. If you are worried about lead-based paint, call the Healthy Homes Project hotline at (718) 237-5541 Monday to Friday 9a.m. to 5 p.m. Leave a message if no one answers, and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

This article was posted March 29, 2007