Lead paint removal on bigger units

[Tony Santos]

Hey Guys, I am buying a bigger mixed unit building (15 apartments and 3 retail stores) the building needs a lot of work and evidence of lead paint is shown on the ceilings. Does anyone know the exact law for lead paint removal? Can I overlay? Do I have to remove ALL lead paint in the building? Is an abatement inspection needed? Property is in Massachusetts by the way.

[Robert Loiselle]

Hey Tony, I'm in the process of becoming a lead paint inspector in MA (currently in my apprenticeship after passing the state test and training) and I can help you with the lead paint laws in MA.  The state actually changed them back in Dec of 2017.  Shockingly for Massachusetts, the new laws are actually less stringent in terms of surfaces that need to be deleaded in a home.  This makes it a lot more cost effective to bring a property into compliance. 

In MA, there are 4 types of lead hazards that need to be abated. 

1) Loose lead paint.  Regardless of the surface...if there's lead paint on the interior/exterior of the unit and it's loose/flaking, it will need to be taken care of.  There are a lot of options depending on the surface.  Let's say it's just on the ceiling of the interior of the units.  You could just cover it with 1/4" drywall effectively covering.  If it's somewhere else...you may have to take a more expensive course of action to treat the hazard.

2) Lead paint on Accessible/Mouthable surfaces.  Basically lead paint on window sills (5ft or lower), handrails, and railing caps.  Those are typically scraped by a deleader. 

3) Lead paint on Moveable/Impact surfaces.  I'm simplifying this, but it's effectively lead paint on wooden windows.  Best course of action is to have a deleader replace the windows with vinyl. 

4) Lead paint on Friction surfaces.  Door edges, door jambs, or stair treads with lead paint on them need to be abated.  Door edges and jambs are typically scraped.  Stair treads are either removed or covered most commonly. 

Any other surfaces that contain lead just need to be intact.  You could have a room with all 4 walls covered in lead paint.  If the walls are in good shape, they don't need to be abated.  It's on the homeowner to maintain the property though. 

To get the property lead-safe certified, you'd need to have a lead inspection done on the property by a MA licensed inspector.  Then have the lead hazards taken care of by a licensed deleader, then have the property re-inspected.  You can do one unit at a time or you can do them all at once.  The retail units don't need to be deleaded unless they're used by tenants (ie. their common laundry was located in the retail unit for some reason...unlikely). 

Sorry that was long winded, but I wanted to get you a good answer before someone from out of state throws in some misinformation.  They don't do it maliciously...it's just that our laws are very different and are some of the toughest in the country. 

Happy to answer any other questions you might have.  Where in MA is the property?  Sounds like a great building.  I'm a buy/hold investor as well and love to learn how folks are finding deals and just talk real estate. 

Cheers,

Rob