Tenant Cleanliness Clauses

[Michelle Fenn]

I am in Cleveland OH and they have passed legislation to require landlords to bi-annually have your rental certified has lead free.   Home owners are exempt, obvious arbitrary and capricious enforcement but I digress.   As a certified lead technician licensed by the State of Ohio it has become obvious to me that  once a landlord installed vinyl replacement windows and new flooring over ancient wood and asbestos tile floors this can become a tenant cleanliness issue.    Lead is present in the environment.  Since the law was enacted by public referendum, the federal and state government have decreased the allowable lead levels by a factor of 75%      Old interior floor dust levels by dust swipe   40 ug/ft2 current 10.    Old window sill 250 ug/ft2 new 100.  Old window trough 400 ug/ft2 new 100.  The city will provide loans and grants to paint but not to replace windows.    

I assist in managing 100 units and personally own a dozen.   Just last week I had a personally owned rental tested.   All the windows are replacement vinyl, all the flooring was replaced within the past 5 years.  I cleaned the dirty home with professional lead cleaner prior to testing.   The kitchen floor failed which will result in my requirement to have all floors in the house retested.    What I determined is the back entry door reported 12.2 ug/ft2 due to kitty litter.    Clumping clay based kitty litter contains lead dust and can concentrate on floor in excess of federal lead safe standards.   The sand based kitty litter can contain silica dust also a health hazard.       

Between city of Cleveland Lead testing and HUD inspections, I am tired of cleaning up after tenants that do not/will not clean up after themselves. I am now in the process of updating my leases to include cleanliness clauses. I plan to add a paragraph that allows me to come in annually and perform sample dust swipes on flooring prior to the City's testing and pest infestation checks prior to HUD inspections. If testing/assessment fails the tenant would be required to clean or have the house professionally cleaned to a standard that would pass testing. I would of course exclude failed testing that was due to lead containing materials in the home, foundation issues which are the landlord's responsibility. My personal rentals have all been upgraded to encapsulate possible lead containing materials I would make failure to pass testing a grounds for termination of tenancy. Lead dust is in the soil in old industrial neighborhoods and can easily be carried into the home and blown onto window sills and troughs. Non RRP construction practices of old homes in my gentrifying neighborhoods can also create a lead hazard for the surrounding homes. I have sent pictures of contractors shoveling debris out of the windows of 1800 era homes without a dumpster indicating that I am a licensed lead technician and the contractor's actions are poisoning the neighborhood. The health dept has not responded to the complaint in over a month. Anyone have a clause that passes legal review and the increasingly vocal activists that are promoting these laws.