Lead paint is one of the few landlord obligations in New York City governed by three overlapping sets of rules at once — a federal disclosure law, a city law that presumes lead exists in older buildings, and a newer city law that requires physical testing. For owners of the pre-war brownstones and multifamily buildings that define neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, getting this right isn't optional. It's aggressively enforced by NYC's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and mistakes carry real financial and legal consequences.

Here's a plain-English breakdown of what NYC landlords actually have to do.

The federal rule: disclosure for any pre-1978 unit

The starting point applies nationwide, not just in New York. Under the federal Lead Disclosure Rule (part of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, enforced by the EPA and HUD), before a tenant signs or renews a lease for housing built before 1978, the landlord must:

  • Give the tenant the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home."
  • Disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards in the unit or building.
  • Provide any records or reports the owner has about lead-based paint.
  • Include a signed lead-warning disclosure as part of the lease, which both parties keep for at least three years.

Because the vast majority of NYC's rental housing stock predates 1978, this rule touches nearly every lease you'll sign. It's a disclosure obligation, not a testing one — you're required to share what you know, and to hand over the pamphlet even if you have no records at all. Building this step into your standard lease packet is the easiest compliance win a landlord can make, and it's something we handle automatically as part of our leasing and tenant placement process.

Local Law 1 of 2004: the "presumption" rule

New York City goes further than the federal government. Under the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act (Local Law 1 of 2004), lead-based paint is legally presumed to exist in certain apartments unless testing proves otherwise. The law generally applies when all of the following are true:

  • The building has three or more units (a multiple dwelling).
  • The building was built before 1960 — or built between 1960 and 1978 and the owner knows lead-based paint is present.
  • A child under the age of six lives in the apartment.

When a unit falls under Local Law 1, the owner has affirmative duties, not just disclosure duties. You must:

  • Ask every tenant, at least once a year, whether a child under six lives in or regularly visits the apartment (typically via an annual notice sent by February 15).
  • Inspect covered units annually for peeling paint and deteriorated surfaces.
  • Remediate lead hazards safely using lead-safe work practices and EPA-certified workers — never dry-scraping or sanding that spreads dust.

Peeling or damaged paint in a pre-1960 unit where a young child lives is treated as a hazard that HPD can cite. If you're managing older buildings, a disciplined inspection routine is your best defense — it catches deteriorating surfaces before they become violations.

Local Law 31 of 2020: mandatory XRF testing

The newest and most demanding layer is Local Law 31 of 2020. Where Local Law 1 lets owners presume lead exists, Local Law 31 requires you to actually find out through testing.

Under Local Law 31, owners of buildings covered by Local Law 1 must have covered units tested for lead-based paint using XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analysis performed by an EPA-certified inspector or risk assessor. Two triggers matter most:

  • The citywide testing deadline. Owners were required to have covered units XRF-tested by August 9, 2025 (five years after the law took effect).
  • Unit turnover. When a covered apartment turns over to a new tenant, the owner must have it XRF-tested for lead if it hasn't already been tested — and must remediate any lead-based paint found on friction surfaces and other locations the law specifies.

XRF testing produces a permanent record of which surfaces contain lead, which changes your remediation obligations going forward. HPD enforces these requirements and can issue violations for failing to test or to keep the required records. Because the exact deadlines, covered-surface definitions, and turnover rules have been amended more than once, confirm your building's current obligations directly with HPD or a housing attorney before relying on any single date. For a fuller picture of how these duties fit alongside heat, registration, and habitability rules, see our guide to NYC landlord obligations.

A quick self-check for NYC owners

Not sure whether your building is caught by these rules? Walk through these questions:

  • Was the building built before 1978? If yes, the federal disclosure rule applies to every lease — no exceptions for well-maintained or recently painted units.
  • Was it built before 1960, with three or more units? If yes, it's presumptively covered by Local Law 1, and lead paint is assumed present until testing says otherwise.
  • Does a child under six live in or regularly visit any unit? This is the trigger that activates the annual inquiry, inspection, and remediation duties — and the Local Law 31 XRF testing obligation for that unit.
  • Has the unit ever been XRF-tested? If not, you likely owe testing at the next turnover, and possibly already under the citywide deadline.
  • Is any painted surface peeling, chipping, or deteriorated? In a covered unit, that's a hazard HPD can cite on inspection — repair it using lead-safe methods promptly.

If you answered "yes" to the first three, assume you have active, ongoing obligations and build them into your operating calendar. The annual Local Law 1 notice, in particular, has a set timeframe each year (owners typically send it in early January so responses are back before the mid-February deadline), and missing it is an easy, avoidable violation. This is one of the most common gaps we find when first-time landlords or owners switching from a hands-off manager come to us — the paperwork simply wasn't being sent.

What this means when you renovate

Lead rules and renovation intersect constantly. Any work that disturbs painted surfaces in a pre-1978 building — even routine repairs — must follow the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) standards and use lead-safe work practices. Using an uncertified contractor who sands old paint the wrong way can create a lead hazard, generate HPD violations, and expose you to liability, all at once. Vet your vendors, and never let cost pressure push you toward shortcuts on lead-safe methods. Proper documentation of the work protects you if a question ever comes up later.

Why enforcement is so strict

Lead poisoning is permanent and disproportionately harms young children, so New York treats it with unusual seriousness. HPD prioritizes lead complaints, can order emergency remediation at the owner's expense, and refers serious cases for further enforcement. Separately, failing to make the federal disclosure can trigger significant federal penalties and liability for triple damages. And beyond any government action, a child injured by lead exposure gives rise to civil lawsuits that dwarf the cost of compliance.

The practical takeaway: document everything. Keep signed disclosures, annual inquiry notices, inspection logs, XRF reports, and remediation records. If a dispute reaches HPD or housing court, your paperwork is your defense.

How Yak Management handles lead compliance

Lead compliance is exactly the kind of unglamorous, high-stakes detail that our full-service management is built around. Because our specialty is rent-stabilized and older multifamily buildings — the very stock most affected by these rules — we treat lead obligations as a standing part of operations, not an afterthought: federal disclosures in every lease packet, annual Local Law 1 inquiries, turnover XRF coordination with certified inspectors, and lead-safe vendor management on every renovation.

If you own older buildings in Brooklyn or greater NYC and you're not fully confident your lead paint compliance is airtight, that's a gap worth closing now. Schedule a property consultation or reach out to our team — we'll give you a straight assessment of where your building stands and what it needs.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Lead paint laws and deadlines change; consult a qualified attorney and confirm current requirements with HPD before acting on your specific situation.