NYC Local Law 31: Lead Paint Testing, Deadlines, and Penalties

NYC Local Law 31 requires owners of most pre-1960 rental buildings in New York City to test every apartment and tenant-accessible common area for lead-based paint using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) equipment. The testing had to be completed by August 9, 2025. That deadline has passed, and owners who did not test are now exposed to Class C immediately hazardous violations of up to $1,500 for each untested unit or common area, with the testing obligation still in force.¹

Which Buildings Are Covered

The testing mandate reaches every residential rental unit in a building with three or more units built before January 1, 1960. Buildings put up between January 1, 1960 and January 1, 1978 are covered too, but only if the owner actually knows lead-based paint is present.² Rental units in one- and two-family homes meeting the same age criteria are also in scope.

Co-op and condo units count when the shareholder or unit owner does not live there. Common areas in covered buildings must be tested. Vacancy is not an escape hatch: HPD’s guidance is explicit that units must be tested even if they are unoccupied, under renovation, or not currently on the rental market.¹

The stakes of not testing come from a legal presumption. In a pre-1960 building, all paint is presumed to be lead-based unless XRF results rebut that presumption.³ Without testing, every painted surface is treated as if it contains lead, and every downstream compliance obligation follows.

What XRF Testing Has to Look Like

An XRF analyzer is a handheld device that reads lead concentration through paint layers without damaging the surface. Under Local Law 31, a surface is positive for lead-based paint at or above 0.5 milligrams per square centimeter. Every painted component in the unit has to be tested: windows, doors, trim, walls, ceilings. The inspector’s report lists each component with its measurement.²

The inspection must be done by an EPA-certified lead paint inspector or risk assessor who is independent of both the property owner and any contractor involved in lead remediation.¹ The independence rule is easy to overlook. Using an inspector who is tied to the owner or the remediation firm can invalidate the results. Certification for inspectors and risk assessors comes through the federal Lead-Based Paint Abatement and Evaluation Program.⁴

The Deadline Has Passed. What Now?

The statutory deadline to complete XRF testing across all covered units and common areas was August 9, 2025. A separate rule applies when a child under six moves into an untested unit: the owner has one year from the move-in date, or until DOHMH orders the inspection, whichever comes first.²

Missing the deadline does not extinguish the obligation. The testing still has to happen, and HPD can issue a Class C immediately hazardous violation at any time for each untested unit or common area, with civil penalties of up to $1,500 apiece.¹ Across a mid-sized building, the exposure adds up fast.

What Happens If Testing Finds Lead

The next step depends on the paint’s condition and whether a child under six lives in the unit.

Peeling paint with a child under six in the unit: a lead-based paint hazard exists. The owner must hire an EPA-certified contractor and correct it immediately.
Intact paint with a child under six in the unit: no current hazard. The owner should monitor for deterioration or opt to permanently remove the lead paint.
Peeling paint in a common area with a child under six anywhere in the building: the hazard must be remediated or abated immediately.
No child under six in the unit: no immediate repair duty during the tenancy, but turnover obligations apply when the tenant moves out.

Which Contractor Certification You Need

For general repairs that disturb lead paint but do not respond to a violation and are not intended to permanently remove lead, the firm needs EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) certification and must employ EPA-certified renovators.⁵

Bigger jobs need more. If the work disturbs more than 100 square feet of lead paint in a room, involves removing two or more painted windows, or is done in response to a violation or to permanently remove lead, the contractor needs EPA lead-based paint abatement certification. Federal rules also require RRP certification for that same work, so both credentials are effectively required.⁵

A small-job exception covers work that disturbs less than two square feet of peeling lead paint per room, or less than 10 percent of a small component’s surface area such as a single window sill.⁶

Dust Clearance After the Work

After any lead remediation, an EPA-certified inspector or risk assessor collects dust wipe samples to confirm the area is free of lead-contaminated dust. This person has to be independent of both the owner and the contractor who did the work.⁶ Clearance results must be given to the tenant in a format that explains what the numbers mean.²

Turnover Between Tenants

When a tenant vacates a covered unit, the owner must remove lead-based paint from doors and windows before the next tenant moves in. The work has to use safe work practices with EPA-certified firms and workers, and dust clearance testing follows. The only exception is a unit where XRF testing has already shown all paint below the 0.5 mg/cm² threshold.²

Turnover also ends older exemptions. Exemptions originally granted at the previous 1.0 mg/cm² action level stay valid only until the tenant moves out. Once the unit turns over, the old exemption is void, and the owner must either retest at the current 0.5 mg/cm² standard or comply with the full lead-based paint presumption regime.²

The Annual January Notice

Every year between January 1 and January 16, owners of covered pre-1960 buildings must deliver a notice to each tenant asking whether a child under six lives in the unit. The notice must be in English and Spanish.⁷ Delivery can be by first-class mail, hand delivery, or enclosure with the January rent bill if the bill arrives between December 15 and January 16.

Tenants respond in writing by February 15. If no response comes in and the owner does not otherwise know whether a young child lives there, the owner must attempt to inspect the unit between February 16 and March 1. If those attempts also fail, the owner notifies DOHMH in writing.⁸ Owners must keep proof of delivery, returned notices, records of any inspection attempts, and copies of DOHMH notifications. HPD publishes sample forms to standardize the paperwork.

Lead-Free and Lead-Safe Exemptions

Owners who complete testing and address any lead found can apply for exemption status through HPD’s Lead Exemption Online Portal, which lifts some or all recurring obligations depending on the type.⁹

A lead-free exemption means all lead-based paint has been permanently removed from the unit, not covered or encapsulated but physically taken out. Once granted, the owner no longer needs to follow safe work practices for construction in the covered area.²

A lead-safe exemption applies when lead paint is present but has been safely encapsulated. It lifts some obligations but not all: the owner still has to run periodic inspections to confirm the encapsulation is intact.² If the covering fails or renovation disturbs the encapsulated surface, the exemption may no longer protect the owner. Both exemptions require XRF testing performed at the 0.5 mg/cm² action level using a device with an approved Performance Characteristic Sheet, along with the full inspection report and proof of the inspector’s credentials.

Recordkeeping and Audit Penalties

Owners must keep all lead testing results, inspection reports, and remediation records for at least ten years and produce them to HPD on request. Records must include the inspection date, the unit number, the name and certification of the inspector, and the brand, model, and serial number of the XRF device used.¹⁰

HPD conducts record audits and issues Record Production Orders. An owner who fails to respond, or responds with incomplete records, faces a Class C immediately hazardous violation with civil penalties between $1,000 and $5,000.² HPD’s final rule amendments also set a penalty of $1,000 for each year of the ten-year retention period that records are missing.¹¹

Beyond testing records, keep documentation of annual notice delivery and tenant responses, evidence that safe work practices were followed during any remediation, dust clearance results, and copies of every contractor and worker certification. If HPD issues a violation and the owner does not repair it, HPD can send its own inspector, hire a certified contractor to do the work, and conduct clearance testing, then bill the owner. For a portfolio of older buildings, the aggregate exposure across untested units, missing records, and unaddressed hazards can climb quickly.

1
Housing Preservation & Development. Frequently Asked Questions – Local Law 31 XRF Testing Requirement
2
Housing Preservation & Development. Lead-Based Paint
3
Laws of New York. New York City Administrative Code 27-2056.5 – Presumption
4
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Abatement and Evaluation Program – Individual Certification
5
NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development. Lead-Safe Work Practices – Frequently Asked Questions
6
Laws of New York. New York City Administrative Code 27-2056.11 – Work Practices
7
NYC Administrative Code. New York City Housing Maintenance Code – 27-2056.4
8
Housing Preservation & Development. January 2024 Bulletin to Property Owners
9
NYC.gov. Lead Exemption Online Portal
10
New York City Administrative Code. New York City Administrative Code 27-2056.17 – Record Keeping Requirements
11
Housing Preservation & Development. Final Rule Amendments Regarding Lead-Based Paint