XRF Lead-Based Paint Testing Requirements in NYC

If you own a pre-1960 rental building in New York City with three or more units, you were required to have every apartment and common area tested for lead-based paint with an XRF analyzer by August 9, 2025. XRF lead paint testing in NYC uses a handheld X-ray fluorescence device that reads lead concentrations through multiple layers of paint without damaging the surface, and the current action level is 0.5 mg/cm². Owners who missed the deadline are already exposed to Class C immediately hazardous violations carrying civil penalties of up to $1,500 per unit, and the fix is to schedule testing now rather than wait for HPD to show up.¹

Which Buildings Have to Test

The XRF testing mandate reaches a building if it was built before January 1, 1960, has three or more residential units, and contains rented apartments. Buildings constructed between 1960 and 1978 are also covered when the owner has actual knowledge that lead-based paint is present. Rental units inside one- and two-family homes fall under the testing requirement as well, even though they sit outside the three-unit threshold.¹

Owner-occupied apartments in cooperatives and condominiums are generally outside the XRF mandate. Non-owner-occupied apartments in those same buildings are inside it, and common areas in any covered building must be tested regardless of who occupies the individual units.¹

The Deadline and the Child-Under-Six Trigger

The citywide deadline was August 9, 2025. Every covered rental unit and common area was supposed to have a completed XRF inspection at the 0.5 mg/cm² action level by that date.¹

A separate trigger runs on its own clock. When a child under six begins routinely spending ten or more hours per week in a unit, the owner must complete the XRF inspection within one year of the child’s arrival or by August 9, 2025, whichever came first. For a unit where a child moves in after August 2025, the one-year window still applies.² You can skip the testing only if the unit already has a completed compliant XRF inspection on file or holds an HPD exemption from the presumption of lead paint.

Hiring a Certified Inspector

The person running the XRF device must be certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a lead inspector or risk assessor. New York is one of the states where EPA directly administers the certification program, and you can verify an inspector’s active status through the EPA database before you hire.³

The inspector also has to be independent. That rules out the owner, the owner’s agent, and anyone employed by a contractor hired or planned to be hired for lead remediation on the same building.² An abatement contractor who also writes the inspection report has a financial reason to find more lead. Going through an independent environmental consulting firm removes that conflict.

The XRF device itself contains a radioactive source and requires a specific radioactive materials license from the New York State Department of Health, with a designated Radiation Safety Officer and a list of authorized users.⁴ You don’t handle any of that yourself, but confirming your inspector’s firm holds the license is worth a question before the walkthrough.

What Happens During the Inspection

The inspector points a handheld XRF analyzer at each painted surface. The device emits a controlled beam that causes lead atoms in the paint to respond in a measurable way, and the screen shows a reading in milligrams per square centimeter. Each surface takes a few seconds. Nothing gets cut, scraped, or sanded.

Every distinct painted surface in each room gets its own reading. One room easily produces six readings or more: walls, door frames, window sills, window trim, baseboards, and any other painted component. The inspector logs each reading by surface type and substrate, because lead concentrations often vary across a single apartment, with window components and door frames frequently reading higher than flat walls. Hallways, lobbies, stairwells, and other shared spaces are tested under the same protocol and the same action level as apartments.¹

The 0.5 mg/cm² Threshold

HPD lowered the action level from 1.0 to 0.5 mg/cm² on December 1, 2021. Any surface that reads at or above 0.5 mg/cm² is now classified as lead-based paint under the law.¹

This matters if your building was tested years ago. A reading of 0.7 mg/cm² was considered negative in 2019 and is positive now. HPD will not accept older XRF reports conducted at the 1.0 threshold for new exemption applications. Testing going forward has to use an XRF instrument with an approved Performance Characteristic Sheet issued at the 0.5 level, so a building tested before December 2021 likely needs to be retested.¹

Inconclusive Readings

Not every reading comes back clean. Some fall into an inconclusive range defined by the device’s Performance Characteristic Sheet. When a surface reads at 0.5 mg/cm² and the result is classified as inconclusive, HPD treats it as presumed lead-based paint.⁵

You can challenge that presumption by submitting a laboratory analysis of a paint chip taken from the same surface. If the lab comes back negative, the violation closes. If the lab is positive, or if no chip is submitted, the surface has to be remediated as if it were confirmed lead-based paint. The same rule governs exemption applications: an inconclusive XRF reading is treated as positive unless a negative paint chip lab result is attached.⁵

What to Do With the Report

The inspector produces a formal report that must include the device serial number, calibration logs, and a detailed list of every surface tested with its reading. You keep these records for at least ten years and produce them when HPD asks. When ownership changes, the records transfer to the new owner.⁶

HPD audits buildings for lead compliance. A Record Production Order gives you 45 days to submit documentation. Not responding, or responding with gaps, is a Class C immediately hazardous violation with a civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000. Owners missing some years of records may be able to request dismissal of recordkeeping violations by submitting at least three consecutive years of adequate documentation (including the current year) and paying $1,000 for each missing year.¹

Applying for an HPD Exemption

If every tested surface in a unit or common area reads below 0.5 mg/cm², you can apply for an exemption from the presumption of lead-based paint. The exemption lifts the annual lead notice obligation for that unit and ends the annual visual inspection requirement for children under six in that specific space.¹

Applications go through HPD’s Lead Exemption Online Portal or by mail to HPD’s Lead Exemption Unit in Brooklyn.⁷ The application requires the full XRF report and may require supporting affidavits from the inspection firm or dust wipe sampler depending on the circumstances. HPD will only grant exemptions based on XRF instruments with an approved Performance Characteristic Sheet at the 0.5 level. If some surfaces tested positive but you properly abated the lead paint and obtained clearance, you can still apply after the abatement is complete. A unit that receives a lead-safe exemption after encapsulation (rather than full removal) still requires periodic inspections to confirm the encapsulation is intact.¹

Ongoing Notices

XRF testing is a one-time requirement, but the compliance calendar doesn’t stop with the report. Owners of covered buildings send an annual notice to every tenant asking whether a child under six lives in or routinely spends time in the unit, with responses due by February 15.⁸ When a child under six is present, the owner performs an annual visual inspection for peeling paint, deteriorated surfaces, and friction or impact damage on windows and doors. The same inspection is triggered any time a tenant reports peeling paint or the owner otherwise knows about deterioration. If a tenant does not respond to the annual notice, the owner must attempt an inspection to determine whether a child under six lives there.² Units that hold an HPD exemption are excused from these obligations, which is one of the strongest reasons to file for exemption as soon as the XRF results allow it.

When the Test Finds Lead

A positive XRF result does not make a unit uninhabitable, but it does trigger specific obligations. All lead-painted surfaces must be kept in intact condition. Peeling, chipping, or deteriorating paint is what creates the hazard, and any such condition must be repaired using safe work practices: wet methods only, plastic sheeting to seal off the work area, HEPA vacuuming during and after the job, and a professional dust wipe clearance test once the work is complete. Dry scraping and sanding are not permitted.⁹

A separate deadline applies to units where a child under six lived with presumed lead-based paint as of January 1, 2025. For those units, the owner must abate lead paint on door and window friction surfaces, remediate other lead paint hazards, and make all floors smooth and cleanable by July 2027.¹ This can mean replacing window components, stripping and repainting door jambs, and resurfacing floors. Budgeting and sequencing that work now is more comfortable than racing the deadline.

Penalties

The penalty structure reaches owners from a few directions. Missing the XRF testing deadline, whether the citywide August 9, 2025 date or the one-year window after a child under six arrives, is a Class C immediately hazardous violation with civil penalties up to $1,500. Failing to produce records in response to an HPD Record Production Order is a Class C violation with penalties between $1,000 and $5,000.¹ HPD has obtained civil penalties exceeding $150,000 against a single property owner for failing to comply with lead-based paint regulations across multiple buildings.¹⁰

These violations run per unit and per building, so a ten-unit building without XRF records generates penalties quickly. Outstanding lead paint violations can also block building permit applications and complicate sales. The cost of testing is a fraction of what non-compliance costs in fines and legal exposure.

1
Housing Preservation & Development. Lead-Based Paint
2
NYC Administrative Code. NYC Admin Code 27-2056.4 – Owners Responsibility to Notify Occupants and to Investigate
3
US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Abatement and Evaluation Program: Individual Certification
4
New York State Department of Health. Radiation Guide 10.15 – Guide for Lead Paint Analyzer Licenses
5
NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Notice of Adoption of Amendments to Rules Regarding Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control
6
Housing Preservation and Development. Frequently Asked Questions XRF Testing Requirements – Apartments and Common Areas
7
NYC.gov. Lead Exemption Online Portal
8
NYC Rules. Annual Notice for Prevention of Lead Based Paint Hazards
9
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Fix Lead Paint Hazards: What Landlords Must Do and Every Tenant Should Know
10
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. HPD Obtains Over $150,000 in Civil Penalties Against Property Owner for Failing to Comply with Lead-Based Paint Regulations