New York City's lead paint rules rest on a presumption: in a rental building put up before 1960, the paint is presumed to be lead-based until testing shows it is not. Two deadlines follow from that. Every rental unit and common area in those buildings was to have been XRF-tested by 9 August 2025 under Local Law 31 of 2020 — that one has passed. And where a child under six lives, a much larger job of removal and covering must be finished by the earliest of turnover, 1 July 2027, or three years after the child moved in. That one has not.
Which buildings are covered
- Multiple dwellings built before 1 January 1960.
- Buildings built between 1960 and 1978 where the owner has actual knowledge of lead-based paint.
- For the testing requirement, a rental unit in a one- or two-family home as well, plus co-ops and condos not occupied by the owner or the owner's family.
- All common areas.
You can check when your building was built — it is on the tax roll, and on the building page here. If the answer is 1959 or earlier and there are rental units, these rules are about you.
The testing deadline that has passed
Local Law 31 required the owner to have the paint tested with an XRF device — an instrument that reads lead through the layers without scraping — at the 0.5 mg/cm² action level. Two details give the requirement its teeth:
- The inspector must be EPA-certified and independent of the owner and of any firm hired to do lead remediation. The owner cannot test their own building, and the company being paid to fix it cannot be the company deciding whether it needs fixing.
- The testing records, the inspector's EPA certification and the affidavits must be kept for ten years.
An owner whose whole building tested negative can apply to HPD for a lead-free exemption. As a tenant, the useful question is simply whether the testing was done, and what it found in your unit — the records exist and the owner is required to have them.
The notice that arrives every January
This is the part of the system tenants actually touch, and it is easy to throw away by mistake.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–16 January | The owner must deliver the annual notice, in English and Spanish, in duplicate so you keep a copy and return one. |
| By 15 February | You should return it, saying whether a child under six lives in the unit or routinely spends ten or more hours a week there. |
| 16 February – 1 March | If you did not return it, the owner must try to establish the answer by inspection. |
Return the notice. It is the trigger for everything protective that follows — the annual investigation of your unit, and the abatement work below. A notice not returned is a child the system does not know about.
The deadline that is still ahead: children under six
Under the child-residency provision, where a child under six resided in a unit as of 1 January 2025, or moves into an occupied unit after that date, the owner must:
- remediate all lead-based paint hazards, and any underlying defects behind them;
- make all bare floors, windowsills and window wells smooth and cleanable;
- remove or permanently cover all lead-based paint on the friction surfaces of doors and door frames;
- remove or permanently cover all lead-based paint on the friction surfaces of windows, or install replacement window channels or slides.
Friction surfaces come up twice because that is where the danger is: paint that rubs every time a window or door is opened turns into dust, and dust is how lead reaches a child.
The work must be done by the earliest of: turnover of the unit (in a pre-1960 multiple dwelling); 1 July 2027, where a child under six was resident as of 1 January 2025; or within three years of a child under six beginning to reside there, if that started after 1 January 2025.
If you have to move out for the work
Where the work cannot be performed safely with occupants in residence, the owner must provide for temporary relocation, and must offer a suitable, decent, safe and similarly accessible unit that does not have lead-based paint hazards. That is the owner's obligation and the owner's cost, not yours. If you refuse to relocate the owner is required to document their good-faith attempts, so a refusal does not simply make the obligation disappear — but it does stall the work that protects your child, which is worth weighing.
How it is enforced, and what you can do
Failure to meet either the work requirements or the record-keeping requirements can produce Class C — immediately hazardous violations, the most serious grade HPD issues and the same grade as no heat. What the classes mean is at HPD violation classes.
- Return the January notice, and keep a copy of what you returned.
- Tell the owner in writing about any peeling, chipping or deteriorating paint, and date it.
- Call 311 if it is not addressed. Peeling paint in a unit with a child under six is a serious complaint and is treated as one — see how to file a complaint.
- Ask your paediatrician about a blood lead test for your child. The city's health department has information for families, and testing is the only way to know.
- Check the building's record for existing lead violations and their status — public, and free to search at Check a Building. See how to check a building's violations.
Why it is worth the trouble
Lead is a metal that poisons people, and in young children the damage — behavioural and learning problems — is irreversible. It is common in paint used in New York buildings put up before 1960 because lead made paint tougher. When that paint is damaged, wet or scraped it becomes dust and chips on the floor, and small children get it on their hands and then into their mouths. There is no version of this where the paint is fine as long as nobody touches it.
This guide is general tenant education based on New York City agency guidance and public records. It is not legal advice and it is not medical advice — for concerns about a child's exposure, speak to a doctor, and for a dispute with an owner, consult a tenant attorney or a legal services organisation. Deadlines and rules in this area have changed repeatedly; confirm the current position with HPD, whose lead information line is 212-863-5501. Sources: NYC HPD — Lead-Based Paint; Paint Testing Requirement and Exemptions (Local Law 31 of 2020); HPD October 2025 Lead Bulletin to Property Owners (Local Law 123 child-residency provision); NYC Administrative Code section 27-2056.11; HPD Rule 28 RCNY section 11-06; Local Law 1 of 2004 annual notice requirements.