Annual Notice and Investigations

As a property owner of a building built prior to 1960, there are many obligations you need to know about lead-based paint hazards and the remediation or abatement of lead-based paint in your building. See below FAQs to assist with any questions you may have. Still have questions after reading, view our Required Lead-Based Paint Testing for All Units in NYC webinar.

Property owners are legally obligated to prevent and correct lead-based paint hazards in apartments and common areas. The responsibilities are on an ongoing and annual basis; you must complete the following tasks and document that they have been done every year.

1. What is an Annual Notice?
   • The Annual Notice is used to determine whether a child under the age of six years old routinely spending 10 or more hours per week (“residing”) in a dwelling unit. This information determines whether the owner must complete additional required activities, such as an annual visual inspection and the use of safe work practices when work is being done in the apartment.

2. Who must send the Annual Notice?

The owner of a building if:

• The building was built prior to January 1, 1960; and
• The building is:
  • A Multiple Dwelling (3 or more residential units)
  • A Private Dwelling (1-2 units) with a
    tenant-occupied unit

3. What does it mean for a child to “reside” in an apartment?
   • A child is considered to “reside” in a dwelling unit if the child routinely spends 10 or more hours per week in the apartment.
     • This includes:
       • A child who lives in the apartment full-time, and
       • A child who visits regularly for this amount of time

4. When must the Annual Notice be sent and returned?

Delivered the Annual Notice to tenants between January 1st and January 16th.

Document all activities related to delivering the Annual Notice.

5. What Annual Notice forms can owners use?

Owners may use either of the following HPD-approved notices:

• • Protect Your Child from Lead Poisoning and Window Falls Annual Notice(Proteja a su Nino del Envenenamiento por Plomo y de las Caidas por las Ventanas Notificación Anual
  • Annual Notice for Prevention of Lead-Based Paint Hazards - Inquiry Regarding Child(Aviso Anual Para Medidas de Precaucion con los Peligros de Plomo en la Pintura-Encusta Respecto al Nino)

6. In what languages and format must the Annual Notice be provided?

The Annual Notice must be:

• Provided in at least English and Spanish
• Delivered in duplicate (two copies of each language)
• One copy for the tenant to keep
• One copy for the tenant to return to the owner
• Owners should clearly inform tenants where and how to return the completed notice.

7. What records must owners keep regarding the Annual Notice?

Owners must:

• Keep proof that the notice was delivered
• Retain the completed notice returned by the tenant
• Annual Visual Investigation Summary
• Documentation of any work completed utilizing Safe Work Practices

HPD has created sample forms to help owners document compliance, including:

• Sample Delivery of Annual Notice Inquiry Regarding Child
• Sample Delivery of Annual Notice -No Response -Detailed Form

8. What if the tenant does not return the Annual Notice by February 15?

• • Collect completed notices from tenants by February 15th.
  • Document the receipt of units that did not respond to the annual notice and notify the Dept. of Health in writing at the below address, owners must also keep a copy of this notification for their records.

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — Healthy Homes
125 Worth Street, Sixth Floor, CN58
New York, NY 10013

• • If, subsequent to the delivery of such annual notice, the owner does not receive a written response by February 15th and does not otherwise have actual knowledge as to whether a child of applicable age resides there, then the owner shall at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice inspect the occupant's dwelling unit to ascertain whether a child of applicable age resides there. Where, between February 16th and March 1st of that year the owner made reasonable attempt to gain access to the dwelling unit and was unable to gain access, the owner shall notify the department of health and mental hygiene of that circumstance in writing. For guidance on how to conduct the visual assessment, view HUD’s Lead-based paint visual assessment training course.
  • Document the results of the visual assessments.  To help you maintain proper records, we recommend you use the  sample Recordkeeping Template for Visual Assessments

9. When is an annual visual investigation required?

• • Once an owner knows that a child under the age of six resides in a dwelling unit, the owner must conduct a visual investigation at least once per year.
• Additional investigations are required if:
  • The owner becomes aware of conditions that may cause lead-based paint hazards,
  • The tenant files a complaint about peeling paint or deteriorating surfaces; or
  • The tenant does not return the Annual Notice, and the owner must try to determine if a child under six is residing in the unit

10. What is an annual visual investigation?

• An annual visual investigation is a visual inspection to identify potential lead-based paint hazards, including:
  • Peeling or chipping paint
  • Chewable surfaces (such as windowsills)
  • Deteriorated subsurfaces
  • Friction surfaces (doors and windows)
  • Impact surfaces

The inspection must include every painted surface in every room, including closets and cabinets

11. Do I need to hire a professional to perform the visual investigation?

• No, a professional is not required.
• However, HPD strongly recommends that the person performing the inspection complete the HUD online visual assessment training to understand what conditions to look for. For guidance on how to complete the visual inspection view the US Department of Housing and Urban Development - HUD - Visual Assessment Training.

12. What documentation is required for the visual investigation?

The person conducting the inspection must keep written records of what was observed.

HPD provides sample forms, including:

• • Sample Annual Visual Investigation -Summary Form
  • Sample Annual Visual Investigation - Detailed Form - Provide Copy to Occupant
  • Sample Annual Visual Investigation - Detailed Form - Not Completed

13. Must tenants receive the inspection results?

• After the visual investigation is completed, the owner must provide the tenant with a copy of the inspection results.

14. Are common areas included in the visual investigation?

• Owners must also inspect building common areas (such as hallways, stairwells, and lobbies) if a child under six resides in the building.

15. What must an owner do if peeling paint is found?

• • If peeling paint is found on a surface where the owner does not have documentation showing whether lead-based paint is present, the owner must presume the paint contains lead.
  • The deadline to have all dwelling units or common areas of buildings built prior to 1960 XRF tested for the presence of lead-based paint has passed. If you haven’t already done so your first step is to test the paint to determine whether the paint contains a lead content below 0.5 mg/cm² and maintain documentation of the testing.
  •  If testing finds that there is no lead-based paint in an apartment or a building’s common area the owner is encouraged to apply for a  Lead-Free Exemption. Owners do not have to provide annual notices regarding lead-based paint to the tenants or conduct annual investigation in units with children under the age of six for any units granted a Lead-Free Exemption. 

16. A surface tested positive for lead, what do I need to do?

• There are different steps depending on whether the positive surface is peeling or not, whether a violation was issued and whether there is a child under six residing in the unit or in the building (common areas).

Scenario 1

• You ARE required to take immediate action if paint is peeling and there is a child under six residing in the unit or in the building (common areas).
• Hire an EPA certified Abatement firm to correct the lead-based paint hazard using legal methods (e.g. wet scraping) and using safe work practices.
• For work done pursuant to an HPD or DOHMH violation, only an EPA certified Abatement company can do the work regardless of the amount of lead-based paint that will be disturbed. A certified Renovation firm CANNOT be used to address violation conditions.
• Hire an EPA certified firm that is independent of the firm that did the work or the building owner to conduct dust clearance samples to ensure the work areas were adequately clean of lead-based dust.

Scenario 2

• You are NOT required to do anything immediately in terms of addressing the lead-based paint if the paint is peeling but there is no child under six residing in the unit or in the building (common areas). However, it is best practice to repair the peeling surface and/or repaint. If you are going to do this work the following must be done:
• Hire an EPA certified Abatement firm to correct the lead-based paint hazard using safe work practice.
• Hire an EPA certified firm that is independent of the firm that did the work or the building owner to conduct dust clearance samples to ensure the work areas were adequately clean of lead-based dust.
• For surfaces where this is an OPEN violation related to the surface, even though there is no child in the unit now, only an EPA certified Abatement company can do the work for the violation to be dismissed.

Scenario 3

• You are NOT required to do anything immediately if the paint is not peeling. However, keep in mind that: You are required to monitor this paint over time and address it if it starts to become separated from the surface or begins to peel. Keep documentation of this monitoring for your annual records. (see scenario 2 for next steps if the surface starts to peel). You are required to abate positive doors and windows friction components upon the turnover of the unit (regardless of the previous or future presence of any children in that unit).

For additional information on compliance with Local law 1 contact the Lead Information Line 212-863-5501.