Health director says new lead-inspection ordinance aligns city rules with 2022 state Lead Safe law

The Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness presented an ordinance to align the city’s rental lead-safety rules with the 2022 statewide Lead Safe law.

Katlyn Allsberg, Director of the Department of Health and Community Wellness, told the council the state law requires rental dwellings to be inspected for lead at the time of leasing, at tenant turnover and every three years thereafter. The proposed city ordinance extends inspections to single‑family and two‑family dwellings built prior to 1978 that were not previously covered and provides for issuance of a Lead Safe certificate when hazards are not present.

Allsberg clarified that a unit may receive a lead‑free certificate distinct from a lead‑safe certificate if extensive renovations remove potential hazards; the lead‑free determination would carry different inspection implications. She also said a fee schedule accompanies the program (the fee schedule is in the Legistar file) and that the city expects to use HUD and DCA grants to provide financial assistance for remediation and abatement when hazards are identified.

Council members asked how often inspections will be required and whether fees apply to homeowners who rent property; Allsberg said certificates are valid for three years, require reinspection at tenant turnover if the last inspection was more than two years prior, and that fees vary by number of units. The administration said larger multi‑unit properties are often inspected by the state and that the new law extends the city’s inspection focus to single‑ and two‑family rental properties built before 1978.

No final vote was recorded in the pre‑meeting; the administration indicated a public hearing would be held at the evening meeting.