In 2019, Cleveland City Council passed legislation requiring rental property owners in the City to prove that their dwelling units are safe from lead hazards.
Rental properties built before 1978 must obtain a Lead Safe Certification or an Exemption. Owner-occupied properties do not need to be certified.
What is Lead?
Lead-based paint was banned for residential use in the United States in 1978 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Buildings constructed before 1978 may still contain lead paint, posing a potential hazard if the paint deteriorates.
Houses that were built after 1978 do not contain lead paint and are exempt from the City's Lead Safe Certificate law. Many houses in Cleveland were built before 1978, they may still have lead paint.
Lead is a toxic metal historically added to paint and other products to improve product durability, moisture resistance, and color vibrancy. While widely used in the past, lead paint is now recognized as a neurotoxin that is highly hazardous to health, particularly for children and pregnant women.
