www.charlesjeromeware.com "Here to make a difference."
Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys & Counselors, LLC, is a Maryland-based national lead-paint defense law firm. The firm is highly-regarded and well-respected for its successful legal representation of landlords and landowners in lead-based paint civil lawsuits. For an initial courtesy consultation, contact us at charlesjeromeware@msn.com, (410) 730-5016 or (410) 720-6129.
There are several recommendations that we make to our Baltimore- area landlords with regard to
preventing (and prevailing in) lead-based paint poisoning litigation, including:
1. Before renting a housing unit to a new tenant, require the prospective tenant to disclose the names and ages of all persons who will reside in the unit.
2. Inspect the unit with the prospective tenant and require the tenant to sign an inspection sheet confirming that each room is free of peeling, flaking, or other defective paint conditions.
3. Conduct periodic inspections of each residential unit and follow the same procedure with respect to the maintenance of inspection sheets signed by tenants.
4. Treat all complaints of flaking or peeling paint conditions as emergencies requiring immediate attention.
5. Do not do your own repairs or renovations on the unit. retain licensed and insured contractors with experience in the field to perform any required abatement work.
6. Maintenance -- maintenance --maintenance. Paint (certainly at least the interior) your housing units about every three years and maintain copious records of all maintenance, repair, and paint work performed within each unit.
7. If denied access to an apartment to perform an inspection or maintenance work on the unit, document the denial within the tenant's folder contemporaneously with the denial and follow-up with a letter to the tenant confirming the failure to gain access to the unit.
8.Remember: Lead-based paint in good condition is usually not harmful. The key is maintenance of the property.
9. Lead paint disclosure or notice to tenants is very important. If the residential unit was built before 1978, landlords must inform the residents or applicants that the possibility of lead paint exists. The 1992 Federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, also known as Title X, requires disclosure of known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before the sale or lease of most residential units.
10. Be ever mindful that residential lead-based paint exposure is indeed a public health crisis in certain neighborhoods in Baltimore.
No comments:
Post a Comment