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D.C. Apartment Owner and Property Agent Cited for Not Notifying Tenants about Lead Paint Hazard

Release Date: 4/27/2004
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543

Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited the owner and property agent of the Park Plaza Apartments in Washington, D.C., for violations of a federal law requiring disclosure of lead-based paint hazards to residential tenants in Washington, D.C.

EPA=s complaint against property owner Park Plaza Apartments LLC and agent Chana LLC seeks a $52,800 penalty for violating the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (RLPHA) when renting two apartments in 1998 and 1999 at Park Plaza Apartments, located at 1629 Columbia Road, NW, Washington, D.C.

Under the lead paint law, sellers and landlords of residential housing built before 1978 must disclose to purchasers and tenants the presence of known lead-based paint hazards (or lack of knowledge of hazards); provide a lead hazard information pamphlet; provide a standard warning statement in the lease on the dangers of lead-based paint; provide purchasers with a 10-day opportunity to conduct a lead-based paint inspection; and include disclosure and acknowledgment language in sales contracts and leases.

EPA alleges that Park Plaza and Chana did not inform the tenants whether it knew of any lead-based paint in the house, did not provide tenants with a lead-based paint hazard pamphlet, and did not include the required warning and disclosure statements in the lease.

The company has the right to a hearing to contest the alleged violations and proposed penalty.

EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Renewal are cooperating in a nationwide effort to protect tenants and homeowners from the health risks of lead-based paint. High blood levels of lead can cause permanent damage to the nervous system and widespread health problems, such as a reduced intelligence and attention span, hearing loss, stunted growth, reading and learning problems and behavioral difficulties. Young children, in particular, are most vulnerable because their nervous systems are still developing. For more information on lead paint issues and regulations, please visit https://www.epa.gov/fedsite/cd/lead.html.