Starting this month, Cleveland landlords are being required to test their homes for lead. Rental property owners in the City must obtain a Lead Safe Certification to prove that their units are safe from lead hazards. This comes after Cleveland City Council passed a new lead-safe ordinance, making lead safety a priority in the City.
Lead poisoning causes life-long harm.
Local advocates have been sounding the alarm on lead poisoning in the City for years. Back in 2015, reporters Rachel Dissell and Brie Zeltner began documenting the harmful impacts of lead on Cleveland kids through their Plain Dealer series, Toxic Neglect.
Last year, Case Western Reserve University published a study on the ways that childhood lead exposure negatively affects people, even into adulthood. This study found that children who had elevated blood-lead levels had a 27% lower chance of being on-track for kindergarten than children who didn’t. Lead-poisoned kids were also significantly more likely to come in contact with the criminal justice system as they grew older.
Research also shows that lead poisoning disproportionately impacts people of color. The study by CWRU found that Black students were disproportionately impacted by lead poisoning, compared to their white counterparts. Lead exposure is also concentrated in areas of disinvested neighborhoods. These are areas historically tied to segregation, redlining and subprime lending.
What does it mean to be “lead-safe”?
According to the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition,
“Lead safe is a proactive approach. It means making sure homes don’t pose a lead risk before a child could be poisoned. A home is lead safe when lead risks – known as lead hazards – have been controlled so that the concentration of leaded dust remains below the threshold set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This means a lead safe home is no longer hazardous but may still contain lead.”
It is a landlord’s responsibility to provide a safe, decent, and habitable environment for the tenant. Making units lead-safe falls right in line with this responsibility.
What do landlords need to know?
The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition has laid out a simple 6-step process to help landlords get certified.
- Contact the Lead Safe Resource Center. The Resource Center provides education and guidance on navigating the certification process.
- Check your property. If your property was built before 1978, start here to determine your next steps.
- Remediate lead hazards. If lead hazards are present, hire a certified lead safe worker or become certified to complete the work yourself.
- Clean your property. Complete an environmental cleaning 1-2 days before your clearance examination.
- Get lead clearance. Pass a clearance examination or risk assessment.
- Apply for lead safe certification. Submit passed clearance examination or risk assessment to the City to receive a two-year certification. Download the application here.
The Lead Safe Certification process will be rolled out in phases over the next couple of years. The map below shows when properties in each zip code will be due for certification.
Landlords can learn more about how to certify their property here. The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition also encourages property owners to visit their website for guidance on obtaining financial assistance, finding a contractor, ensuring their home remains lead safe, and other questions they may have.
Lead can cause irreversible damage. By removing lead hazards from Cleveland homes, property owners can prevent childhood lead exposure before harm ever occurs. The City still has a ways to go to be 100% lead-safe, but this ordinance is certainly the first step to a safer, healthier future for Cleveland residents.