Work From Home Leads – Is a home lead test kit good enough for rental property proof?

Work From Home Leads
Question by 5zerocool: Is a home lead test kit good enough for rental property proof?
We are having renters move in very soon. We do not suspect lead paint in the house, but we need proof. Are the hardware store kits good enough to prove there is no lead paint???
Property is located in MA.
House is built before 1978.
Best answer:
Answer by RWR
Check w/ your local zoning laws in your State.
If the house is built b/4 1978 you will need a minium test. This is a Fed. law.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Second Empire, Oxford
Image by Universal Pops (David)
[This set on the Second Empire house in Oxford contains 5 photos] This is a creative commons image, which you may freely use by linking to this page. Please respect the photographer and his work.
In the South, the Second Empire style never caught on as it did in many other regions of the country. This example in Oxford, North Carolina dates from 1889, as a plaque on the porch indicates; this was towards the end of the Second Empire as a dominant architectural style. This is the Hundley-White House at 208 College Street.
The home stands out for two reasons: it is Second Empire in a small Southern town; and it is pink. The brick house is essentially rectangular with two stories, the second being the slightly concave mansard roof. There appears to be a basement as well. The shingling is an alternation of pentagonal and brick-patterned material (I don’t know if slate is used on this house). No iron crestings are present. The tower, also with concave slope, is centrally placed in the façade, rising from the entrance to its height. Dormers jut from the mansard roof and from the tower; the windows are of a full arch with steeply pitched hoods. The windows on the first level are much taller than those on the roof area. The cornice is not bracketed but consists of a vertical pattern of gray. The four chimneys, all with metal caps, are placed at either side of the dwelling. The porch is supported by 9 posts with a railing of nearly rectangular woodwork in between. A frieze hangs from the roof of the porch. Steps leading to the wood double doors also have railings. A metal fence with brick piles surrounds the house, and between the front two piles is an iron gate with a small wheel or roller for easy opening. On a few of the piles are brass lamps, wired for electricity.
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I don’t see why you can’t use them. It should be sufficient enough.
If there is a Federal Law pertaining to lead paint testing, I would love to see it. I have been a landlord for 13 yrs and a member of the landlords association here in MI. The association knows and is updated on all the state and federal laws pertaining to being a landlord. Nowhere does it say that you have to have a house tested for lead paint if built before 1978. The only requirement is a form that gets signed between landlord and tenant stating the landlord has or has not any knowledge of lead paint in the house and that the tenant was warned due to the age of the house, that there is a possibility of old lead paint. The tenant signs the same paper acknowledging they were told of the possibility..
If your state or city requires proof, a hardware kit should be sufficient. But you can simply call your building code dept and ask them if its ok.
You don’t generally need PROOF, what you need is a signed copy of “Disclosure of information on Lead-Based Paint and Lead-Based Paint Hazards” that you give the tenant to sign. It notes the KNOWN lead paint content at the time of signing.
Though local law could be more restrictive, in general you don’t proactively test for lead, you merely give this form and periodically be sure all the painted surfaces are secure and free from chipping and peeling.
An additional tactic is to quietly give preference to mature tenants, not likely to have kids.
If the house was built prior to 1978, there was very lkely lead based paint used on or in the house.
Here is a MA specific document which states that:
The Lead Law applies only to homes built before 1978 in which a child under six lives.
All lead inspections, risk assessments and deleading must be done according to the Regulations for Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control, 105 Code of Massachusetts Regulations 460.000 and the Deleading Regulations, 454 CMR 22.00. For full information, homeowners may get these regulations at the State House Book Store, State House, Boston, MA 02133. The phone number is (617) 727-2834.
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/environmental/lead/ptnnew.pdf
While true that French mansard or Second Empire style houses are less common in the South, that is more a reflection of the post-war Reconstruction economic realities in the 1870’s and 1880’s than a lack of popularity for the style. The peak of popularity for the Second Empire was in the early 1870’s, exactly the same time that the war-ravaged South was beginning post-war Reconstruction. Few Southerners had the means to build extravagantly at that time and by the time prosperity finally returned to the South others styles had become more popular than the Second Empire. The few grand Second Empires built in the South in the first decade or two after the war are every bit as ornate and grand as their eastern and northern counterparts. This is a nice example. The pink probably covers an earlier white which, in turn, covered the original brick colors. Pink seems to work well here.
Really super with the pink blossoms beside it.
aside from the architectural history involved this is one beautiful house! great capture P and as usual a thorough background which can only serve to enhance the pleasure of viewing!
well done!
you certainly have some interesting buildings in your neck of the woods.
Nice shots of the big pink house.
Great history along with a fabulous capture of this house !
I always notice this type of old house but did not know the technical info- Thanks Pops.
Splendid house!
this home would fit in quite nicely in Toronto….even with the pink paint, only a house like this, could be that color & pull it off, thanks for sharing David….great info
The info really added to the depth of this excellent photo.
Thanks Pops!
Grey, pink underlined by white: NICE!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/11236515@N05/] Thank you for placing this in a economic/social/historical perspective. That probably explains the dearth of Italiante as well. I’ve discovered that folk or vernacular or hybrid styles dominate the small towns near where I live (southern Virginia); it’s nice to encounter something visually different.
Thank you for viewing; thank you very much for the comment!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/48949572@N05/] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/wainwrightwarrior/][http://www.flickr.com/photos/ts_pl/][http://www.flickr.com/photos/k4eyv/] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ranmagon/] Thank you all for the generous comments!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/joyinireland/] I think the blossoms are crape myrtle.Thanks!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/sawgrass-steve/] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/byzeno/] I hope all that stuff is not pretentious; I think I write it out so the house can make sense to me, architecturally.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/47781568@N06/] Interesting take on the subject–you might be right!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/domiketu/] The gray and white make the pink bearable :-). It still is a good looking house!
Very pretty house, with a nice mix of colors. Great shot!
Another great shot
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/24304517@N02/] The gray and white balance the pink, I think. Appreciate the comment!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/48141388@N07/] Thank you!
Award from: 100 + Viewed Best Architecture Photos (add 1, award 1)
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A nice shot of a handsome house. Thanks for the notes, too!