Lead Safety Compliance Rental Registration Deadline Approaching

Toledo’s Residential Rental Properties and Lead Safety Compliance law requires rental properties to be registered with the Lucas County Auditor’s office by Wednesday, June 30, Department of Neighborhoods Director Rosalyn Clemens reminded the public during a news conference today

“Rental property owners must register with the county auditor before Wednesday,” said Ms. Clemens said. “We have made this process very easy. It can be completed online on the auditor’s website.”

The lead-safe law requires rental properties with four units or fewer built before 1978, and family child-care homes built before 1978, to obtain lead-safe certificates. The law has a five-year compliance schedule, with the first and most at-risk properties required to be certified by June 30, 2022, and all to reach compliance by Dec. 31, 2026. Information on the registration process, and Toledo’s lead-safe law, can be found at toledoleadsafe.com/forowners.

“Though every one of Toledo’s zip codes is considered high risk for lead poisoning, the highest risk is in our majority-minority and high rental housing neighborhoods, where property values tend to be lower and deferred maintenance – chipping and peeling paint – is also more likely,” Ms. Clemens said.

“Since Toledo passed the Rental Registry and Lead-Safe ordinances in October 2020, more than 3,000 new properties in the city have registered with the Auditor’s office – a 32 percent increase in less than a year,” said Stephanie Beebe, the city’s lead safe coordinator within the Toledo Department of Neighborhoods. “We are continuing to provide resources to owners, including our Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes grant, which provides lead abatement for both owner-occupant and rental owners. We also have an Early Bird Match grant, which provides a 50 percent match, up to $5,000 per unit, for a rental owners’ costs to become certified lead-safe under the ordinance. Whether that’s just your inspection or a whole new exterior paint job.”

The Early Bird Matching Grant incentivizes owners to comply early with the law’s five-year phase-in to improve the health and wellbeing of tenants, and to avoid fines. The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Block Grant. More information on the grant, and the application, can be found at ToledoLeadSafe.com/match.

Jeff Savage, a Toledo rental property owner, joined Ms. Clemens and Ms. Beebe during the news conference. All of his rental properties were easily registered, taking about one minute per unit, he said.

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