October 21, 2012|By Al Heavens, Inquirer Columnist
Make no mistake about it, David Dietz enjoys
being a landlord.
He tries to be a good one, often showing up
within minutes of a call from a tenant at any of six units in Northeast
Philadelphia or the two in Atlantic City when a toilet clogs or a sink drips,
changing a room color from his standard neutral or white to potato-chip yellow
or Medici blue.
These days, however, Dietz finds himself a
bit, well, confused, as he puts it. The reason for his confusion, apparently
shared by many small landlords in Philadelphia, is city Ordinance 1000-11A,
effective two months from Sunday.
This ordinance requires
that all rental property owners who start new leases after Dec. 21 to families
with children under age 6 certify that these properties have been tested for
lead paint.
If evidence of lead-paint contamination is
found in housing built before manufacture of this paint was banned in 1978, it
must be remediated. Properties built after 1978 do not require testing.
Dietz understands the concerns the law is
attempting to address. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
show 6 percent of all children ages 1 to 2 years and 11 percent of African
American children ages 1 to 5 years have blood-lead levels in the toxic range.
Lead is a potent poison that can affect
individuals at any age, according to the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychology.
Children are especially vulnerable because
their rapidly developing nervous systems are particularly sensitive to the
effects of lead, the academy said.
Elevated lead levels are found in about 1,000
Philadelphia children a year, or 3 percent of those tested, city health
officials said during hearings on the bill.
Understood, yes, but with 60 days to go,
"No one has explained how the law works," Dietz said.
Landlords such as Dietz fear they will be
liable if the "dust-wipe test" to determine the presence of lead dust
on surface areas of the apartment isn't done properly and the lead test on a
tenant's child - routine in annual physicals for children up to age 6 - shows
elevated levels in their blood.
An elevated blood-lead level in a child is
defined as 10 or more micrograms of lead in a deciliter of blood.
The city said this July 17:
To be valid, the certificate must be based on
an inspection conducted by a lead-risk assessor or certified lead-dust sampling
technician no more than 24 months before the lease is signed.
