HFO Exclusive Report: Washington State DOH Recommends Mandating Lead Testing For All Rentals Built Before 1960

November 14, 2016
Authors: HFO Research Staff
Publishers: HFO Apartment Investor Newsletter

UPDATE: 02/08/2018: To date, the Washington legislature has not taken action on this issue.

November 14, 2016
In response to a directive issued on May 2nd by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, the Washington State Department of Health provided the governor with a report of their recommendations on Monday, November 15. In addition to recommending testing for schools, and child care facilities the program includes the following recommendation for rental housing.

Directive:
“Determine the viability and potential policy changes associated with developing a Lead Rental Inspection and Registry Program, to require residential rental properties built before 1978 to register and complete a lead inspection and demonstrate safety at each change of occupancy.”

Recommendations
DOH concluded creating a statewide rental registry and inspection program is not viable based on the indeterminate costs to the public health system. However, lead in older homes poses the greatest risk of exposure to children; therefore, DOH recommends the primary prevention approach of assessing pre-1960 rental units for lead hazards. Municipalities are positioned to adopt comprehensive rental inspection programs that address not only lead, but also other health risks found in homes.

Based on U.S. Census data, the Washington Department of Health estimated there are about 225,000 pre-1960 rental homes in Washington. According to its report, research on lead hazards in homes indicates estimates that 55 percent of those -- 123,522 units -- would have lead hazards.

In Rochester, New York, the average cost of complying with policies to reduce lead in rental housing was $1,700. In Washington, the total cost for landlord compliance would be approximately $382 million.

DOH recommended that the Washington Legislature:

Amend the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act to require lead assessment of all rental units built before 1960 to determine if there are lead hazards present, and to require remediation if a hazard is identified.
Direct DOH to work with municipalities and stakeholders to explore development of a state-supported training program for cities to increase participation in rental inspection programs.
Create a remediation fund for landlords providing low-income housing.

Download the full report and its executive summary here.

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HFO Exclusive Report: Washington State DOH Recommends Mandating Lead Testing For All Rentals Built Before 1960

HFO Quote

We had a wonderful experience with HFO - excellent on everything. They are very responsive. Greg did a great job.

HFO is professional, knowledgeable and honest. They get it done.

One of the best firms at seeing a deal from the owner's perspective.

I have brokers calling me all the time. Greg Frick is the only one I’ve talked with who left me feeling smarter after the conversation. I’ve become a loyal client of HFO.

Greg is great, friendly, interesting, timely in calls and checks in regularly. Honesty is #1 and Greg has that going for him.

Every time I had a problem Todd took care of it. The level of service at HFO is excellent.

Efficient and go-getters. Didn't wait for things to happen, they were active.

We do a lot of transactions and sometimes when there is an issue a broker will tell us "it's not my problem." Lee got in there and really helped beyond what was necessary.

HFO is thoroughly professional.

Since 2006, HFO has consistently been recognized by CoStar as one of Portland Metro's PowerBrokers based on transaction volume. In March of 2021, HFO once again earned this distinction for the 2020 calendar year.

HFO is a very well run brokerage and goes above and beyond in providing information to investors. I really like their roundtables, market updates and podcasts.

I have done 5-6 deals with HFO, and things have gone so well. I use HFO exclusively.

I appreciated Adam’s responsiveness, experience, and knowledge.

My experience with HFO was very, very positive.

HFO doesn't lead sellers into unrealistic expectations of pricing. They are exceptional and advocate for both buyers and sellers' interest.

HFO is the best boutique real estate brokerage in Portland.

I am such a fan of HFO. HFO is night and day better than the firm we used before and I am 100% loyal to them.

Great experience over the years, and I will be using HFO in the future.

My listing was in a smaller market and HFO did a great job of finding buyers. They also did an excellent job handling all the backroom financials and documents.

Greg is great. I'm very happy with him, and the whole HFO team.

True professionals with unparalleled degree of expertise in the Portland multifamily space.

HFO does a great job on the web and email keeping owners posted on the whole political scene.

For the eleventh year in a row, HFO Investment Real Estate is one of Portland's top philanthropic corporations. (2020)

Deep knowledge of the market and personal integrity of the brokers sets HFO apart for our family. As someone who spent 40 years in apartment brokerage, I believe HFO is far ahead of its nearest competitor.

I like that HFO focuses solely on multifamily and does it really well. I like the blog and appreciate HFO-TV. HFO has the experience and focus to get me the best multifamily deal. I wouldn't use anyone else.

There were many landmines in my transaction, and I am glad to have hired HFO because they handled it well. HFO is the only company my wife and I would recommend.