WEEK IN REVIEW

Week of May 26 - June 1, 2008

May 29
LAUNCH OF LEAD MITIGATION CERTIFICATE SEARCH AND LIVE DEMONSTRATION
The State of Rhode Island, Housing Resources Commission today announced public access to Lead Hazard Mitigation Certificates of Conformance. The Certificate verifies that a rental property has passed an Independent Clearance Inspection in compliance with the state’s Lead Hazard Mitigation Act. The Act was passed in 2002 and mandates that owners of rental properties built before 1978 must have a Certificate for each rental unit owned. Rhode Island renters will now be able to check on a rental home’s lead status through a simple two step computer search.

The launch of the site featured a demonstration of the Lead Mitigation Certificate Search. Access to the information is available by going to the Housing Resources website at www.HRC.ri.gov. By choosing “New! Lead Mitigation Certificate Search” at the top of the home page, a user has the option of searching by specific address, by street name across communities, or by an individual community. By clicking on the address, the inquiry will reveal the number of units, the floor of the unit, and the date of the last inspection.

“This is one of the most useful tools for the prevention of childhood lead poisoning that we have offered to the public,” according to Susan Baxter, Chair of the Housing Resources Commission. “We hope that every potential tenant will take one minute to ensure that a property has a Certificate of Conformance before signing a rental agreement. Those seeking a safe home for themselves and their families now have a terrific new resource to know if a home has been inspected. We are so pleased to make this easy and useful tool available to the public.”

The tool will also be useful for landlords who wish to check that a unit is listed or to find out when they had their last inspection. It will also provide important information to those considering a purchase of a multi-family home. Noreen Shawcross, Chief of Housing and Community Development stated, “We hope that this public information will assist property owners, tenants and homebuyers to join in the crucially important effort to prevent childhood lead poisoning.”

An additional service for both landlords and tenants is the link to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), which provides a comprehensive overview of lead mitigation. Information about complying with the law, contents of Lead Hazard Awareness Classes, inspections, safe practices for repairs, and insurance are readily available by selecting from the questions listed.

The event will also acknowledge those who had worked for passage of the Lead Hazard Mitigation Act.

• Click here for Week in Review from previous week