City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown Thursday morning called for mandatory lead testing for rental apartments and a prohibition on renting those apartments until they are certified safe from lead exposure.
Brown estimated the inspection fees at between $100 and $150 but acknowledged that the lead-free requirement would be a significant expense for landlords. Part of the public hearing process to develop the bill will be finding ways to pay for lead removal to reduce the burden on property owners, she said.
The bill would apply to rental apartments built before 1978, when lead-based paint -- the primary cause of lead poisoning -- was banned for residences. An inspector could certify a unit lead-safe - meaning there was no exposed lead - or lead-free, which would free the owner from subsequent inspections.
Brown said that 2,500 children each year in Philadelphia are diagnosed with lead poisoning, an unacceptable statistic, she said.
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Our health and safety are worth the small expense. As it stands, the Certificate of Rent Suitability is not enforced by L&I. I talked with L&I and said they do not think it is used anymore. There is nothing to ensure the safety of rentals in the city.— phillypapers- There's nothing to ensure me safety from BULLETS :D!— RAP_SUX
- Almost all properties built before the 70s will most likely test positive. The goal is noble but the tennants will foot the bill— lonniesg
- As a balance, I think the tests should be mandatory, but the rental ban should only apply to children (enforced on the tenant).— Politburo
- The cost of remedial education and supports for children and youth who have been exposed to lead is astronomical. Lead poisoning can cause severe limitations on cognitive abilities, crippling a child's ability to grow up to be a productive adult, and costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in education, social, employment and correction services. Seems like a modest investment given the potential for long term harm and longer term, and expensive, services to those effected by lead. Seems like a no brainer, really.— btruth
- OMG. The state has to just take over fixing property tax assessments and collections, because Council can't prioritize how to tackle their normal day. The city is owed $400 million in overdue property taxes that it hasn't collected, and most of that was owed long before the recession. New assessments are on hold for two years because the new mayoral appointee is too timid to start fixing things progressively. Meanwhile, Nutter just tried to close libraries. The city is owed $1 billion, yes, with a B, in forfeit bail owed by court no shows! THIS NEEDS IMMEDIATE COUNCIL ATTENTION. The lead paint issues is covered by state and federal action, and even by the rental suitability requirements in the city now. Does anyone in Council really understand that they have to know what their own scope and priorities are? You can't enforce any of this now because the city is strapped for cash, so just adding more and more unfunded laws is pointless. This Council needs terms limits, because the crew first elected with Street is a sad commentary.— CleanupPhilly
- Ma'am...what about all the people who die each day due to "Lead Poisoning"/bullets!? For over 2 yeaqrs now, the City Council has been told, in writing, with evidence, about "The Rendell Murders". Rendell (SINCE 2003) releasing about 100,000 State Prison Inmates AND NOT returning them to Prison for PAROLE VIOLATIONS. Time after time, crime victim after crime victim and you and the Council did nothing (except stup the help, count your DROP money, and betray Sacred Public Trust.— John Law
- Council has to work on creating a government that is funded and works. L&I can handle this if Council allows L&I to collect on fines at foreclosure or sheriff sale over a certain amount. Council just has to collect property taxes and bail to fund the regulatory mechanisms in the city in place now. Without a functioning government, Philly is Haiti. That is the problem that coming at voter complaint reflexively won't piecemeal fix. Reactionary Council members who just shoot randomly at this and that don't get permanent solutions, because the funding of the system is still broken. How do you get them to see that? We cannot continue to not collect property taxes at sheriff sale. We can't continue to not collect forfeit bail. This money is used to fund these city programs. If there's no money in the till, there's no program. Can someone please explain this to Council slowly for me?— CleanupPhilly
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- I think there should be a "lead-free" type test for the common sense and amount of brain matter in city council members. Please stop the insanity. Solve the murder problem first.— nobodycares
- I remember the rental license used to be $10...now $50 - just for the privilege of renting...while receiving nothing in return from the city...while I am all for lead removal - how about this...tell your kids NOT to eat paint....feed them properly and take some respsonsibility...if the paint is chipped - clean it and then call the landlord...by the way - how do you know the lead came from the house - it could have come from the scool drinking water...came from another house, etc....just a money grab— gogglespaisano
- meant to type school - not scool— gogglespaisano
- If this passes I can see more boarded up buildinng, landlords walking away from the properties, no loans from loan companies, low income having more problems in finding affordable housing, landloads with lead free properties getting top dollar for what is left to rent, more shieff sales, less collected property taxes etc. good going brown you are such a liberal.— George Hanna
- Dear fellow citizens, tomorrow, 12pm, city hall, pitchforks, be there.— yawns
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