Anaheim, CA Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Anaheim has a large stock of pre-1978 housing, particularly in the Anaheim Colony and central neighborhoods, which makes lead-paint rules highly relevant to local construction. Two parallel regulatory schemes apply. The federal EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule (40 CFR Part 745) requires any contractor performing renovation, repair, or painting that disturbs more than 6 square feet of interior paint or 20 square feet of exterior paint in a pre-1978 dwelling or child-occupied facility to be an EPA-certified Lead-Safe firm, to follow specific containment and cleaning practices, and to provide the EPA Renovate Right pamphlet to owners and occupants before work begins. California has primacy for this program through the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, which enforces Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, Division 1, Chapter 8. Title 17 layers additional rules for lead abatement (work specifically intended to permanently reduce lead hazards) including mandatory clearance testing, certified lead-related construction supervisors and workers, and pre-work notifications to CDPH. Homeowners doing work on their own primary residence are exempt from the certified-firm requirement but must still handle debris as hazardous waste if it tests above regulatory limits. Anaheim Building and Safety requires disclosure of lead-related construction on permit applications for work in pre-1978 structures, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District enforces exterior dust controls during paint removal. Tenant-occupied rental units trigger additional landlord disclosure duties under 42 USC 4852d.