New York, NY Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Local Law 1 of 2004 requires owners of buildings built before 1960 (or built between January 1, 1960, and January 1,1978, if the owner knows there is lead-based paint) to presume that the paint is lead-based paint, identify and address lead-based paint hazards, particularly in buildings with children under the age of six years old routinely spending 10 or more hours per week ("residing") in a dwelling unit. The requirement for paint testing applies to these same buildings regardless of whether a child under six currently resides in the building. Multiple dwelling buildings (3 or more residential units) built before 1960 Multiple dwelling buildings built between January 1, 1960, and January 1,1978, if the owner knows there is lead-based paint Tenant occupied units in private dwellings (1-2 residential units) built prior to 1960 Coop/Condos dwelling units not being occupied by the owner or a family member of the owner. A lead-based paint hazard exists when there is peeling or disturbed paint on a surface in a building built before 1960 in an apartment where a child under six routinely spends 10 or more hours per week ("residing") in a dwelling unit unless the surfaces have all been tested and there is less than 0.5 mg/cms 2 of lead in the paint. By August 2025, property owners were required to test all painted surfaces one time for lead in apartments and common areas of a building built prior to 1960. This requirement must also be met if the rental building was built between 1960 and 1978 in cases where owner has actual knowledge of lead-based paint.