Ridgewood, NJ Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Chapter 228, Article I, Lead-Based Paint Inspections, adopted February 14, 2024 by Ordinance No. 3982, defines a LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD at § 228-1 as any condition that causes exposure to lead from lead-contaminated dust or lead-contaminated paint that is deteriorated or present on surfaces, in a way that would result in adverse human health effects. A. 16(d), after which the Village's lead evaluation contractor performs a follow-up inspection to certify the hazard is gone. If no hazard is found in the first place, § 228-4B has the Village's lead evaluator certify the dwelling as lead-safe on a Department of Community Affairs form, valid for two years, and the owner must then give proof of that certification and of the most recent tenant turnover at every cyclical inspection, hand a copy of the certification to new tenants at turnover, and keep records naming the tenants covered by each inspection.

A LEAD-FREE dwelling, also defined in § 228-1, is one certified to have no lead-based paint at all or to have completed abatement, while a LEAD-SAFE dwelling has simply been found free of outstanding hazards at the time of inspection, a narrower and temporary status. The remediation and certification duties apply to every rental single-family, two-family and multiple dwelling unit in the Village of Ridgewood, Bergen County, under § 228-2, subject only to the exemptions the state Lead Hazard Control Assistance Act itself allows.