Rochester, NY Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Section 90-55 sits within Rochester's Lead-Based Paint Registry article (§§ 90-50 through 90-57) but reaches every inspection trigger the Department runs, not just lead cases: certificate of occupancy applications, certificate renewals under § 90-16, and complaint-based inspections all get the same baseline visual assessment for deteriorated paint and bare soil violations. The section specifically addresses tenant complaints: 'where the filing of a complaint leads to an inspection, the inspection shall include the unit which is the focus of the complaint and all common areas,' so an inspector responding to one tenant's complaint is also required to check hallways, entryways and other shared spaces in the same building.

For units inside the City's designated Lead Paint High-Risk Area, if the visual assessment finds no interior deteriorated paint violation, the owner must still have certified dust samples taken and results submitted to the Department within 60 days; missing that deadline draws a dust sample violation, and an identified, uncleared dust-lead hazard draws a separate dust-lead hazard violation. Clearing either violation requires certification under the standards in § 90-57. The High-Risk Area itself is identified by the Mayor or the Mayor's designee, based on Monroe County Health Department inspection data combined with elevated blood-lead-level inspection findings.