In this Section:

Subpart M. TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE

M1. PREGNANT WOMEN:  Section 35.1200(b) states that subpart M "applies only to dwelling units occupied or to be occupied by families or households that have one or more children of less that 6 years of age. . ." Does this mean that the subpart applies to a unit with a family that includes a pregnant woman but no other children?

Yes. If the designated party knows that the family includes a pregnant woman, the regulation applies, because it is known that the unit is "to be occupied" by a family with a child of less than 6 years of age. This interpretation is consistent with the definition of the term "expected to reside" (in section 35.110), where the regulation states that, "if a resident woman is known to be pregnant, there is actual knowledge that a child will reside in the dwelling unit."

M2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF OWNERS AND DESIGNATED PARTIES: Under the new HUD lead-based paint regulation, what are the responsibilities of the designated party administering tenant-based rental assistance versus the owner of the property?

Below is a list of: (1) activities that may be required in housing occupied or to be occupied by families with children of less than 6 years of age under subpart M of the regulation and (2) the corresponding responsible party. According to 35.1200(b)(2)(ii), for purposes of the Section 8 tenant-based certificate and voucher programs the PHA shall be the designated party. For purposes of the HOPWA and Shelter Plus Care programs, the grantee shall be the designated party. For the purposes of the HOME program, the participating jurisdiction shall be the designated party. For the Indian Housing Block Grant program, the IHBG recipient shall be the designated party.

Activity Responsible Party Visual assessment at initial and periodic inspections. Designated party. Paint stabilization. Owner Clearance. Designated party. Notice of clearance. Owner. Incorporation of ongoing lead-based paint maintenance into regular building operations. Owner must perform the ongoing lead-based paint maintenance. Designated party must ensure that an owner incorporates ongoing maintenance into regular building operations. Attempt to obtain from health department names and/or addresses of children with environmental intervention blood lead level. Designated party. Report to health department addresses of assisted units, unless health department states it does not want such a report. Designated party. Match information from health department on names and/or addresses of children with names or addresses of assisted families. Designated party, unless health department does it.

The following is a list of activities that are required in a dwelling unit occupied by a child of less than six years of age with an environmental intervention blood lead level:

Activity Responsible Party Risk assessment within 15 days after notification. Designated party, unless public health department has already done it. Verification of blood lead level, if initial source of information is not a medical health care provider.. Designated party must obtain written documentation of the child's blood lead level from the health department or other medical health care provider. Hazard reduction of lead-based paint hazards identified in the risk assessment. Owner. Clearance. Designated party. Notice of evaluation and hazard reduction. Owner. Reporting to health department the presence of child with environmental intervention blood lead level if health department is not source of information. Designated party.

Note:  For purposes of the section 8 of the tenant-based certificate and voucher programs, initial clearance testing and risk assessments will be reimbursed by HUD in the form of an administrative fee.

M3. FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN:  The regulation states that the requirements of subpart M apply only to units that are occupied by families with a child of less than 6 years of age.  It further states, in section 35.1225, that if a child living in a unit subject to subpart M is found to have an environmental intervention blood lead level and then that child moves out before any lead hazard evaluation or reduction work is done, the requirements of section 35.1225 still apply if another family with tenant-based rental assistance moves into the unit.  Does this mean any assisted family, or only one with a child under 6?

The requirements apply to the unit regardless of whether or not the new assisted family has a child under 6. If HUD funds continue to assist the unit, a risk assessment must be conducted and if lead hazards are found they must be corrected.

M4. LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM RENTAL ASSISTANCE:  Section 33.115(a)(11) provides an exemption for emergency assistance lasting less than 100 days. It specifically mentions rental assistance but exempts it only from the requirements of Subpart K.  However, rental assistance is discussed in Subpart M. This seems inconsistent.

Short-term, emergency rental assistance is covered by subpart K. The rental assistance to which subpart M applies is longer term assistance, usually involving a one-year lease.  The same is true with project-based rental assistance, which is covered by subpart H. (See also K7.)

M5. HOME SECURITY DEPOSIT ASSISTANCE:  If a Participating Jurisdiction uses HOME funds for a security deposit assistance program, what lead-based paint requirements apply?

In the HOME Program, security deposit assistance is a form of tenant-based rental assistance. Consequently, it might be expected that subpart M of the lead-based paint regulation would apply to these programs. However, Subpart M is intended to apply to housing that receives ongoing tenant-based rental assistance rather than limited, one-time assistance such as security deposit assistance. Because security deposit assistance does not constitute an ongoing relationship with a Federal housing program, the requirements of subpart K apply. The applicable requirements are visual assessment for deteriorated paint and stabilization of any deteriorated paint, followed by clearance and notice of clearance results.

M6. CONFIDENTIAL MEDICAL INFORMATION:  In some States the public health department is not able to provide the public housing agency or other designated party with the addresses of children with environmental intervention blood lead levels because of privacy concerns.  In such cases, how will the housing agency be able to comply with the requirement to search for a match of such addresses with the addresses of housing receiving tenant-based rental assistance?

If the health department is unable to provide addresses to the housing agency, the housing agency should send the addresses of housing with tenant-based assistance to the health department and request that the health department perform the match and notify the housing agency or other designated party of the presence of any children with such blood lead levels. (A list of pre-1978 units occupied by children of less than 6 years old is acceptable.) That will meet the information exchange requirements at section 35.1225(f) of the regulation.

HUD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly urge public health departments and housing agencies to work together to assure that children who have environmental intervention blood lead levels and are living in housing with tenant-based rental assistance receive the assistance from the public agencies and housing owners that is called for in the regulation. The requirement for information exchange between health and housing agencies stems from a finding in 1994 by the United States General Accounting Office that many children living in housing with Section 8 certificates or vouchers were not being adequately protected from lead-based paint hazards because health agencies often did not know that the home of a child with an elevated blood lead level was federally assisted and therefore did not ask the housing agency to require a response from the owner pursuant to HUD's regulations (see report number GAO/RCED-94-137, May 1994).