Landlord Agrees To Pay $120K+ In Inspection & Abatement Costs, Penalties To Settle Environment Feds' Allegations Of Failing To Provide Prospective Tenants With Lead Paint Disclosure Information When Renting Apartments

In New Haven, Connecticut, the New Haven Register reports:

• A landlord in the city with one of the largest holdings has agreed to perform lead inspection and abatement work at three of his properties in a consent agreement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
  
  Sam Hecht, president of Pike International, also agreed to pay a fine for allegedly not providing general information to his tenants about the dangers of lead paint or whether their specific apartments contained lead-based paint.
  
  The EPA said it found “numerous instances” of non-compliance with notification rules and with the correct practice for removing lead-based paint.
  
  Pike International, owns and/or manages more than 800 apartments in the city. It neither admits nor denies “the factual and legal allegations” brought by the EPA, according to the agreement.
  
  Hecht will pay a penalty of $12,139 and by Oct. 31, 2018, it will spend at least $109,246 on lead inspection and abatement where needed at the three complexes.
  
  Those apartments are: Quinnipiac Gardens at 13-14 Quinnpiac Ave.; units at 522 Fountain St., and apartments at 226 Ellsworth Ave.
  
  “As a result of this settlement, Pike and its related entities will comply with federal lead paint laws. This action will help to ensure that tenants in the New Haven area, including children, will be better protected from the risks of lead-based paint,” the EPA said in a statement.
  
  Pike International, in its statement, said it “admitted to no guilt on any of the allegations.”
  
  It said “as a service to the New Haven community, it agreed to continue to lower the lead levels in some of its community buildings. In all instances these services are not mandated by federal or state law.”
  
  A total of 10 apartment complexes are listed in the consent agreement with the EPA, which Hecht signed in May. The original complaint by the EPA was brought in March 2016 with answers provided by Pike in August 2016.
  
  The consent agreement also involves the following properties: 173-175 Park St.; 1533 Chapel St.; 287 Norton St.; 325 Fountain St.; 477 Prospect St. and 80 Sherman Ave.
  
  The EPA said the agreement resolves alleged notification violations and renovation rules that stipulate use of trained certified personnel to supervise and remove lead-based paint.
  
  The consent decree states that Pike agreed that settling the matter “without further litigation is the most appropriate means of resolving this matter.”
  
  Pike said the “findings of the EPA were in a handful of leases among thousands of signed leases over the 17 years of the company’s existence, which indicates close to a 99 percent compliance record. Pike continues to work with all federal, state and city agencies to make New Haven safer for all its residents.”
  
  The environmental agency mandates that tenants be given general information about the dangers of lead, particularly to children, and specific information about an apartment before a lease is signed.
  
  It said this is important because tenants will then learn how to protect themselves and make an informed decision as whether or not to rent a particular unit.
  
  Lead-based paint was in wide use in pre-1978 housing and the removal rules are designed to protect tenants when an older home is remodeled.
  
  David Deegan, spokesman for the Boston office, said the danger comes from peeling or chipping paint and the dust left behind if it is removed incorrectly. He said it is the kind of thing that small children can easily ingest.
  
  “Lead poisoning of infants and children can cause lowered intelligence, reading and learning disability, impaired hearing, reduced attention span, hyperactivity and behavior problems. Adults with high lead levels can suffer difficulties during pregnancy, high blood pressure, nerve disorders, memory problems and muscle and joint pain,” according to the EPA.
  
  Pike has also been ordered to put a record-keeping system in place to make sure tenants are told of the potential hazard and the renovation rules are followed.
  
  Deegan said property owners are not mandated to test for lead.

Source: New Haven landlord to pay more than $100,000 for lead cleanup at 3 complexes (EPA targets 3 complexes in city).