Oregon and Idaho property managers failed to disclose lead paint hazards to renters

EPA News Release:

Oregon and Idaho property managers failed to disclose lead paint hazards to renters

Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Region 10, 206-553-6689, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

(Seattle – June 25, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered three property management companies in Oregon and Idaho to pay more than $15,000 in federal penalties for failing to disclose lead-based paint hazards to renters.

Elite Property Management, Inc. of Corvallis, Oregon, and Advanced Management, Inc. of Keizer, Oregon, and Hill Rental Properties, LLC of Moscow, Idaho, were each fined for violating the federal Lead-Based Paint Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule.

The companies failed to disclose information regarding lead paint and lead-based paint hazards to renters, based on an EPA and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development joint inspection.

Federal lead disclosure rules require property management companies, real estate agencies, property owners, and sellers to inform potential renters or buyers of the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in housing built before 1978.

            

People can get lead in their bodies by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or, especially children - by accidentally eating soil or paint chips containing lead. Improperly removing lead-based paint can also increase the danger to family members.