BALTIMORE and MARYLAND LEAD POISONING DEFENSE: LANDLORD DEFENSE TIPS 101

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Charles Jerome Ware, LLC is a premier lead poisoning defense law firm headquartered in Maryland and nationally respected for its long-running and highly successful representation of landlord defendants in lead-based paint poisoning lawsuits. For an initial courtesy consultation, contact the firm at (410) 720-6129. If you have been sued, we can help you.


                                                   SYNOPSIS


For quite a while now, lead poisoning (Plumbism) has been a public health problem in Baltimore and elsewhere in major cities in the United States. Lead (Pb) in Baltimore and other industrial cities  comes from a number of sources including, inter alia, drinking water, plumbing, soil, dust, the air we breathe, some foods , toys, ceramics, pottery, work places, jewelry, etc., and lead-based paint.

In 1977, the Federal government banned the residential use of lead paint both inside and outside of residences in the United States. Therefore, the primary concern over residential lead-based paint comes from residences (houses and apartments) built before 1978. Landlords must be aware of the date their rental property was built, and be prepared to properly maintain the property as " lead-free" as humanly possible.


It should be understood that "uninterrupted" lead paint, alone, is not hazardous to the human body. It "interrupted" lead paint that can be harmful to the body when ingested and/or inhaled: that is, lead paint that is chipped, cracked, in dust form, peeled, etc. Any lead abatement work performed on these properties should be done by Maryland Department of the Environment- lead certified workers. Maintenance, Notice to tenants, and Record-keeping are key for any landlord renting pre-1978 built residential units in Baltimore.


Every landlord for a pre-1978 built property in Baltimore should, at a minimum, be aware of the following two Federal rules:  (1) the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, commonly known as TITLE X, was enacted in an attempt to reduce the number of lead poisoning victims in the United States. It has important lead(Pb) "notice" provisions in it that landlords should be aware of; and (2) the Real Estate Notification Rule  of 1996 ( also known as the " Lead Disclosure Rule" or the " Disclosure Rule") is a right-to-know law that requires notification and disclosure of certain lead-based paint information.