Federal Lead and Healthy Homes Program Provides Funding for Deleading Rental Properties

By Kimberly Rau, MassLandlords, Inc.

Several cities and towns throughout Massachusetts are making use of federal grant programs designed to help homeowners and investors remove lead and other hazards from their dwelling units. The Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program (LHCHH) offers thousands of dollars to homeowners, including landlords, and investors who want to make their homes or rental units safe from lead, radon, asbestos and other safety hazards. The program is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Lead paint is dangerous and poses a real health threat. But deleading is very expensive. If your city or town offers deleading grants, see if you can ease the burden for your rental properties.

The state website lists nine municipalities as of 2022 that are offering HUD funds to help qualifying owners and investors de-lead their homes and rental units. Not all of these may be utilizing the LHCHH program, but do have HUD funds available for lead remediation.

Boston, Brockton, Lawrence, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Springfield, Worcester and Quincy are all offering federal funds for lead abatement. Quincy’s program, the South Shore Healthy Homes Program, also applies to homes in Weymouth. Other areas may have different programs or grants available. Check with your city or town to find out what, if any, deleading assistance is offered.

What is the Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program?

The HUD-funded LHCHH is a limited-time program that reimburses homeowners thousands of dollars for lead paint remediation. The amount that homeowners and investors can receive varies by city.

For instance, a flyer sent to Worcester residents states that the city’s Lead and Healthy Homes Program will reimburse qualifying homeowners 100% of their deleading costs, up to $10,000. Malden will reimburse $9,100 per dwelling unit and $5,000 for other healthy homes initiatives. Brockton offers up to $20,000 in no-interest forgivable loans for lead remediation. The city of Lynn was most recently awarded $9.3 million in grant money from HUD for lead abatement. However, only certain addresses in Lynn qualify for lead removal grants.

The city of New Bedford will reimburse up to 50% of the costs of deleading, with a maximum grant of $2,500 per unit and three units, or $7,500, per fiscal year. Lawrence utilizes HUD funding, but its grant and loan programs appear to be for owner-occupied homes only. It does not mention what, if anything, is available for landlords who own property but do not live in it. (An email seeking clarification was not answered in time for the publication of this article.)  Springfield has the Healthy Homes Program, but is not currently taking new applications as it is dealing with a backlog.

Make sure you check with your city or town to find out how much you could qualify for, and what the rules are for obtaining funding.

Under the LHCHH program, you must delead your property to be eligible for reimbursement.

What are the Requirements for the Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program?

Program requirements may vary by municipality. For example, in Worcester, your building must have a child under the age of 6 in the home or be under an order to correct the lead issues in the home to be eligible for LHCHH program funds. You cannot already have a current lead paint letter of compliance.

Quincy, on the other hand, states that owner-occupied buildings must have a child under 6 who lives there or visits frequently. For rental properties, a child under 6 does not need to be living there to qualify for funding, but landlords are required to give preference to families with children under age 6 in the event of future vacancy. Boston requires similar prioritization for buildings that are not owner-occupied.

Malden will prioritize grant money for homes with children under age 6, but only makes funding available for homes built prior to 1978.

Many of the programs appear to have some income level requirement. Worcester goes off of HUD low- and moderate-income guidelines, as does Malden and Lawrence. These limits will vary by city or town, as well as household family size. You can use HUD’s website to check your area’s home income thresholds. Boston states that landlords applying for funding must have 50% or more of their tenants living at low- or moderate-income level. The rest of the tenants must be at or below 80% of the Community Development Block Grant “moderate” income level.

Brockton’s program appears to be managed by the Brockton Redevelopment Authority. Their page (linked above) is light on details, requesting that you contact them for more information. However, their application does ask for income information for relevant parties. The site Self Help, Inc. had more detailed information about the program, and states that household income must be at 80% or below area median income to qualify.

Why You Should Take Advantage of Federal Deleading Grants

In Massachusetts, you cannot rent a home with lead paint to a family with a child under 6. If you do, you could be held liable for any lead-related injury the child suffers, even if they also had lead exposure elsewhere. This is called “strict liability.” Even if there’s no evidence the lead poisoning came from your unit, you will be held responsible in Massachusetts. But, you cannot refuse to rent to families with young children. That’s considered discrimination. So, you must delead.

But deleading isn’t just the law, it’s a good idea. Lead paint is dangerous, which is why it was banned in 1978. High amounts of lead can kill you. Lower amounts can lower your IQ. Lead exposure has been linked to lower earning potential, decreased decision-making abilities and a higher likelihood of committing a crime. It makes sense that lead paint is banned, but banning lead paint didn’t remove its presence in older homes. You still have to make those homes safe from lead poisoning.

The problem is, deleading is notoriously expensive. The state average for deleading a housing unit is somewhere around $6,000 per unit, but costs can easily double or triple that, especially when windows are involved. A large home with lots of lead paint could end up costing $30,000 to fully delead. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of grants or forgivable loans that could help offset at least some of the cost?

MassLandlords executive director Douglas Quattrochi was hesitant to make use of Worcester’s program, and wishes he had.

“When I renovated my three-decker in Worcester, I didn't take advantage of these programs because I was worried about the income restriction,” he said. “Turns out I would have rented to exactly the same income brackets and would have found the same great renters. Just, I would have spent a lot less.”

It’s worth noting that the low-income limit for a family of four in Worcester is 80% of the area median family income. In 2022, this was $88,400. In Boston and Lynn, that same family of four could have a household income of $111,850 and still be considered low income by HUD standards. Given those numbers, how many of your tenants would qualify for a lead grant?

Conclusion

If deleading one or more of your rental units is on your renovation schedule for 2023, anything that can make things easier on your wallet should be welcomed with open arms. If you live in one of the cities or towns mentioned in this article, consider applying for HUD funds to delead your properties. If you live in another area, contact your city or town to find out what programs may be available to you.