![Lead paint in older homes is a major source of poisoning in Cleveland. [ideastream file image]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f3824e4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F4%2F30%2Fhousepaint.jpg)
Cleveland鈥檚 coalition to prevent lead poisoning says the city should require landlords to protect tenants from lead paint.
The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, which the city announced in January, plans to submit its recommendations to City Council on Wednesday.
Under the proposal, the city would mandate that rental owners obtain certificates showing they鈥檝e minimized kids鈥� exposure to chipped or peeling paint. The rules would apply to properties built before 1978, the year lead paint was banned in the U.S.
鈥淭he core of the recommendations from the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition are really on primary prevention,鈥� said coalition member Mark McDermott from housing nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners. 鈥淭hat is, having housing that鈥檚 lead safe and that keeps kids from having lead poisoning.鈥�
While the city would run the certificate program, private inspectors would check properties for hazards, he said.
鈥淭he inspections themselves, along the way we鈥檙e recommending, would be carried out by certified, third-party inspectors, not by the city,鈥� he said.
Failure to comply would be a civil, not a criminal penalty. The city would roll the program out in phases over three years. The proposal also calls for a fund to help landlords pay for remediation.
The coalition also recommends hiring a lead-safe auditor to monitor the certificate program and a lead-safe ombudsperson to investigate complaints.
Council would have to introduce and pass legislation for the program to become reality.
Read the proposals below. .
