If you are a landlord, there are also other things that you should be making sure you are doing. Perhaps you may be ready to accept the risk of living in the house yourself. But if you are renting out the unit, you should be certain of its condition. Therefore, we recommend that you have a contractor come by with either the 3M lead tests that we sell or an XRF testing device.
When you are a landlord renting out your property, the question isn’t just whether you feel sufficiently safe living there yourself. It is also whether or not you are providing the necessary information to a new tenant that they are required to have.
Our recommendations are always to reach out to your local building community and investigate their requirements. Certain states are much more strict than others. It is not uncommon for landlords to get fined significant amounts of money when they don’t comply with the relevant laws. Suppose you imagine that you have a property which you are renting out and making a nice return on money from. If you are not complying with the local legislation, you may get a considerable fine. Sometimes, a state starts looking into cases where the landlords have not provided the necessary documentation. In those situations, you could even get a fine as large as $37,500.
Some landlords may also find pleasure in doing a lot of the home improvement work themselves. It may be a great way to save money on a project.
You can make a lot of money if you buy a property that is perhaps a little older and chooses to put the work into it. You can increase its value considerably. That’s great!
You may be able to do a lot of the work yourself if you plan to live there. The RRP rules may be different if you do it to make money on your investment. Suppose you aren’t living in the house yourself. In that case, it is very hard to argue that you were doing it without the financial gain being your motive.
Why would you take the project upon yourself in the first place if your intention wasn’t to make money from renting out the place that you own?
There is always an inherent risk associated with the purchase of the property. On top of that, you would also ask yourself if you are ready to accept the extra work. You will have extra responsibilities and challenges and be facing other troubles if you are a landlord. Perhaps you end up renting your place to someone who has difficulties paying the rent on time. Consequently, you have to find the money for the mortgage somewhere else.
Being a landlord means financial gains
It is a very hard case to argue that you were remodeling your house without expecting a higher return on your money. If you are putting in an entirely new kitchen, you will also expect to be able to raise the rent in the future. It wasn’t to increase the value of your rental property. Therefore, you need to be compliant if the EPA asks for documentation for the various remodeling projects.
Suppose you are a landlord who enjoys doing many home improvement projects yourself. In that case, you should know the possible implications of being a landlord. If you only own homes built after 1978, you can keep doing the home improvement on them yourself.
That ensures that you have the necessary licenses that you may be asked to provide. If you own a home built after 1978, life will be easier. Then you will not have the burden of documenting the testing for lead when upgrading your unit.
Is this a real concern you should be thinking about?
We are often asked by people whether or not they really should be concerned with RRP regulations. Is this an issue in today’s world with all we know about painting? They ask us what the wording means. Suppose you’re a landlord or a contractor. In that case, it may be tempting to ask yourself whether you really should be concerned about the probability of getting fined by the EPA. Should you just be dealing with the situation if that ever happens?
Our answer is always a resounding yes. You should be concerned about it as the consequences of ignoring the rules can financially cripple you. You may not think that it is likely that the EPA will come to the town that you live in. But there is always a risk that it will happen, and the effort of preventing is well worthwhile trouble.
Are you a landlord and want to investigate deeper into these things yourself? In that case, we recommend that you continue reading on the EPA’s website. There are situations where it may be safe to live in a house that has lead paint. But in most situations, you will want to be sure that you have done the necessary and legally required testing. This testing can be done with an XRF machine or lead testing kits.
