The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued guidance to public housing authorities (PHA), Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) property owners and Project-Based Voucher (PBV) property owners regarding required actions when a child in a family receiving public housing, HCV or PBV assistance is identified as having an elevated blood level (EBLL).
The guidance identifies various actions that must be taken when a child under age 6 is identified with an EBLL, including notifying HUD, notifying the local health department if necessary, verification of the case if necessary, environmental investigation, control of the lead hazard within 30 days, notifying other residents and ongoing monitoring. For public housing, the PHA is the responsible party. For PBV, the property owner is the responsible party. For HCV, the PHA is the responsible party but the property owner is responsible for certain response activities.
The guidance also reminds owners of PBV properties that receive more than $5,000 annually per unit in assistance that they must ensure that units built prior to 1978 receive a lead risk assessment, regardless of whether there are children under age 6 in residence, that occupants are informed of the result of the risk assessment, that identified lead paint hazards receive interim controls and that there is clearance by a certified risk assessor before re-occupancy. PBV owners must also monitor and maintain any remaining lead based paint and hazard controls with annual visual inspections and reinspections with testing every two years. (PIH Notice 2017-13, August 10, 2017.)