M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal — Owners, Developers & Managers — January 31 - February 13, 2020 — 7B
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O wners , D evelopers & M anagers By Lee E Wasserman, LEW Corporation New York City mold law and the property owner’s responsibilities
T
he New York City Lo- cal Law of 2018, A.K.A. NYC Indoor Asthma
under. Article 32 of NYS labor law requires licensing and minimum work standards for professionals engaged in mold assessment and remediation. There are three main com- ponents to the law. Training: The mold program will protect consumers by requiring con- tractors to obtain appropriate training prior to being licensed to perform mold assessment, remediation, or abatement ser- vices. Licensing: Contractors will not be allowed to advertise or perform covered work with- out the required license, with limited exceptions. For ex- ample, home or business own-
ers performing work on their own properties. Minimum Work Standards: The mold program also establishes new minimum work standards for mold assessments and reme- diation activities by licensed professionals, including: 1) Protection against fraud by prohibiting the performance of both the assessment and remediation on the same prop- erty by the same individual; 2) Protection against fraud by requiring an independent mold assessor to define the scope of the remediation work; 3) Identification of disinfectant products, consistent with U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency standards; 4) Provi- sion of personal protection equipment to employees, as necessary; 5) Posted notice of the project and the contractor's licenses; and 6) The completion of a post-remediation assess- ment. This means, when a NYC multifamily property owner has to correct an indoor mold hazard violation or assess/ correct an indoor mold hazard identified as a result of an inspection by the owner, such assessment and remediation work shall require both a NYS licensed Mold Assessor AND a
NYS licensed Mold Remedia- tor. Both parties (Assessor & Remediator) are required to comply with NYS mold licen- sure law. NYS Mold Assessor and Remediator certifications can be obtained at www.NAE- TI.com. My recommendation: Don’t wait to get a few mem- bers of your staff trained! The indoor allergens, mold and pest, are currently regu- lated whether initiated by complaints of residents, an- nual owner required visual inspections, lease turnovers, or NYC inspections. What should you do? Get some of continued on page 16B
A l l e r g e n Hazards in Residential Dw e l l i n g s a n d P e s t Management will require add i t i o na l time and ed- ucation, with
Lee E. Wasserman
more responsibilities and cer- tifications, some of which are not so easy to consistently manage. We first introduced this in 2018, when the bill became law. I think it’s criti- cal to review some of the key highlights and challenges to be faced when complying. Just to be clear, this law applies to ALL multiple-dwelling prop- erty owners who are now going to be responsible for investigat- ing and remediating indoor allergen hazards like mold, mice and rats, and cockroaches in multiple dwellings, (Exemp- tions may apply to NYCHA and Coops & Condos). In this article, we’re going to focus on some of the new law’s require- ments and challenges. What makes this law’s com- pliance challenging is that NYC is asking us to manage Mother Nature. It‘s hard to beat nature, but it is possible to handle one of its occur- rences: indoor mold (another bad, four-letter word). The new law requires protection against indoor asthma & pest management. This discussion is going to concentrate on the mold component, not the pest management. What are some of YOUR new responsibilities and how can you avoid their very sen- sitive and potentially litigious outcomes? First, education is critical! Someone is going to need to properly communi- cate moisture intrusion and mold related events to your residents. Secondly, because this new law’s definition of Re- mediation/ Remediate (above) specifically requires compli- ance with Section 27-2017.9, which demands, in section B., correcting an indoor mold hazard violation or assessing/ correcting an indoor mold haz- ard identified as a result of an inspection by an owner, such assessment or work shall be performed in compliance with article 32 of the New York State (NYS) labor law and any rules promulgated there-
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