10D — May 10 - 23, 2019 — Multifamily — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
Multifamily
By Lee Wasserman, LEW Corporation New York’s ‘Indoor Allergen’ Law: What landlords need to know
N
YC Local Law 55 of 2018, A.K.A. NYC In- door Asthma Allergen
er 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 the land- lord’s new responsibilities and how can you avoid their very sensitive and potentially litigious outcomes? First, edu- cation is critical! Someone is going to need to properly com- municate moisture intrusion and mold related events to your residents. Secondly, be- cause this new law’s definition
of Remediation/ Remediate (above) specifically requires compliance with Section 27- 2017.9, which demands, in section B., correcting an indoor mold hazard violation or as- sessing/ correcting an indoor mold hazard 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 pro- mulgated thereunder. 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 programwill protect consumers by requiring con- tractors to obtain appropriate training prior to being licensed to perform mold assessment, remediation, or abatement services. Licensing: Contrac- tors will not be allowed to advertise or perform covered work without the required license, with limited excep- tions. For example, home or business owners performing work on their own properties.
Minimum Work Standards: The mold program also es- tablishes new minimum work standards for mold assess- ments and remediation ac- tivities by licensed profession- als, including: 1)Protection against fraud by prohibiting the performance of both the assessment and remediation on the same property by the same individual; 2) Protection against fraud by requiring an independent mold assessor to define the scope of the reme- diation work; 3) Identifica- tion of disinfectant products, consistent with U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency standards; 4) Provision 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 assessment. 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 to be regulated whether initiated by com- plaints of residents, annual owner required visual inspec- tions, lease turnovers, or NYC inspections. Get some of your staff trained in NYS Mold certifications (www.NAETI. com) or get affiliated with a NYS mold assessor or reme- diator (www.LEWCorp.com). Perform a visual survey for moisture intrusion and mold growth. Consider purchas- ing a moisture meter and thermal imaging, but, most importantly, have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for compliance with Local Law 55 of 2018. Lee Wasserman, founder of LEW Corporation (Est. 1992), is a nationally rec- ognized industry leader who specializes in Envi- ronmental microbial and lead-based paint issues.
Hazards in Residential Dw e l l i n g s a n d P e s t M a n a g e - ment is now live and en- forced! What makes this law challeng-
Lee Wasserman
ing 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 oc- currences: indoor mold (anoth-
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