Project Partner: Center for Governmental Research (CGR)
Project Funder: Greater Rochester Health Foundation
Project Contact: Jonathan Wilson, jwilson@nchh.org, 443.539.4162
Project Description
Rochester, New York, was the first U.S. city to have a housing inspection law that incorporates both visual inspections and dust wipes for rental units located in areas at high risk for lead paint problems. The Center for Governmental Research (CGR) conducted a two-year study of the impact of the law from July 2006 to July 2008. CGR found that nearly 3,440 housing units have been or will be made lead safe because of the law; however, nearly one-third of the units with interior lead hazards would have been missed without dust wipe testing. The odds that a child with an elevated blood lead level lived in rental housing in the city decreased sharply in the two years after the law went into effect. The cost of compliance by landlords was lower than expected.
Resources
Final Evaluation of the City of Rochester’s Lead Law: 2006-2008 [pdf]
Year One Evaluation of the City of Rochester’s Lead Law [pdf]
Latest page update: October 3, 2017.