Murphy Administration Announces Launch of Lead Grant Assistance Program for Inspection of Lead-Based Paint Hazards

• Posted on: 05/15/2023

$7 Million in Funding Will Help New Jersey Municipalities Conduct Inspections in Residential Units Built Prior to 1978

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced the launch of the Lead Grant Assistance Program to help municipalities across the state conduct inspections for lead-based paint hazards in residential tenant-occupied housing built prior to 1978. These inspections are required under P.L. 2021, c. 182, which Governor Murphy signed into law and which took effect in July 2022, and will proactively reduce the risk of lead exposure for children and other vulnerable groups. The $7 million in grant funding will assist New Jersey municipalities with the costs associated with these inspections.

Municipal building inspectors must conduct the lead-based paint hazard inspections of certain single-family, two-family, and multiple-dwelling rental units. If a municipality doesn’t have a permanent local agency for the purpose of conducting inspections and enforcing laws, ordinances, and regulations concerning buildings and structures within the municipality, it can hire a lead evaluation contractor certified by DCA directly or utilize a shared services agreement with another municipality. Any municipality may utilize a shared services agreement for this inspection obligation.

“Governor Murphy and I want all New Jersey residents to live in homes safe from lead-based paint that can poison people, especially young children. This requires regular housing inspections for lead-based paint hazards,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “We recognize inspection work isn’t free, which is why we’ve allocated $7 million in funding to assist local governments in covering the costs. We believe that through frequent inspections we can help significantly reduce lead poisoning and improve people’s health.”  

The Lead Grant Assistance Program announced today is a separate initiative that will complement the Murphy Administration’s investment of $180 million in the State Fiscal Year 2023 budget to address lead poisoning. Earlier this year, DCA awarded $38 million in grants as part of a competitive application process to 20 organizations to help them work with property owners to make lead-safe repairs when lead-based paint hazards are found during housing inspections. Also, DCA partnered with the New Jersey Departments of Health (DOH) and Environmental Protection (DEP) to strengthen the State’s Potential Lead Exposure Mapping (PLEM) tool, which provides publicly available data to indicate potential sources of lead exposure. The tool can be found at Potential Lead Exposure Mapping (PLEM) – Housing in New Jersey (arcgis.com).

DCA will make funding available to municipalities that either responded affirmatively to an interest in receiving Lead Grant Assistance Program funding, or failed to indicate whether they would be interested in receiving this funding. Municipalities that indicated they were not interested will not be eligible for this first round of Lead Grant Assistance funding, but will be if subsequent rounds are announced. 

DCA has pre-calculated Lead Grant Assistance award amounts for each eligible municipality based on its number of renter-occupied single-family and two-family housing units constructed before 1980 (the closest available data period to pre-1978), as reported by property owners to the U.S. Census Bureau in the American Community Survey from 2017 to 2021. These units closely align with the type of properties subject to inspection under P.L 2021, c. 182. 

Grant award estimates to the eligible municipalities can be found at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/programs/lgapfunding.shtml on the DCA website.

Municipalities can use the grant funding to: 

• Hire and train municipal personnel who will perform inspections for lead-based paint hazards in rental units subject to P.L. 2021, c. 182.
• Pay an appropriate lead evaluation contractor or pay another municipality in an appropriate shared service agreement if permitted under P.L. 2021, c. 182 to perform the inspections.
• Cover personnel costs attributable to lead-based paint hazard inspections by existing employees.
• Purchase materials and supplies required for carrying out the inspections, such as for dust wipe sampling.
• Pay for outreach/educational materials and mailings to property owners subject to inspection, including materials intended to identify property owners of single-family and two-family rental units.

Expenditures incurred between January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 are eligible under the grant. 

In order to secure the grant funding, eligible municipalities must submit to DCA a resolution from their governing body that acknowledges participation in the Lead Grant Assistance Program and authorizes the execution of a grant agreement and compliance to the terms and conditions of the agreement. They must also submit a Lead Grant Assistance Program grant agreement signed by an authorized official. The resolution and signed grant agreement are due to DCA by 5 p.m. on July 7, 2023.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, historic preservation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: