This story was produced as part of the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship.
There are no safe levels of lead in the body, yet the metal is a persistent toxin we live with today. In Oakland, roughly 80,000 rental homes likely contain old lead-based paint, and an additional 12,000 accessory dwelling units may share the same risk.
While reporting Toxic Inaction—a series investigating how lead impacts Latino immigrants in Oakland and what the city has and hasn’t done in response—El Tímpano heard from many renters who were unsure of what to do if lead was found in their house or apartment.
Yet there are steps that renters can take to protect themselves, and property owners also have a legal duty to protect their renters from lead exposure. Greg Brod, a personal injury attorney with experience in lead poisoning cases in Oakland and San Francisco, emphasized that all landlords have “a duty to provide a habitable and safe premises, period.”
The Oaklanders we spoke with were largely unaware of their rights and the steps they could take to reduce their risk of lead contamination. Many feared that taking action could lead to losing their housing. Some renters even declined a free test to check lead levels in their soil over fears of illegal retaliation from their landlord.
Identifying sources of exposure is crucial to reducing the risk of lead poisoning. “Lead is in the environment, we cannot escape it. It is indoors, it is outdoors, so it’s there, but the most we can do is make sure that we know the sources, so that way we can avoid them as best as possible,” explained Marilen Biding, an Alameda County community outreach nurse and case manager that works with lead-poisoned children and their families.
El Tímpano has compiled the most common questions about lead and answered them below. If you have additional questions about lead or want your soil or paint tested for lead, please contact El Tímpano by texting ‘PLOMO’ to (510) 800-8305.
1. What are some sources of lead in housing?
Lead can be found in old paint, water pipes, gasoline and soil.
Lead-based paint is commonly found in homes built before 1978—and the older the home, the more likely it is to contain lead-based paint. Roughly 80% of Oakland’s housing stock was built before 1980 and more than one-third was built before 1940 when lead-based paint was even more typical.
If a layer of lead-based paint has been painted over and the top layer is intact, the risk of lead is contained. Yet chips, cracks, holes or peeling can expose the lead-based paint layer again.
According to the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), no known water service lines containing lead are operated by the Oakland district. Lead fixtures or galvanized iron pipes, however, may still connect the district’s water lines to the home. Those pipes are the property owner’s responsibility. The EBMUD has an inventory of where lead pipes once existed here.
Some toys, candies, spices and pottery that have been imported or purchased from outside of the United States have also been found to contain lead.
2. What should I do if there is peeling or chipped paint in the home?
Notify your landlord if you see chipped or peeling paint if you live in a house built before 1978. It is especially important that children are not able to access exposed older paint because it may contain lead.
3. How do I find out when my house or apartment building was built?
Real estate sites such as RedFin or Zillow often list the year the housing was built if you look up the address. However, you can also call the Alameda County Assessor’s Office at (510) 272-3787 and ask for information on the year a house was built.
4. What are the responsibilities of my landlord when it comes to lead in the home?
Federal law requires landlords to provide an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved pamphlet with information about lead hazards and any results from lead testing at the property before renters sign a lease on housing built before 1978. Personal injury attorney Greg Brod said that even if there is no formal written lease, notification of lead hazards is still required for housing built before 1978 because there is a presumption of lead in the paint. This applies to all rental housing except for studios, short-term rentals, housing tested and cleared of lead by a certified inspector, housing built in 1978 or after and housing designated for elderly people or adults with disabilities so long as children under six years old do not live there.
Landlords, however, are not required to test for lead or remove lead-based paint. Under California law, they must provide safe and habitable housing—meaning that they must maintain the property to prevent exposure. So if there is cracked, peeling or deteriorating paint, a landlord must repair the paint. According to Oakland’s municipal code, it is “unlawful and a misdemeanor” for any property owner to refuse or neglect to remove lead hazards if code enforcement requires them to do so, to allow dangerous lead-containing substances to remain inside a building or on a property and to damage, disturb, neglect or remove abatement measures that would cause a lead hazard.
Additionally, anyone hired to repair or remodel—including replacing windows, demolition, electrical work, plumbing, painting, carpentry or any work that will disturb paint in housing built before 1978—must be lead-safe certified. In Oakland, these repairs or renovations require a lead-based paint abatement work plan and building permit. There are a few exceptions to this law, including if the work is being done in a studio and if the work disturbs an area of six square feet or less of paint per room or 20 square feet or less for external paint.
5. How do I get the home tested for lead?
The city of Oakland has a lead testing program for owner-occupied units, but not for renters. Renters can ask their landlord to conduct a lead test or ask their landlord to apply for a property-based lease safety consultation. However, landlords are not legally required to test for lead. Renters can hire a lead consultant and find more information here.
To test for lead in your tap water, you can apply for a water test voucher once per year from East Bay Municipality Utility District for free. Both renters and landlords can request a voucher. To request a voucher, call 866-403-2683 or email customerservice@ebmud.com.
Additionally, all children covered by Medi-Cal should receive a blood lead test at age one and again at age two. Parents and primary caregivers can ask their child’s physician to conduct a blood lead level test at any age, and some health experts recommend testing annually as lead builds up in the system and does not trigger a treatment response at lower levels.
6. What happens if a child living in a rental home has lead poisoning?
If a child has an elevated blood lead level above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, their doctor will automatically notify the Alameda County Public Health Department who will conduct an environmental investigation to determine lead hazards in the child’s life and home, according to the Alameda County Healthy Homes Department. Any hazards identified in the investigation must be addressed, including hazards at rental properties.
“While landlords are not required to perform lead testing themselves, they are responsible for addressing any identified lead hazards,” the Alameda County Healthy Homes Department said in an email response to El Tímpano. “Property owners must comply with orders to remediate hazards if an Environmental Investigation identifies lead risks.”
7. If my landlord hired a contractor for repairs or renovations, how can I check if they are lead-safe certified?
All lead-safe certified contractors should have a certification card. You can search the EPA website here to determine if the contractor has completed the certification process necessary for repairing and remodeling buildings that may contain lead.
In California, anyone conducting lead inspections, clearance testing or abatement work must also have certification from the California Department of Public Health, which can be checked here.
Property owners and property managers of buildings built before 1978 in Oakland can also take free one-day EPA Lead Safety Training to conduct the work themselves. To do so, they can email LeadTraining@acgov.org.
8. What steps can I take if my landlord has not followed the law?
If your landlord is avoiding repairing lead hazards or if they are not using lead-safe certified workers to repair or renovate the space, you can file a code enforcement complaint online here or by calling (510) 238-3381.
Tenants covered by the Oakland Rent Adjustment Ordinance can file a petition with the Rent Adjustment program for “decreased housing services.” According to Oakland officials, tenants may be reimbursed for the period of time where paint was deteriorated and unresolved by the landlord after the landlord was alerted to the issue. You can find more information by contacting RAP@oaklandca.gov or visit the Rent Adjustment Program website.
Additionally, tenants can file a lawsuit for damages related to lead poisoning if they were never notified of lead hazards or if the landlord is aware of lead hazards on the property and does not remediate the issue.
This story was produced as part of the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship.
