San Diego real estate blog - Peter Toner

Children win with the new lead ordinance that was passed by the San Diego City Council this past Tuesday. Collectively agreed upon by all Council members, the ordinance applies to all homes built prior to 1979. Some of the essential elements of the new law are that it is now illegal to create a lead hazard as well as allow employees to work in unsafe lead environments. Landlords will now also be held responsible for making sure that their properties are free of any lead hazards.  

In San Diego there are approximately 310,000 homes that were built before 1979. The San Diego City Council hopes that this new ordinance will help to protect the children who are living in those homes. A quote from the Environmental Health Coalition estimated that 1,700 San Diego children per year are diagnosed with lead related brain damage as well as other ailments caused by ingesting the lead paint chips.

A stricter version of the ordinance was discussed, but not passed. The bones of this version were when a home was sold the sellers would be required to remove all lead based materials from the home prior to the close of escrow. Many objected to this idea as this measure could cost a seller as much as $30,000 dollars ~ for now this version has been rejected by the Council.