L E G I S L AT I V E U P D AT E
New Jersey Realtors ® Raises Concerns About Lead BY DOUGLAS TOMSON
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ince the late 1990s, a significant amount of time has been spent working on various pieces of legislation to address New Jersey’s issues related to housing and lead paint. After two decades, it seems New Jersey Realtors® has finally started to see some movement on this issue. On Sept. 17, New Jersey Realtors® CEO Jarrod Grasso and I testified before the Senate Economic Growth Committee on S-1147, legislation creating a lead paint inspection requirement at the time-of-sale. At the hearing, we raised concerns with, and opposed, S-1147 while testifying in support of the need for new legislation. New Jersey Realtors® supports creating a pilot program with dedicated funding to assist homeowners in covering costs in New Jersey’s older cities associated with lead paint testing and remediation in homes built prior to 1978. New Jersey Realtors® also advocated for the passage of SCR16, a constitutional amendment must be approved by New Jersey voters which would dedicate revenue collected from the sales tax on paint towards lead hazard remediation. At the same hearing, New Jersey Realtors® raised concerns with S-1147 pertaining to lead paint remediation costs, which can be as much as $1,000 for testing and $15 per square foot for remediation. Home sale prices could be affected by this, as either the seller will have to pay for remediation or reduce the home’s selling price. On a $380,000 home, the median sales price for a single-family home in July, remediation costs could lead to a 5.2 percent sale price reduction. Beyond the costs, as of May 2020, there were only 66 lead evaluation contractors certified by the State of New Jersey, and only 51 located in New Jersey. In addition,
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many municipalities do not have inspectors certified to perform lead inspections. In 2018 alone, 38,796 pre-1978 homes were sold in New Jersey, which would amount to 588 homes per inspector, if distributed equally. This would undoubtedly add to the time it would take to sell or rent a home. Due to these costs, New Jersey Realtors® opposed S-1147 before the committee and again raised the aforementioned alternatives. S-1147 was approved by the committee and referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee before the bill can go to the full Senate for consideration. Moving the bill to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee allows us to continue to work together on amendments to the bill. At the same time, the legislature created a new fund to remove lead paint out of single-family homes as part of the budget process. The goal to remove lead paint from homes is a worthy one New Jersey Realtors® stands behind. However, we should not, intentional or not, create an environment where it is more expensive and difficult to live in New Jersey. Instead, we encourage the legislature to propose alternatives to address this issue across the board, rather than at the time-of-sale. For updates on this issue, please follow us on social media, read New Jersey Realtors® Weekly, and check future editions of this column.
