Buyer Beware! Investing in Lead Hazard Control Order Properties in Ohio

In Ohio, before purchasing or selling an older home built before 1978 as an investment, a homeowner, or a tenant that’s finding a too-good-to-be-true deal for next to no money… 

BUYER BEWARE!!!

In Toledo, OH, a Lead Hazard Control Order is an official, legally binding directive issued by the Ohio Department of Health or the Toledo Lucas County Health Department. It is issued when testing confirms that lead hazards in a property have contributed to a child’s lead poisoning. 

The order requires property owners to take SPECIFIC, CORRECTIVE actions:

• Mandatory Fixes: Owners must eliminate specific lead hazards by a lead abatement contractor (such as deteriorated paint or contaminated dust) by a set deadline, typically within 90 days.

• Vacancy of Occupants: The health director can require tenants and occupants to vacate the home for their safety while lead abatement or hazard control work is being done.

• Placarding Unsafe Properties: Properties subject to these orders are often posted with warning signs or placarded as "unsafe for human habitation" until the hazards are resolved.

Search for Section 3742.37 in the Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules, which explains this in detail. 

Let’s go through the process of finding properties with Lead Hazard Control Orders.

1. Go to the Toledo Lucas County Health Department’s website: lucascountyhealth.com

2. You have three ways to find the Lead Prevention web page.

a. On the home page in the top right corner, there’s a search box where you can type lead. In the search results, pick “Lead Prevention”

b. Currently, the easiest way to find the Lead Prevention web page is by clicking “Lead Prevention” on the home page. 

c. You can also go directly to the web page: lucascountyhealth.com/lead-prevention-2/

d. Once there, scroll down the page. 

Now, before purchasing or selling a home:

• Check the history of the property… especially for Lead Hazard Control Orders.

• Consider getting a risk assessment for lead performed along with the home inspection.

• DO NOT sell your home with known lead hazards without disclosing this to potential buyers. This act is illegal.

• YES… DO reach out to your local health department’s lead program if you need guidance on a property under Lead Hazard Control Orders.

Considering Purchasing or Renting?

If you are currently considering purchasing an older home built before 1978, you should first check to see if it has any known lead hazards. If a homeowner has not complied with a health department order to control lead hazards, the property must remain vacant until the order is lifted. 

This can only happen if:

• The lead work is performed by a licensed lead abatement contractor, and…

• The property passes a clearance inspection by a lead inspector or lead risk assessor.

The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department maintains a list of rental properties with Lead Hazard Control Orders. Click the “+” sign, Lucas County Properties (Click to Open), which opens the list of rental properties with orders. 

The list is in numerical order, and you can scroll through the whole list and see if a rental property you're about to purchase has a Lead Hazard Control Order. 

To check the status of a property in Lucas County, follow this link… What’s this link?

This link opens up a new window and a map on the Ohio Department of Health’s web page of all properties in Ohio, rentals and owners, with Lead Hazard Control Orders. 

Use the navigation on the top left of the map. Over on the right, you can set filters for city, like unclick all, then go down the list and just pick specifically Toledo. Down below is a list of properties in Toledo that all have Lead Hazard Control Orders. You can also pick by property address. Now you can see: if you click all, you can go back to the map and see all of Ohio’s Lead Hazard Control Orders.

Before you invest… Do yourself a favor, do some research, and find out if the property you're investing in has a Lead Hazard Control Order.

BUYER BEWARE!!!