Rental property owners across Vermont recently received an email from the Vermont Department of Health regarding changes to the “Essential Maintenance Practices” (EMP) that are set to go into effect this coming October 1st. As part of the State’s new Regulations for Lead Control, the program will now be called “Inspection, Repair and Cleaning Practices” (IRC) and will require additional certifications for those looking to certify and/or repair properties in accordance with existing EMP compliance guidelines.
Designed to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in children living in rental housing built prior to 1978, the EMP program requires applicable property owners/managers to complete annual inspections (and necessary repairs) and register a compliance statement with the State. Up to this point, property owners and managers who attended a state-provided training course were allowed to both “self-certify” and make repairs to their properties in order to obtain EMP compliance.
The biggest changes to the program include a new training course for self-certification and further limits who exactly is able to perform repairs on properties that need paint repairs. Below is an excerpt from the State of VT’s email detailing the new guidelines…
- You will still be able to use your EMP certificate to perform IRCs (except for repairs) for 5 years from the date you took the EMP training. After that, you will need to take the new IRC training to receive an updated certificate number.If your EMP certificate is older than 5 years, you have until October 1, 2023 to update your EMP certificate to an IRC certificate.The IRC certificate will need to be renewed every 5 years.Learn more about updating your certificate here: www.healthvermont.gov/IRC-training.
- You will no longer be able to perform paint repair of one square foot or more per interior room or exterior surface on pre-1978 rental housing and child care facilities with only an EMP or IRC certificate. Repairs of these areas need to be performed by someone who is RRPM licensed or UCCO certified as described below.
Starting on October 1, Vermont will be taking over the federal Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) regulations. They will be called the Vermont Renovation, Repair, Painting and Maintenance (RRPM) regulations. The Health Department will oversee compliance with these regulations and will license individuals and firms that perform renovation, repair, painting, and maintenance work. For the most part, the new RRPM regulations are the same as the federal RRP regulations. However, there are some ways that the RRPM regulations are more restrictive. To read more about the RRPM regulations and learn how to become RRPM licensed, visit the ALRP RRPM webpage: www.healthvermont.gov/RRPM.
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