The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking cash penalties against a large Massachusetts-based landlord for allegedly failing to warn his tenants about lead paint at hundreds of apartments in the Bay State, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The EPA’s New England office has charged Dr. Anthony Ping Zuo and his company, Great Wall Properties, with 64 violations of the federal Lead Disclosure Rule. At the time of the alleged violations, Zuo and Great Wall owned and leased 42 apartment buildings with 299 rental units in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
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Most of the properties involved are in low-income neighborhoods, the EPA said, and many were occupied by families with young children. Zuo and Great Wall are accused of failing to inform tenants of known lead hazards, failing to give them copies of records about lead hazards, and failing to provide EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlets. The violations are punishable by civil fines of up to $11,000.
“Lead paint is a critical public health concern for children in New England,” said Robert W. Varney, the EPA’s regional administrator. “Property owners and managers must do their part to prevent lead poisoning by following lead paint disclosure requirements and making sure families are aware of potential lead hazards.”
Federal law requires that tenants or buyers of housing built before 1978 be given a pamphlet, a lead warning statement, information about known lead hazards, and copies of relevant records before they sign a lease or purchase agreement.
Zuo is among dozens of New England landlords, property managers and real-estate agents whom the EPA has targeted in civil and criminal cases in an effort to ensure compliance with those requirements. The initiative has included hundreds of inspections in New England, as well as compliance assistance workshops.
For more information on lead paint disclosure requirements and other issues regarding lead, go to www.epa.gov/ne.
