WCP | Against Advice of Attorneys and Internal Auditors, DCHA Kept Families in Units With Lead Past Legal Deadline

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Lead Safe Housing Rule requires that lead found in areas where children younger than 6 years old live must be fixed with temporary repairs, known as “interim controls,” within 90 days of a completed risk assessment. Children under 6 are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can cause brain and nervous system damage, developmental delays, and learning difficulties, among other issues; in high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal. For units and common areas where children under 6 do not reside, the remediation deadline is one year.

Last November, D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson published a report that scolded DCHA for its failure to meet HUD’s deadlines. The report found that in units or common areas where children under 6 live, DCHA failed to complete the temporary repairs, which typically involves painting over chipping or cracking lead paint, in 33 out of 43 (77 percent) cases within 90 days. In 14 of those 43 cases (32 percent), it took DCHA an average of 408 days to address the lead hazards, the report states.”

— by MITCH RYALS/ WASHINGTON CITY PAPER/ FEBRUARY 26TH, 2021