Toledo lead safe notice of violation

[Luke Milbocker]

Hey everyone,

I acquired a duplex in Toledo in September that is in 43612, so it was supposed to have a Toledo lead safe certificate by the start of 2026. I am out of state and have a full service property management company that notified me that they would be doing lead testing in October to comply with the December 31st deadline, so I assumed everything would be ok. The property failed visual inspection due to some peeling paint on the exterior of the property, and by the time I found out it was too cold to repaint. I got a letter of notice of the violation, and have 30 days to obtain a lead safe certificate before it gets sent to municipal courts. Since I can't remedy the paint due to weather, what should I be doing? Should I talk to a lawyer? I am concerned about the possibility of misdemeanor charges.

Thanks,

Luke

[Jackelyn Lee]

Quote from @Luke Milbocker:

Hey everyone,

I acquired a duplex in Toledo in September that is in 43612, so it was supposed to have a Toledo lead safe certificate by the start of 2026. I am out of state and have a full service property management company that notified me that they would be doing lead testing in October to comply with the December 31st deadline, so I assumed everything would be ok. The property failed visual inspection due to some peeling paint on the exterior of the property, and by the time I found out it was too cold to repaint. I got a letter of notice of the violation, and have 30 days to obtain a lead safe certificate before it gets sent to municipal courts. Since I can't remedy the paint due to weather, what should I be doing? Should I talk to a lawyer? I am concerned about the possibility of misdemeanor charges.

Thanks,

Luke

Those letters are definitely written to sound scary! I’ve received some of the same notices on a few properties where the weather didn’t cooperate with exterior paint timing on mine either.

The good news is the temperatures are finally turning and we’re getting some dry days. Your property is currently scheduled for exterior paint work on Tuesday, and the retesting is planned for Thursday.

We’ve also been in close communication with the Toledo Lead Safe office throughout this process. From our conversations with them, their main focus is on properties where owners have ignored the program entirely. When owners are actively working to resolve issues and have remediation scheduled, quotes approved, etc that’s generally viewed very differently. So they say!

If anyone goes to jail over peeling paint, I’ll personally come bail you out. 😅

All jokes aside, Having the work scheduled and documented shows you’re actively correcting the issue. There is a LOT happening behind the scenes on our end, ensuring everybody stays complaint and these certificates are handled as efficient as possible. 

Since this is a public forum, I’ll keep the details light here, but feel free to reach out to me directly if you want to go over anything further.