I agree with @Chris Simmons. A test kit is fairly cheap at Home Depot or Lowes. You're obligated as a landlord to disclose the existence of lead paint if you know about it, and you have to give the tenant an EPA pamphlet about lead if the house is pre-1978. If you don't know anything then technically you have nothing to disclose. But, as @Vincent Aiello said, transparency will help your reputation a lot as a landlord.
If I remember correctly, lead paint is only harmful if you ingest it. This could happen by breathing the dust from sanding and/or demo or by eating the paint chips. If it's just sitting on the walls then it's harmless. You aren't obligated to remove the paint from the walls, but if you decide to remove it then you have to hire a contractor licensed in lead paint removal.
Skimming with drywall mud and painting over can easily resolve the peeling issue if it's a small area, unless there is a larger root cause to the problem. However, you may be technically required to hire a lead paint specialist to come and remove the chips. Personally, if it was a small amount I would probably just vacuum them up myself, but don't tell the EPA I said that.
Hey Shawn, I take you have already checked with the property owner? He or she may already know if the house has lead paint or was built before 1978. Otherwise, do a simple Google search to get smart on lead-based paint (I found this in just a few seconds:
http://www.webmd.com/women/home-health-and-safety-...).
Long story short, if you suspect there could be lead paint you need to have it tested. Transparency with your new tenant and a willingness to find answers will go a long way in building your trust and credibility.
Vincent
If it was built near or before 1978, get it tested. A kit is quite cheap at the big box stores. You either prove to her it isn't or find out the owner has some remediation to pay for.
Sounds like there is work the owner needs to have done anyway. Peeling paint is not something my tenants pay extra for.
I agree with @Chris Simmons. A test kit is fairly cheap at Home Depot or Lowes. You're obligated as a landlord to disclose the existence of lead paint if you know about it, and you have to give the tenant an EPA pamphlet about lead if the house is pre-1978. If you don't know anything then technically you have nothing to disclose. But, as @Vincent Aiello said, transparency will help your reputation a lot as a landlord.
If I remember correctly, lead paint is only harmful if you ingest it. This could happen by breathing the dust from sanding and/or demo or by eating the paint chips. If it's just sitting on the walls then it's harmless. You aren't obligated to remove the paint from the walls, but if you decide to remove it then you have to hire a contractor licensed in lead paint removal.
Skimming with drywall mud and painting over can easily resolve the peeling issue if it's a small area, unless there is a larger root cause to the problem. However, you may be technically required to hire a lead paint specialist to come and remove the chips. Personally, if it was a small amount I would probably just vacuum them up myself, but don't tell the EPA I said that.
Keep in mind, just because the building was built prior to 1978 does not mean it has lead-based paint hazards. We tested our units and only the 1925 house and 1941 house had evidence of lead-based paint, and it was encapsulated under layers of new paint and not a hazard. Our 1950s houses and multiplexes tested clean, as did those built in the 1960s and 1970s.
Best spots to check are door jambs and window trim, where moving parts rub together. If there is indeed peeling paint, find out why it is peeling and correct the root cause. As others have said, the test kits are relatively inexpensive and easy to find at the hardware store.
While you're at it, keep a look out for asbestos too in older homes. As long as asbestos is encapsulated and not friable you should have no trouble. The asbestos siding on one of our houses provides great insulation and is not a hazard because it is sealed with layers of paint (non-lead). The asbestos duct wrap in another house has been sealed with paint and then we installed a chase box around it, so it too is not hazardous.
Do I have any other obligations?
What should I do now?
Get it tested, and put her mind to rest.
And then tell whoever owns the property to get in without delay, and get the peeling paint sorted out.
For instance, section 8 has a set of requirements, and peeling paint is a fail. My point is very simple, if your property (regardless of going section 8) can get a fail with their pitiful set of rules, then there needs to be remedies.
Not sure of CT's lead laws, but by federal EPA laws, unless she has a child under 7 living there you won't have to remediate the lead (if it exists). However, since you can't discriminate against families, when she moves out, you should address the lead to avoid playing the game of finding people without kids.
Section 8 now requires a lead certificate on every unit they're paying for. As do most Government funded programs now.
"We tested our units and only the 1925 house and 1941 house had evidence of lead-based paint, and it was encapsulated under layers of new paint and not a hazard." This is not accurate. Covering lead paint with regular paint is not "encapsulating" the paint. There is a special encapsulating coating for lead (Lead Block, for one), that's more like a liquid rubber, that can be used on certain surfaces only after the surfaces have been tested and the proper paperwork filed (the EPA loves it's paperwork). Painting over lead with regular paint is simply that, painting over the lead paint to "make it intact" and not peeling anymore. However, if there's an outside corner in the room that has lead paint on it, painting over it isn't enough, you need to cover it at least 4" back from the corner. (See picture if you don't know what I mean about an outside corner.) Also, windows/frames and doors/door jambs cannot have lead paint on them, period. Movable surfaces that can rub have to be replaced, you can't paint over the peeling lead and think it's good enough. Basically only flat walls, ceilings, and baseboards can be painted over to cover the peeling lead paint, but you need to take special precautions when scraping the loose paint off.
Any surface that a child could conceivably get it's mouth around can not be made intact (painted), this includes anything that sticks out more then 1/2 inch like stair treads, railings, balusters, columns, shelves, shelf supports, counters, fireplace mantles, window sills, baseboards, pipes, door/window casings, and pretty much everything else that could stick off your wall. These are the things that could be encapsulated after testing the surface to see if the lead paint is still bonded to the wood well enough to hold the encapsulate.
With all this being said, go paint her walls, don't be a slumlord.