The unit failed. Here is what happens next.
Nov 42026
A failed visual inspection means the inspector found deteriorated paint on specific, listed surfaces. It is not a condemnation and not a fine. You fix the listed hazards, pass a re-inspection, and the certificate is issued. Most residential fixes are targeted paint work, not gut remediation.
Your two repair paths
Stabilize the paint: wet-scrape, prime, repaint; clean up dust. Faster and much cheaper. The fix most units need. Has to be maintained; peeling that returns is a new hazard.
Permanent removal: component replacement (new windows, doors, trim), enclosure, or paint removal by a licensed abatement contractor. Costs more, ends the problem on those surfaces for good.
Remediation prices vary too widely to quote responsibly: a few touched-up door jambs and a full window replacement are different projects. Ranges depend on scope; get numbers against the actual inspection report, not in the abstract.
Re-inspection and clearance
Who pays for what
The owner pays for repairs and the re-inspection. Two forms of help exist: New Jersey’s Lead Remediation and Abatement Program (LRAP) offers assistance for qualifying owners, and landlords do qualify: the state program is open to tenants and landlords as long as the occupant's household income is at or below 80% of the area median, the building predates 1978, it has a lead hazard, and it is structurally sound. Vacant units count too. Details and applications live at leadabatement.nj.gov, and some municipalities run their own grant programs; ask your housing office. Tenants never pay for remediation of the landlord’s surfaces.
Short answers
If one unit fails in a 2–3 unit building, are the other units inspected?
Yes: when one unit of a New Jersey two- or three-unit building has a lead hazard, the inspector must inspect the remaining units, except those already certified lead-safe or lead-free. The contractor or municipal agency may charge its fee for those extra inspections (P.L.2021, c.182, as amended by P.L.2024, c.74, § 1 g.(3); N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.4(b)1). Hoboken's local rule reaches further, to buildings with two or more units (Hoboken Code § 125-19).
Can I do the lead repairs myself, or do I need RRP certification?
Minor touch-ups, yes; larger paint work in your own pre-1978 rental needs EPA firm and renovator certification, per EPA guidance for landlords. Work disturbing 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room inside, or 20 or less outside, is minor repair outside the rule only if it involves no window replacement or demolition and no prohibited practice (open-flame burning, power sanding or grinding without HEPA exhaust, heat guns at 1,100°F or more). Jobs in the same room within 30 days count as one (40 CFR 745.83, 745.85(a)(3)).
Failure questions
If you are inside a 30-day notice window, the clock is already running. Without a notice, fix promptly: a documented hazard left open is exactly what draws enforcement.
A failed New Jersey lead inspection does not go on a public list, but the municipality tracks the open case until it is cleared. After a notice of violation you have 30 days to comply, and past that fines run up to $1,000 per week per unit under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.19. Remediate, re-inspect, and a closed case with a certificate ends it.
Read us the listed surfaces; we will tell you what the re-inspection needs.