When is my NJ lead inspection due?

Nov 4
2026

If your pre-1978 rental has never had a lead inspection, it is already overdue: the deadline was July 22, 2025 or the first tenant turnover after July 2022, whichever came first. After a first inspection, the cycle repeats every three years or at each turnover, and a current lead-safe certificate (valid three years) lets you skip turnover inspections. Source: P.L. 2021, c.182, as amended by P.L.2024, c.74.

Find your deadline in three questions

1. Has the unit ever been inspected under this law? No: it is overdue. Book now, before a notice of violation starts the penalty clock. Yes: go to question 2.

2. Do you hold a lead-safe certificate issued within the last 3 years? Yes: you are covered until it expires, and turnovers in that window need no new inspection. Mark the expiration date; that is your next deadline. No: go to question 3.

3. Did the last inspection end without a certificate? Yes: finish the remediation and the re-inspection; the certificate is issued only after a pass (see failed inspection). No, the certificate has expired: the 3-year mark has passed, so the unit is due now, and before the next turnover at the latest.

The three common situations

Never inspected

Overdue since July 2025 at the latest. Certifying voluntarily costs a fraction of one fine cycle; see penalties.

Certificate expired

The unit is uncertified again the day the certificate lapses, and that day is also the 3-year mark, so the re-inspection is due now.

Turnover coming up

No current certificate means the inspection has to happen before the new lease starts. See how turnover works.

When was the NJ lead-safe inspection deadline?

The first New Jersey lead-safe inspection deadline was July 22, 2025, under P.L.2024, c.74, or the first tenant turnover after July 22, 2022, if that came earlier.

The original law, P.L.2021, c.182, set the date at July 22, 2024, two years after it took effect. P.L.2024, c.74, signed September 12, 2024, changed “two years” to “three years,” extending the deadline by one year. Many guides, and the DCA’s lead paint page as of October 2026, still give the 2024 date; the statute controls. Either way the date has passed: a unit never inspected is overdue now.

How long is a lead-safe certificate valid in NJ?

A New Jersey lead-safe certificate is valid for three years from issuance, under P.L.2024, c.74, which amended N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.16 on September 12, 2024.

Before that amendment the certificate ran two years while the re-inspection cycle ran three, so owners tracked two clocks. Now both are three years: one passing inspection covers the unit until the next cyclical inspection, and no new inspection is needed at tenant turnover while the certificate is valid. Many guides, including the DCA’s own lead paint page, still say two years; the statute controls. The act does not say whether certificates issued before September 12, 2024 were extended, so go by the expiration date printed on yours.

Deadline questions

My tenant renewed the lease. Is that a turnover?

No. A renewal with the same tenant is not a turnover. Turnover means the old tenant leaves and a new tenancy begins.

I just bought the building. Do the old deadlines follow me?

Yes. Deadlines attach to the unit, not the owner. A valid certificate transfers with the unit and should be handed to you at closing; a missing one is now your problem.

Is there any grace period?

Only the 30-day cure period after a municipality issues a notice of violation. Before a notice, there is no fine, but you are out of compliance. Details: penalties.

Already past your date? Being late is fixable, and fines are not automatic: see what happens when you miss the New Jersey lead inspection deadline. And at every new lease, remember the separate federal paperwork: the lead paint disclosure form.

Two minutes to a booked inspection

Address, unit count, last certificate date. Inspection within 48 hours.

☎ Call (551) 373-3311