Lead-Safe Inspections in Bayonne, NJ

Nov 4
2026

Bayonne requires a visual lead inspection for pre-1978 rentals, per the NJ DCA method list. The peninsula’s rental stock is dominated by 2-to-4-family frame houses and rowhouses built long before 1978; certificates are filed with the city and stay valid for three years.

The classic 2-to-4-family peninsula

Bayonne’s blocks are lined with early-1900s frame houses split into 2, 3, or 4 units, plus brick rowhouses near the older avenues. That profile means painted wood on every surface the inspection cares about: sashes, porches, rails, trim. 79% of the city's housing units were built before 1980 (U.S. Census, ACS table B25034), one of the highest shares among the towns we cover.

Newer development near the ferry and along Route 440 is post-1978 and typically exempt by age; everything else, plan on the inspection.

What Bayonne's own ordinance sets

Bayonne adopted its lead article on February 19, 2025 (Ord. No. O-25-13), and it is the most expensive program in the county so far. The fees are itemized in § 17-33.2g.

$245 to $295 per unit to get certified. Ordinance § 17-33.2g lists $250 per dwelling unit for the visual assessment, plus a $25 filing fee per unit paid to the City and the $20 state fee. The City's 2026 letter quotes its contractor, LEW Environmental, at $200 per visual inspection plus the same $20 and $25. A reinspection under the ordinance is another $295 per unit.

Paid in advance, to the contractor. The ordinance requires the owner to pay the lead evaluation contractor before the inspection happens. Bayonne does not use city employees for this: it retains a lead evaluation contractor. You may hire your own DCA-certified contractor instead (§ 17-33.2b).

The city text mentions dust wipes. The DCA method list assigns Bayonne a visual inspection, but the local ordinance describes inspections carried out "through visual assessment and dust wipe sampling". Ask what the contractor plans to run, and expect lab turnaround if wipes are taken.

Failure and re-certification. If a hazard is found, you remediate, then the City's contractor comes back and certifies the unit. The cure period and penalty match the state: 30 days after a violation, then up to $1,000 per week (§ 17-33.2h). In a condo, the fee is the unit owner's, not the association's.

What the state rule adds on top of the city ordinance

Article V of Chapter 17 sets Bayonne's price and hands the work to a contractor the city retains. N.J.A.C. 5:28A fills in everything the ordinance does not say, including the parts that decide whether you pay the city's rate at all.

You are not obliged to use the city's contractor. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.1(d) lets the owner hire any DCA-licensed lead evaluation contractor, and the city may refuse only in two narrow cases. Given Bayonne's $200 to $250 per unit paid in advance, this is the provision worth reading before you book.

Your contractor files the copy, not you. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.4(a)2 puts the filing on the private contractor: the copy goes to the city when the certificate is issued.

The city fee is cost recovery, not revenue. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.2(a) limits a municipal lead fee to what running the program actually costs the town. Useful context for a rate at the top of the county range.

In a two or three unit building, one hazard pulls in the rest. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.4(b)1 requires the other units to be inspected when a hazard is found in a small building. On a peninsula of 2-to-4-family houses that is the common case, not the exception.

A certificate is not permanent protection. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.4(a)1i allows an existing certificate to be voided if an independent inspection later finds a lead hazard. Passing once does not settle paint you leave to deteriorate.

At turnover you owe three separate things. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-3.1(a),(d) requires evidence of the certificate to the incoming tenant, a copy attached to the lease as an exhibit, and notice to the municipality.

Where the certificate gets filed

Certificates are filed with the city clerk's office; confirm the current procedure and any local fee when you book. If we handle your inspection, filing is included.

Short answers

Got a letter from LEW Environmental about a Bayonne lead inspection: can I hire my own inspector?

Yes: Bayonne's 2026 letter itself says owners can use another state-licensed lead inspection company, and New Jersey law requires the city to allow a DCA-certified contractor you hire directly. The letter is genuine: the City posted on March 31, 2026 that it contracted LEW Environmental for record updates, compliance tracking, and inspections. Using another firm, you take responsibility for getting the documentation and payments to Bayonne (city letter; P.L.2021, c.182, as amended by P.L.2024, c.74, § 1 b.(3); § 17-33.2b).

Bayonne questions

Three units, one building: one visit?

Yes, back to back, one appointment, per-unit pricing drops. See cost.

My tenants have lived here 15 years. Still required?

Yes. The July 2025 deadline applied regardless of turnover. Long tenancy only delays the turnover trigger; see deadlines.

Exterior porch paint is flaking. Does that fail?

If it is a surface the tenant uses, it can. Wet-scrape, prime, and repaint before the visit; see the checklist.

How much does a lead paint inspection cost in Bayonne?

Ordinance § 17-33.2g lists $250 per unit plus a $25 city filing fee and the $20 state fee, paid in advance; the City's 2026 letter quotes its contractor, LEW Environmental, at $200 per visual inspection plus the same $20 and $25. A reinspection after a failed visit is $295 per unit. Details in the pricing guide.