Frame housing, wall to wall
Union City packs more people per square mile than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly into 2-to-4-family wood-frame buildings dating to the early 1900s. For lead purposes that means painted wood everywhere: clapboard, window sashes, porch rails, interior trim. 71% of the city's housing units were built before 1980 (U.S. Census, ACS table B25034), one of the highest shares in Hudson County.
The good news: small buildings inspect fast. A 3-family walkthrough is often a single appointment, and same-visit pricing brings the per-unit cost down.
What Union City charges, and what its own ordinance adds
The fee depends on building size, and the state fee is baked in. A city inspection costs $120 per unit in buildings of four units or fewer and $220 per unit above four (§ 273-8, added March 4, 2025 by Ord. No. 2025-6). Unlike Hoboken and Jersey City, the $20 state fee is not billed on top: the ordinance says the city fee already includes the $20 it forwards to the state Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund. The city inspects with its own staff. The fee section prices inspections "performed by a City employee", so Union City runs a municipal program. You can still hire your own DCA-licensed contractor: state law requires the city to allow it (N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.1).
If a hazard is found, the owner pays for everything. Chapter 273 is blunt about it: the owner is completely financially responsible for abatement, and that expressly includes evaluation, relocating occupants and their immediate evacuation, plus any costs and legal fees the city spends enforcing the order (§ 273-2). Budget for more than paint. Painting over lead does not count as a fix. Cracked, chipped, blistered or peeling lead paint has to come off to the base surface, or the surface must be covered with an approved durable material. Repainting over it is explicitly not compliance (§ 273-5). Applying lead paint to interior surfaces used by children has been banned here since 1997 (§ 273-3). What the state rule adds on top of the city ordinance
Chapter 273 sets the price and puts a city employee in the doorway, but it is not the whole rulebook. These provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:28A apply in Union City too, and they are the ones landlords here run into most often.
You can still bring your own contractor. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.1(d) lets the owner hire any DCA-licensed lead evaluation contractor even where the city runs its own program, and the municipality may refuse only in two narrow cases. Worth knowing when the city's own schedule is full. Your contractor files the copy, not you. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.4(a)2 puts the filing on the private contractor once the certificate is issued. 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 remaining units to be inspected when a hazard turns up in a small building. Union City is wall-to-wall 2-to-4-family frame housing, so this is the rule that turns one problem into a building-wide bill. In a condo, the unit owner pays, not the association. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.2(c) settles who is billed when the covered unit sits inside a condominium. If you fixed hazards with interim controls, a dust wipe follows in 60 days. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.5(e)1 sets that clock. Combined with § 273-2, which makes the owner pay for relocating tenants during abatement, the cost of drifting past the deadline compounds. 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. In a building with frequent turnover that is three obligations per move, not one. 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.
Union City questions
I own a 2-family and live downstairs. What needs certifying?Only the rented unit. Your own unit needs nothing while you live in it.
Do shared porches and stairs count?Yes. Common areas the tenant uses are part of the assessment, and painted exterior rails are classic friction surfaces.
Can both units in my 2-family be done in one visit?Yes, back to back, cheaper per unit. See pricing.
How much does a lead paint inspection cost in Union City?$120 per unit for buildings up to 4 units and $220 per unit above that, with the $20 state fee included (§ 273-8 of the city code). Multi-unit visits booked back to back come cheaper per unit: see the full pricing guide.
August 27, 2026