CHAPTER 130-A LEAD PAINT POISONING PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Section 130-A:6-a
130-A:6-a Property Owner Notification. –
I. The department shall notify in writing the owner or registered agent of an owner of a dwelling or dwelling unit where the child resides if a blood lead level of 3 to 9.9 micrograms per deciliter is found in the child's blood. Such notice to the property owner shall specify that it is neither a finding that a lead exposure hazard exists in the property nor is it an order for lead hazard reduction. Such notice shall include information about the health hazards of lead poisoning, standards for identifying and eliminating lead hazards, and the federal Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program.
II. (a) Eviction of a tenant based on the presence in the dwelling or dwelling unit of a child who has tested positive for the presence of lead in his or her bloodstream shall be unlawful. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any eviction action, instituted by the owner within 6 months of receipt of notice of a child's elevated blood lead level by the department, the child's physician, or the child's parent or guardian, is based on the child's elevated blood level; provided that:
(1) If the notice came from a parent or guardian only, such parent or guardian shall provide the owner with a copy of the child's blood test prior to the expiration of the eviction notice for the rebuttable presumption in this subparagraph to apply; and
(2) This subparagraph shall not be construed to alter any cause for eviction under RSA 540:2.
(b) If a court finds that an eviction is based on the child's elevated blood lead level, it shall deny the eviction and award damages to the tenant pursuant to RSA 540:14, II. However, if an owner in response to the notice from the department, the child's physician, or the child's parent or guardian discovers a lead exposure hazard in the dwelling or dwelling unit, the owner may proceed with relocation of the tenants, provided that the owner meets the requirements of RSA 130-A:8-a, I or II.
III. In circumstances where the presence of a lead exposure hazard is unsuspected, and becomes known only after the dwelling or dwelling unit has been rented to a family with a child, the owner may withdraw the unit from the residential rental market in lieu of undertaking reduction of the lead exposure hazard. In such case the owner may bring an action to evict the family but only if the owner fulfills all of the conditions set forth in RSA 130-A:8-a, II. The dwelling unit shall not be subsequently rented for residential purposes without reduction of all lead exposure hazards associated with the unit.
IV. Refusal of a tenant to permit the owner to have access to the dwelling or dwelling unit in order to inspect for lead exposure hazards shall be good cause for eviction pursuant to RSA 540:2, II(e); provided, however, that the owner gives the tenant at least 48 hours' prior written notice, and that the inspection is to be conducted at a reasonable time.