What New Safety Rules for Rental Homes Actually Cover

On September 17, 2026, New York City's Board of Health adopted lower limits for lead dust in homes, effective November 5, 2026. From that date, a smaller amount of lead dust on a floor or windowsill will count as lead-contaminated under the city's Health Code, which matters most to renters in older buildings. The change is local, but it joins a wider set of rental safety rules with deadlines from 2022 to January 2027. Most set what a landlord must install, disclose or repair; very few require testing unless something specific triggers it.

Key takeaways

HUD-assisted homes have needed carbon monoxide alarms since December 27, 2022. Since December 29, 2024, smoke alarms in older units there must be hardwired or use sealed 10-year batteries; newer units need hardwired alarms.
Since January 12, 2026, EPA treats any reportable level of lead dust on floors or windowsills of pre-1978 housing as a hazard. The rule does not require landlords to test.
New York City owners of buildings with gas service must install natural gas alarms by January 1, 2027. The city has confirmed that date will not be extended.
California's first round of balcony and deck inspections for buildings with three or more units was due January 1, 2026. Repairs left unfinished after 180 days, and then 30 days past a formal notice, can lead to fines of $100 to $500 a day.
Radon disclosure for renters is a state matter. Illinois, Maine and Colorado each give tenants different rights.

What it means for you

Public housing, voucher and other HUD-assisted renters: the unit should have a CO alarm where required and qualifying smoke alarms. In homes built before 1978, a child under 6 with a blood lead level of 3.5 µg/dL or higher also triggers a lead investigation. See the alarm section and the lead section.
Renters in buildings built before 1978: you have a right to lead disclosures before signing, and to lead-safe work practices during repairs. The lead section explains both.
Families with children under 6 or 10: lead rules (under 6) and New York City window guard rules (10 or younger) apply to you.
New York City renters with gas service: expect a natural gas alarm by January 1, 2027 (Class B buildings may use a hallway detection system instead), plus lower lead-dust limits from November 5.
California renters with wooden balconies, decks or exterior stairs: in buildings with three or more units, these should have been inspected by January 1, 2026.
Renters in Illinois, Maine and Colorado: you have state radon rights. Elsewhere, check your state's rules.
Small landlords: each section lists the date and the agency that enforces it.

Alarms in HUD-assisted homes

Two federal laws set alarm requirements for public housing, Housing Choice Voucher and project-based voucher units, Project-Based Rental Assistance, and Section 202 and 811 housing. The voucher rules are written into 42 U.S.C. 1437f, and the public housing rules into 42 U.S.C. 1437a. Unsubsidized rentals follow state and local fire codes instead.

Carbon monoxide alarms

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 required CO alarms or detectors in these homes, installed to the standards in chapters 9 and 11 of the 2018 International Fire Code. HUD set the compliance date at December 27, 2022. Summaries of HUD's notice describe the requirement as covering homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage.

Smoke alarms

Section 601 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 sets the smoke alarm standard. HUD's August 2025 Federal Register notice for its HOPWA housing program restates the same standard with a compliance date of December 29, 2024, two years after the law was enacted. In homes built before December 29, 2022 that have not been substantially rehabilitated since, each alarm must meet one of two conditions:

it is hardwired, or
it runs on a non-replaceable 10-year battery and is sealed, tamper resistant and has a way to silence it.

Every alarm must also be able to alert people with hearing loss. Newer or substantially rehabilitated homes need hardwired alarms. Alarms are required on every level, including basements, in or near each sleeping area and in common areas. HUD's NSPIRE inspection standards also call for one inside each bedroom.

HUD has repeatedly delayed NSPIRE inspections for vouchers, but the alarm requirements come from statute and were not postponed with them.

Lead rules for pre-1978 rentals

Federal lead rules apply to "target housing," which generally means homes built before 1978. Four layers matter to renters.

Disclosure before you sign

Under the federal lead disclosure rule, landlords of pre-1978 housing must do four things before you sign a lease:

give you EPA's lead pamphlet,
disclose any lead paint or hazards they know about,
hand over the reports they have, and
attach a Lead Warning Statement to the lease.

Some leases are exempt, including units certified lead-free by an inspector and housing for older adults or people with disabilities where no child under 6 lives. The rule does not require the landlord to test.

Lower dust-lead levels since January 2026

EPA's November 2024 final rule took effect January 13, 2025, and its key standards became binding on January 12, 2026. Since then, any reportable amount of lead in floor or windowsill dust, measured by an EPA-recognized lab, counts as a dust-lead hazard. The old cutoffs were 10 µg/ft² for floors and 100 µg/ft² for sills. After abatement work, dust must now be cleared to 5 µg/ft² on floors, 40 on sills and 100 on window troughs.

The rule itself says these standards do not require owners to inspect or to act on hazards they find. Their force comes from other federal, state and local rules that build on them.

HUD homes with a young child

A January 2025 HUD notice lowered the blood lead trigger under the Lead Safe Housing Rule from 5 to 3.5 µg/dL for children under 6. It applies in HUD-assisted pre-1978 housing, and compliance was due by April 17 or July 16, 2025, depending on local rules. When a child reaches that level, the owner or housing agency must arrange an environmental investigation and control any hazards found.

Repairs that disturb paint

EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to paid work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 homes, and EPA says landlords and property management companies must follow it. The firm must be certified and must use lead-safe methods. It must also give an adult occupant EPA's pamphlet no more than 60 days before work starts. Minor jobs are partly exempt: those that disturb 6 square feet or less of paint per room indoors, or 20 square feet or less outdoors, without window replacement or demolition.

How one lab result reads under each standard

New York City's new limits are 4 µg/ft² for floors, 32 for windowsills and 80 for window wells, 20% below its old 5, 40 and 100. The city based them on the 4 µg/ft² floor level that EPA-recognized labs must be able to measure, which is 80% of EPA's 5 µg/ft² clearance level. Results at or above the limits count, and the 80 µg/ft² window-well limit applies only to clearance tests after abatement.

Illustrative example: a dust wipe from an apartment floor comes back at 4.5 µg/ft².

Standard	Floor limit	Result at 4.5 µg/ft²
EPA hazard definition (from Jan 12, 2026)	Any reportable level	Hazard
EPA clearance after abatement	5 µg/ft²	Passes
NYC Health Code before Nov 5, 2026	5 µg/ft²	Not lead-contaminated dust
NYC Health Code from Nov 5, 2026	4 µg/ft²	Lead-contaminated dust

The same reading is a hazard under EPA's definition yet passes EPA's clearance level, and in New York City it crosses the line on November 5. Check which standard a lab report uses.

New York City's renter rules

Natural gas alarms by January 1, 2027

Local Law 157 of 2016 originally set a May 1, 2025 deadline for natural gas detectors. Local Law 102 of 2025 moved it. A June 15, 2026 Department of Buildings service notice confirms that alarms must be installed on or before January 1, 2027, and that the date will not be extended.

Under the Department of Buildings FAQ, the rule covers private dwellings and Class A and Class B multiple dwellings. The rule itself exempts buildings with no gas piping or gas service, and lets Class B buildings install a line-operated, zoned gas detection system in all public corridors and public spaces instead of alarms in each unit. If your unit has a gas appliance, the alarm goes in the same room, 3 to 10 feet from it. Owners replace alarms at the end of their useful life.

Window guards: 2026 changes

Owners of buildings with three or more apartments must install approved window guards wherever a child 10 or younger lives, and for any tenant who asks. Rule changes in effect since January 1, 2026 count a child as "residing" if the child spends 10 hours or more in the apartment. The 2026 changes also require fall prevention devices on windows that open onto balconies or terraces above the first floor, and add installation rules for window air conditioners.

Windows that open onto fire escapes are exempt. Owners may charge tenants for guards inside the apartment, but not a new tenant for guards already installed; in rent-stabilized or rent-controlled units the charge is capped at $10 per guard.

Lead paint testing

The deadline for owners of pre-1960 rental buildings to test every unit and common area for lead paint with XRF devices was August 9, 2025. If a child under 6 moves in, testing is due within one year if that comes sooner. Testing alone does not require removal, but owners must still deal with peeling paint where a child under 6 lives and with paint on door and window friction surfaces when a unit turns over.

Balconies, radon and blind cords

California balcony inspections

California's balcony law, Health and Safety Code section 17973, covers buildings with three or more multifamily units. It applies to balconies, decks, stairways and walkways more than 6 feet above ground that rely substantially on wood. The first inspection was due January 1, 2026, after a one-year extension, then every six years.

Inspectors check at least 15% of each type of element. Non-emergency repairs need a permit application within 120 days of the report and completion within 120 days of the permit. If repairs are still not done 180 days after the report, the inspector notifies the local agency, and 30 days after that notice the owner faces civil penalties of $100 to $500 a day. Condominiums and other common interest developments fall under a separate law.

Radon notices in three states

Illinois: landlords of units below the third story must give tenants a radon disclosure and any hazard records. Tenants have 90 days from the start of the lease to test. If a test exceeds the state action level and the landlord chooses not to mitigate, the tenant may end the lease.
Maine: landlords must retest every 10 years when a tenant asks, unless a mitigation system is installed, and must disclose the latest results before a lease is signed. At 4.0 pCi/L or above, either side may end the lease on 30 days' notice.
Colorado: landlords must give a radon disclosure and the state brochure before the lease is signed. Tenants may void the lease if the landlord skips the disclosure or makes no reasonable effort to mitigate within 180 days of a result of 4 pCi/L or more; since January 1, 2026, that right excludes leases of one year or less.

Blind cords are a product rule

Federal cord rules apply to manufacturers, not landlords. A CPSC regulation treats stock window coverings that fail certain cord requirements, and custom ones that fail inner-cord or labeling requirements, as substantial product hazards. A separate 2022 rule for operating cords on custom blinds was vacated by a federal appeals court in September 2023. Neither rule requires landlords to replace corded blinds that are already installed.

Frequently asked questions

Can a voucher landlord make me pay for the CO alarm?

No. Under HUD's 2022 notice, as summarized by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, owners of Housing Choice Voucher and project-based voucher units pay for CO alarms. Public housing agencies pay from operating or capital funds, and project-based owners can draw on reserves.

Does a newer California building need a balcony inspection?

Yes, on its own schedule. For buildings whose permit applications were submitted on or after January 1, 2019, the first inspection is due no later than six years after the local jurisdiction issues the certificate of occupancy. The law's other requirements, including the repair deadlines and penalties, then apply as they do to older buildings.

Who installs the gas alarm in a New York City rental?

The owner must provide it and make sure it is installed. Battery-powered and plug-in alarms can be installed without a licensed electrician, but hardwired units need a licensed electrical contractor with permits. Once installed, the occupant is responsible for maintaining a battery unit inside the apartment.

Do the lead disclosure rules apply to a studio apartment?

Usually not. Zero-bedroom units, which include studios, efficiencies, dorm rooms and rented single rooms, are exempt from the federal disclosure rule unless a child under 6 lives or is expected to live there. Leases of 100 days or less with no renewal option are also exempt.

What if my California balcony is unsafe right now?

The law treats an inspector's finding of an immediate threat as an emergency. The owner must act at once, and blocking access until the repair is done satisfies that duty. Inspection reports that recommend immediate repairs also go to the local enforcement agency within 15 days, so your city's building or code enforcement office is the place to report a concern.

How to ask for a safety fix

Check which rule covers you. Building age, HUD assistance, unit count and location decide which rules apply.
Put the request in writing. Name the item, such as a missing CO alarm, a 9-volt smoke alarm in a HUD unit or a missing window guard, and the rule that requires it. Date the request and keep a copy.
Escalate to the right office. Voucher holders can contact the housing agency that runs their voucher. Residents of HUD-assisted apartments can call HUD's Multifamily Housing Complaint Line at 1-800-685-8470. New York City renters can call 311. Elsewhere, contact your local code enforcement or building department.
Watch repair work in older homes. Before a crew sands or cuts paint in a pre-1978 home, ask whether it is RRP-certified and where your lead pamphlet is.
Test where the law gives you a role. In Illinois, test for radon within 90 days of the lease start; in Maine, ask for a retest once 10 years have passed, unless a mitigation system is installed.

This article is general information, not legal advice; for a dispute over a specific lease, a local tenant legal aid office can explain your options.