Lead paint services in Washington, DC.

Clearance exams

DC requires a lead clearance report when a pre-1978 rental is about to be occupied by a child under 6 or a pregnant tenant, and the report must be under a year old. Only an examiner certified by the Department of Energy and Environment can issue it. We schedule the exam, and when a unit fails we quote the correction in writing, fix it with certified crews, and manage the retest until you hold a passing report. The full mechanics are in our clearance exam guide.

Renovation clearance testing

Renovation on pre-1978 DC housing needs a DOEE permit once it disturbs more than 500 square feet of paint or tops $20,000 in job cost, and permitted jobs close with a clearance exam held to the 10 micrograms per square foot floor dust standard. We test surfaces before the scope is final, keep the disturbance work compliant, and run the closing exam with margin for a retest, so lead never blocks a schedule. Our rowhouse renovation guide and flipper checklist cover the sequencing in detail.

Abatement

When surfaces need real correction, from component level window work to full interior abatement, we quote it itemized and in writing. Typical landlord turnover jobs run $2,500 to $6,000 and full interior abatement $8,000 to $15,000; the complete ranges are on our cost page and in our DC area cost article. Testing is always priced separately from correction, so a unit likely to pass never pays for work it does not need.

If you also own in Maryland

Many of our DC clients hold Maryland rentals too, where the rules run on a different engine: an MDE risk reduction certificate at every pre-1978 turnover, regardless of who moves in. Our Maryland vs DC comparison maps the differences, and our landlord guide covers the Maryland cycle. One vendor for both sides means the paperwork stays straight per unit.